With Memorial Day fast approaching, CrediFi is kicking off the unofficial start to summer – and to movie season – a little early, by taking a look at some of the famous commercial buildings that have taken center stage in different movies throughout the years.
So grab some popcorn, get comfortable, and enjoy our homage to one of the often overlooked stars of the silver screen: commercial real estate.
Empire State Building
Any list of famous buildings in movies surely must start with the Empire State Building. One of the world’s most iconic structures, the Empire State Building has appeared in more than 250 films, whether in shots of New York City’s famous skyline, in the background of scenes, or as the location for the dramatic climax. Owned by Empire State Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust that focuses on retail and office holdings in Manhattan and the greater New York area, the skyscraper has been a staple of NYC-based films since shortly after its completion in 1931, when it held the title of tallest building in the world. The Empire State Building has made notable appearances in “An Affair to Remember,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy “Elf,” but none more iconic than “King Kong.” Both the original 1933 film and the 2005 remake feature the climactic final showdown atop the tower, which King Kong climbs in an attempt to escape his captors, only to be shot down by warplanes.
55 Central Park West
Who you gonna call? Thirty two years ago, the world was introduced to “Ghostbusters,” the ghost-fighting trio of Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz and Egon Spengler. There was definitely something strange going on in 55 Central Park West, the apartment building where Rick Moranis’ character Louis Tully, Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett, and the otherworldly demigod Zuul lived. Despite being only 20 stories high in real life, the film used matte paintings and models to make the building look taller. The building, an apartment co-op, has three loans issued in 2014 by Northern Trust Company for a total of $17 million. This summer, a new team of all-female ghostbusters will be the ones getting the call.
U.S. Bank Tower
Standing at 1,018 feet tall, the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. It has the unfortunate designation of being a building that’s often “destroyed” in disaster and alien invasion movies, specifically ones directed by Roland Emmerich. It’s the first building destroyed by alien spaceships in the 1996 Will Smith epic “Independence Day,” whose sequel is scheduled to premiere in June. In “The Day After Tomorrow,” the tower was hit by an F5 tornado, and in 2009’s end-of-the-world epic “2012” and the 2015 movie “San Andreas,” the skyscraper is seen crumbling in massive earthquakes. The building, which is still standing IRL, has a $220 million loan from Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation that is cross-collateralized with another Los Angeles property.
Bradbury Building
Having opened for business in 1893, the Bradbury Building is the oldest remaining commercial building in central Los Angeles. Known for its beautiful, ornate interior, the building has been designated a national landmark, and can frequently be spotted in films. The most well-known movie that used the Bradbury Building as a prominent location was the 1982 sci-fi classic “Blade Runner.” The dimly lit, yet still recognizable, interior was the site of that movie’s final confrontation between Rick Deckard and Roy Batty. More recently, the building served as the setting for the final scene of “(500) Days of Summer” and was featured in the 2012 Best Picture Oscar winner “The Artist.”
Terminal Tower
Located in downtown Cleveland’s Public Square, the Terminal Tower is at the heart of the mixed-use Tower City Center. The building, and Public Square, have been spotted in numerous movies since the Terminal Tower was built in 1930, including “The Deer Hunter,” “A Christmas Story” and “The Avengers.” The Terminal Tower has even popped up in movies by mistake. In “Spider-Man 3,” the Terminal Tower can be briefly spotted in the background of a scene that was supposed to be taking place in New York.
Waldorf Astoria
New York City’s Waldorf Astoria hotel is considered one of the world’s most famous. Designated as an official city-wide landmark in 1993, the hotel was sold in 2015 to China’s Anbang Insurance for $1.95 billion, a record for a US hotel. The hotel was the main setting for the 1945 Ginger Roberts film “Week-End at the Waldorf." Since then, more than a dozen movies have been shot or set in the Waldorf, including “Coming to America,” “Scent of a Woman” and “Maid in Manhattan.”
555 California Street
Standing at 779 feet, 555 California Street is the second-tallest building in San Francisco. The 52-story office tower, which is owned by Vornado Realty Trust (the majority owner) and the Trump Organization, was featured in the opening scene of the 1971 Clint Eastwood action classic “Dirty Harry,” in which Scorpio uses a sniper rifle to shoot a girl in a swimming pool on a hotel roof. The skyscraper was also used in last year’s disaster movie “San Andreas” as a meeting point between three main characters. But the building is most famous for appearing in the 1974 Oscar award-winning film “The Towering Inferno,” about a massive fire that threatens to destroy a colossal office building. The star-studded movie, with a cast including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and Fred Astaire as well as O.J. Simpson, used the exterior of 555 California, with an additional 50 stories of matte paintings to portray the movie’s Glass Tower. The real building is financed by a $600 million loan from Pacific Life Insurance, issued in 2011.
Fox Plaza
Fox Plaza in Los Angeles is the setting of the original 1988 “Die Hard,” the spot where Bruce Willis, as Officer John McClane, goes up against Alan Rickman, as German terrorist Hans Gruber. In the movie, the tower is known as Nakatomi Plaza. The building is owned and operated by the Irvine Group, and is a LEED Gold-certified property.
Whether in the background for a fleeting moment or as the main setting of a movie, commercial buildings have long been a part of our cinematic experience – even if, on film at least, they haven’t always managed to stay intact by the time the credits roll.
