Colorado Radio DJ Stumbles Upon Famous Movie Building in New York

I just returned from five glorious days in Manhattan. This is what happens when you send a radio guy out of Grand Junction, Colorado, to the Big Apple.

You'll find an endless list of fascinating things to do in Manhattan. Among the lengthy list of "must-sees," you'll encounter the occasional oddity or two. Here's one I stumbled upon while walking from the World Trade Center back to Midtown.

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Why Manhattan?

My travel plans had originally involved leaving the United States. The flight to LaGuardia in New York was necessary to catch my connection to Europe. Unfortunately, between COVID and Russia, my travel plans were canceled. Since I already had my tickets to New York, I decided "Why not?"

Manhattan on a Radio Budget

I'm not rich. New York is very expensive. Put those together, and you get Waylon Jordan on foot hiking all over midtown and lower Manhattan. The great thing about the poor man's method of exploring Manhattan - you see stuff. You'd be surprised what you find around Manhattan when you're on foot with a budget of $30 a day.

An Example of What You'll Find When Exploring Manhattan

The possibilities are endless in Manhattan: the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center, the Theater District, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, Central Park, Lincoln Center, Julliard, and so much more. You could visit all of those locations on foot in less than a day.

If you walk around enough, you'll eventually stumble across something unexpected. Take a look a the image directly below. Does it look familiar? It should. As a matter of fact, it's precisely what you think it is.

Yep, that's the Ghostbusters firehouse. You'll find it at 1400 N Moore Street in lower Manhattan, only 7/10ths a mile from the World Trade Center.

Its proper name is Firehouse Hook & Ladder Company 8. It was built in 1903. According to Wikipedia, at one time the building had two vehicle doors but was halved in size in 1913 when Varick Street was widened.

Interesting Footnote in History

According to AV Club, firefighters from Hook & Ladder No. 8 were among the first to respond during the attacks of September 11, 2001. Later, the firehouse faced closure, but a public campaign supported by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio kept the station in service.

Was The Interior Of The Building Used In The Movie?

No. The station served for the exterior scenes, but the interior shots were filmed in Los Angeles in both a studio and at the decommissioned Fire Station No. 23.

Waylon's Recommendation When Visiting Manhattan

The next time you visit Manhattan, please consider using the "on-foot" method of transportation. Even the locals advised me to avoid signing up for the various city tours. Manhattan's not that big, and many of its most fascinating sites don't show up on tourist sites' radar.