Weigh-in · the Bronx, Manhattan and Los Angeles · shot 1979 · released 1980

Raging Bull

Two boxers in trunks stand either side of a tall balance-beam scale — Robinson and LaMotta at the scale, 1951. Unknown press photographer · Public domain

Jake LaMotta, grey-haired, in a dark suit and patterned tie, between two smiling blonde women — LaMotta in 1980, by Bernard Gotfryd. Bernard Gotfryd · Public domain

Make the weight: slide the poise to 160.

122 lb on the beam: too light, the tip rises.

A middleweight from the Bronx, a pool on Clarkson Street, and a Florida built in Los Angeles. Here is where it all is now.

Where this comes from

Pelham Parkway · East 149th Street · Water Street, Brooklyn

The Bronx Bull.

He was born on the Lower East Side and raised in the Bronx, and they called him the Bronx Bull. The film has him buying a new home in the Bronx after he marries Vickie in 1943.

Jake LaMotta, bare-chested, sits on the edge of a pool while Vickie, in a black swimsuit, leans on the side in the water — Jake and Vickie LaMotta at a swimming pool, June 1950, the year after he won the title. Acme News Photos · Public domain

A tree-lined parkway with a wide grass mall beside the road — Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, westbound, in 2020. Bebo2good1 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pelham Parkway

In the film LaMotta’s neighbourhood is Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, where the apartment interiors were shot.

A public parkway with a long grass mall. The apartment interiors were private homes: walk the parkway, not the stairs.

Where this comes from

A busy Bronx crossroads with shops, signs and people crossing the street — The Hub, at East 149th Street and Third Avenue in the Bronx, in 2022. Bebo2good1 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Hub, 149th and Third

Gleason’s Gym was founded at the Hub, 149th Street and Third Avenue, in the heart of the Bronx, and has been going since 1937. It stayed there until 1974, then moved to Brooklyn.

Gleason’s was the training headquarters of Jake LaMotta, Muhammad Ali and Roberto Duran.

The gym left in 1974. The Hub is a crossroads of shops and subway stairs today.

Where this comes from

The gym in the story

A tall sign reading Gleason’s on a building beside a doorway and steps — Gleason’s Gym at 130 Water Street, Brooklyn, in 2019. Wgreaves · CC BY-SA 4.0

Gleason’s, now in Brooklyn

Gleason’s is at 130 Water Street now, in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge. It opens Monday to Friday from 5am to 10pm, and from 6am to 6pm at weekends.

Where this comes from

Gleason’s Gym

Train at Gleason’s Gym

DUMBO, Brooklyn · Mon–Fri 5am–10pm · Sat–Sun 6am–6pm · rates on the site

The gym that began at the Hub in the Bronx in 1937 and counts LaMotta among its fighters. Now at 130 Water Street, Brooklyn.

Opening hours and rates

The gym on film

A city street with shops and traffic and towers in the distance — 14th Street looking east from University Place towards Union Square, November 2024. DraconicDark · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Gramercy Gym, gone

In the film Jake spars with his brother Joey at Gleason’s. The scene was shot in the Gramercy Gym at 116 East 14th Street.

The Gramercy Gym was demolished in 1993.

The gym has gone. Walk 14th Street towards Union Square.

Where this comes from

Clarkson Street · East 11th Street · East 60th Street

A pool, a dance, a table at the Copa.

Jake first meets Vickie at the open-air pool on Clarkson Street.

Cathy Moriarty, platinum hair pinned up, in a lace dress and a necklace, looking off to the side — Cathy Moriarty on the set of Raging Bull, in a 1980 press photograph. Unknown press photographer · Public domain

Joe Pesci in a suit leans towards Cathy Moriarty, seated in a lace dress — Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci on the set, in a 1980 press photograph. Unknown press photographer · Public domain

