The Ghostbuster Building

A friend told me she was sure the apartment building in the classic 1984 film Ghostbusters wasn't a real place. It is. It was made to look much larger in the movie, and certain Gate Keeper / Key Master-shaped gargoyles were added, but the building is real. It's at 55 Central Park West across the street from Central Park's Tavern on the Green (where Rick Moranis runs to and smears his hands on the windows before becoming possessed by the hellhound).

According to New York Magazine, the Art Deco building was built in 1930. Real Estate agents call it "second tier" and "run-of-the-mill luxury" these days, but the penthouses up top are fabulous. One penthouse, a 4,500 square feet apartment once occupied by Calvin Klein, is empty, but owned by Steve Gottlieb of TVT Records. He was offered $20 million for it, but won't sell. Diane Sawyer and husband Mike Nichols tried to buy it but Gottlieb beat them to it.

The fire station that the Ghostbusters HQ was in is real, too. It's a working station in TriBeCa at 14 North Moore Street. I'll go find that later.