The pool
The Tony Dapolito Recreation Center under scaffolding, February 2022. Tdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The pool on Clarkson Street
Jake meets Vickie at the open-air pool of the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, then the Carmine Street Recreation Center, at 1 Clarkson Street and Seventh Avenue South.
The red-brick centre went up between 1906 and 1908 and became a city landmark in 2010.
Keith Haring, a Village resident, painted the mural beside the pool.
In August 2024 it had been closed for about five years. The city disclosed plans to demolish the building; the outdoor pool would remain.
Closed for repairs when last reported. See the building and the Keith Haring mural from Clarkson Street.
Where this comes from
The dance
Webster Hall on East 11th Street in 2010. Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
Webster Hall
The “Chester Palace” dance, where Jake first sees Vickie, is Webster Hall.
It was built for Charles Goldstein in 1886–87 to designs by Charles Rentz Jr., and became a city landmark on 18 March 2008.
RCA Victor ran a recording studio here from 1953 to 1968. In the 1970s and 1980s the building held Casa Galicia and the rock club The Ritz.
The landmark report names Raging Bull among its films. The name Webster Hall came back in 1990.
A working music venue: look at the terracotta from 11th Street, or buy a ticket for a show.
Where this comes from
The Copa
The Copacabana on East 60th Street in 1949. Cy Walter at the piano. Jack Wasserman (The Cy Walter Collection) · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Copacabana, 10 East 60th Street
At the old Copacabana, Jake’s jealousy begins to show.
The Copa opened at 10 East 60th Street, near the entrance to Central Park, in 1940. The supper club closed in the early 1970s.
Scorsese came back to the Copa for another famous Steadicam shot, in Goodfellas.
The building stands near Central Park; the club is long gone, so see it from the pavement.
Where this comes from

A wide avenue of traffic and yellow cabs running between apartment blocks — Tenth Avenue looking south from 59th Street, past West 56th, in 2006. Roger Rowlett · CC BY-SA 2.5

One apartment, two boroughs

The outside of the apartment is West 56th Street in Manhattan; the inside is Pelham Parkway in the Bronx.

The outside of LaMotta’s Bronx apartment is 447 West 56th Street at Tenth Avenue, in Manhattan’s old Hell’s Kitchen. The production moved to New York in June 1979 for exteriors and more interiors.

Private homes: named here, not mapped. The picture is Tenth Avenue, not the building.

Where this comes from

The Olympia, Detroit, 1943 · the MGM lot, 1979

Make the weight.

Put someone on the platform, then slide the poise until the beam settles level.

On the platform: Robinson, Olympia, 1943

120 lb on the beam: too light, the tip rises.

Where this comes from

On 5 February 1943, at the Olympia in Detroit, Robinson weighs in at 144 and gives away some sixteen pounds. LaMotta wins: Robinson’s first defeat.

On 16 June 1949, in Detroit, he becomes middleweight champion when Marcel Cerdan cannot go on after the tenth round. He holds the title until 14 February 1951, when he loses it to Robinson.

Where this comes from

Four months off for 40, 50, 55 or 60 pounds

Early in August 1979 the production stops so De Niro can gain weight. It starts again on 3 December in the Los Angeles area.

Hang De Niro’s gain on the beam

The hanger is empty. Pick a figure.

Sources give De Niro’s gain as 40, 50, 55 or 60 pounds; most say 55. The AP obituary of LaMotta says De Niro gained 50 pounds to play the older, heavier man.

Where this comes from

Robert De Niro, dark hair swept back, in a dark suit and white shirt, in front of a curtain — Robert De Niro at the Deauville American Film Festival in 1988, eight years after the film. We found no free photograph of him from 1979 or 1980. Roland Godefroy · CC BY 2.5

Culver City · 18th and Grand, downtown Los Angeles

The fights were never in an arena.

The fight sequences were shot over several weeks on an MGM stage. The long shots and the crowds in the fights, Scorsese’s Steadicam shot among them, are the Olympic Auditorium.

The stage: the old MGM lot

A white arch over a studio gate with a parking structure behind — The Motor Gate of Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, the old MGM lot, in 2021. Coolcaesar · CC BY-SA 4.0

The old MGM lot, Culver City

Photography began on 16 April 1979 on the MGM lot in Culver City, with interiors.

The lot is Sony Pictures Studios now. Its two-hour walking tour runs Monday to Friday at $55 a head, and must be booked.

A working studio: inside the gates by guided tour only, Monday to Friday, booked ahead.

Where this comes from

Sony Pictures Studios

Sony Pictures Studio Tour

10202 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City · $55 · Monday to Friday · booking required · (310) 244-8687

A two-hour guided walk round the old MGM lot, where photography began on 16 April 1979 and the fights were shot on a stage.

Book the tour

The crowd: the Olympic Auditorium

A long, plain arena building with a decorated entrance on a downtown street corner, old cars parked outside — The Olympic Auditorium at 18th and Grand, about 1930. Unknown photographer · Public domain

The Olympic Auditorium

It hosted bouts in the 1932 Olympics and seats more than 7,000. The climactic fights of Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III were staged here too.

In 2005 it was sold to the Glory Church of Jesus Christ, a Korean congregation from downtown Los Angeles.

A church now: see it from Grand Avenue, and give services their peace.

Where this comes from

Scorsese chooses black and white after Michael Powell, watching 8mm rehearsal footage of a fight, says the colour of the gloves looks wrong.

The only colour in the film is a run of grainy home movies of the LaMottas, Joey, Vickie and their families. Michael Chapman tries 16mm reversal film to imitate home movies, then hands the camera to Scorsese.

Where this comes from

San Pedro · off Palms Boulevard · Miami Beach

Florida was Los Angeles,
with two palm trees.

For the film it was kitted out with a couple of palm trees.

Los Angeles, December 1979. No palms yet.

An Art Deco theatre with a tall vertical sign on a sunny street with palm trees — The Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, a few blocks north of the film’s Florida nightclub, in 2008. Los Angeles (Commons user) · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Florida nightclub, San Pedro

The older LaMotta’s Florida nightclub was shot at 1331 South Pacific Avenue at West 14th Street in San Pedro, a few blocks south of the Warner Grand Theatre.

The guide notes that the building is a club again today. The crew came back to Los Angeles on 3 December 1979 for the Florida scenes, after the break for De Niro to gain weight.

See it from Pacific Avenue. The Warner Grand Theatre, a few blocks north, is open for shows and screenings.

Where this comes from

Tall palm trees above low houses in a Los Angeles neighbourhood under a blue sky — Palms in the Mar Vista Oval district, near the street where LaMotta’s Florida home was shot, in 2022. Jengod · CC BY-SA 4.0

The “Florida” house, Cabrillo Boulevard

The older LaMotta’s Florida home is 3460 Cabrillo Boulevard at Palms Boulevard, on the Venice side of Los Angeles.

A private house: named here, not mapped. The picture is the neighbourhood, not the house.

Where this comes from

Pastel Art Deco hotels along a palm-lined avenue with 1950s cars — Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, on a 1955 postcard: the town LaMotta moved to after boxing. Colourpicture Publishers, Inc. · Public domain

The real Miami Beach

After he retired from the ring in 1954, the family moved to Miami Beach, where he opened a nightclub. An obituary says he owned the nightclub in Miami for a time, then dabbled in show business and commercials.

He died in a Miami-area hospital in September 2017, at 95.

Our sources give no street address for his club, so it is not on the map. The film never went to Florida.

Where this comes from

Fontainebleau Miami Beach

4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach

Not connected to the film: Morris Lapidus’s 1954 hotel on Collins Avenue, from the Miami Beach decade when LaMotta ran his club in the town. Pictured: Collins Avenue in 1955.

Check rooms

A tall pale tower with a gilded crown on a corner of Central Park South — 106 Central Park South, once the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel, in May 2026. Ajay Suresh · CC BY 4.0

106 Central Park South

A hotel built for musicians.

The hotel opened on 12 May 1930 as the first music-art residence in the United States, with halls for concerts, recitals, dance and drama. It is now the Trump Parc apartment building.

The movie-locations guide

The movie-locations guide says the older LaMotta rehearses Brando’s contender speech from On the Waterfront in the old Barbizon Plaza Theatre.

The AFI Catalog

The AFI Catalog lists the dressing room among the scenes shot in Los Angeles that December.

Two accounts of one rehearsal. We keep both.

A 1940s hotel room with twin beds, armchairs and tall curtained windows — A room at the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel, photographed for the Gottscho-Schleisner studio in 1942. Gottscho-Schleisner Collection · Public domain

Private apartments now: see the tower and its gilded crown from Central Park South.

Where this comes from

The Plaza

The Plaza, New York

768 Fifth Avenue, New York · Rates on booking · (212) 759-3000

Not a filming location: the hotel at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, a block from the old Copa on East 60th and a short walk from the Barbizon-Plaza. Open since 1 October 1907; 282 rooms, 102 of them suites. Pictured: the Copa in 1949.

Check rooms

Three people pose together: a young blonde woman in black, Jake LaMotta in a suit, and Vikki LaMotta in a pink jumper — Cathy Moriarty, Jake LaMotta and Vikki LaMotta, photographed by Bernard Gotfryd (dated 1980 or 1987 by the Library of Congress). Bernard Gotfryd · Public domain

After the scale

1964The real LaMotta gives a one-night show at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel.
December 1979Filming ends in New York in late December 1979.
14 November 1980The film opens on 14 November 1980 in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.
1981De Niro wins Best Actor and Thelma Schoonmaker Film Editing; the film has six more nominations.

Where this comes from

160 · level

Make the weight.
Here is where it all is now.

Where it is now

11 places you can visit, from Pelham Parkway to the Olympic Auditorium. The Florida house and the West 56th Street apartment are private homes, named and not mapped; LaMotta’s Miami Beach club has no address to pin.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public parkway with a long grass mall. The apartment interiors were private homes: walk the parkway, not the stairs.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The gym left in 1974. The Hub is a crossroads of shops and subway stairs today.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working gym. Open Monday to Friday 5am to 10pm, weekends 6am to 6pm; check the rates before you go.

Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, westbound, in 2020. Bebo2good1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pelham Parkway, the Bronx
Pelham Parkway, the Bronx
In the film LaMotta’s neighbourhood is Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, where the apartment interiors were shot.
A public parkway with a long grass mall. The apartment interiors were private homes: walk the parkway, not the stairs.
Where this comes from
The Hub, at East 149th Street and Third Avenue in the Bronx, in 2022. Bebo2good1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
East 149th Street and Third Avenue, the Bronx
The Hub, where Gleason’s began
Gleason’s Gym was founded at the Hub, 149th Street and Third Avenue, in the heart of the Bronx, and has been going since 1937.
The gym left in 1974. The Hub is a crossroads of shops and subway stairs today.
Where this comes from
Gleason’s Gym at 130 Water Street, Brooklyn, in 2019. Wgreaves · CC BY-SA 4.0
130 Water Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn
Gleason’s Gym, Brooklyn
Gleason’s is at 130 Water Street now, in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge.
A working gym. Open Monday to Friday 5am to 10pm, weekends 6am to 6pm; check the rates before you go.
Where this comes from

Stay

By the Copa, by the old MGM lot, on Collins Avenue.

The Plaza on Fifth Avenue, the Culver Hotel in Culver City and the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach. None is a filming location.

The Plaza

The Plaza, New York

768 Fifth Avenue, New York · Rates on booking · (212) 759-3000

Not a filming location: the hotel at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, a block from the old Copa on East 60th and a short walk from the Barbizon-Plaza. Open since 1 October 1907; 282 rooms, 102 of them suites. Pictured: the Copa in 1949.

Check rooms

The Culver Hotel

The Culver Hotel, Culver City

Culver City · Rates on booking · 310-558-9400

Not a filming location: a 1924 hotel at 9400 Culver Boulevard with 46 rooms and suites and jazz in the lobby, close to the old MGM lot where the fights were shot. Pictured: the lot’s Motor Gate.

Check rooms

Fontainebleau Miami Beach

4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach

Not connected to the film: Morris Lapidus’s 1954 hotel on Collins Avenue, from the Miami Beach decade when LaMotta ran his club in the town. Pictured: Collins Avenue in 1955.

Check rooms

Go there