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Classic New York Movies

Classic New York Movies: "You've Got Mail" and a Sweet UWS Apartment

March 20, 2008 at 4:00 PM | 0 Comments

Visit our Classic NYC Movies Map to... hey, what's that sound? Sorry, we got distracted by our 1998 e-mail.

When "You've Got Mail" opened in theatres and made a jillion dollars, we were young, naive non-New Yorkers. Why wouldn't a children's book store owner (Meg Ryan) and a publishing magnate (Tom Hanks) meet on AOL and eventually fall in love?

We had a screen name, we were fairly sure how it worked. Well, the Internet has changed a lot since then, but this movie is still a prime Sunday-afternoon cable pick--and its sense of Upper West Side geography pretty sound.

Well, sound with one big exception, and it's not that the Upper West Side is full of pretty people living decent lives. The bookstore Kathleen owns, the Shop Around the Corner, doesn't exist. Why location scouts didn't bother to find another of the many, many independent children's books in the city (like Books of Wonder or the Bank Street Bookstore) is beyond us, but you can see the storefront which stood in for Kathleen's shop at 169 West 69th Street. (It sells cheese and antiques.)

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Classic New York Movies

Classic New York Movies: Where We Met Harry and Sally

February 28, 2008 at 1:30 PM | 2 Comments

Now that the Oscars are over, we're back to classic New York movies. Check out our map--just don't call it Sheldon.

1989's "When Harry Met Sally" begins in Chicago, but the story of a woman and a man who become friends over several years is at its heart a New York story, shaped by the experiences writer Nora Ephron and director Rob Reiner as singles and divorcés in the city.

Harry and Sally may have lived uptown, but most of their adventures head downtown, like that memorable meal at Katz's Deli (205 E. Houston Street). You could have what she's having, but we recommend the pastrami. Their encounter at a bookstore should drive you to support the indie Shakespeare and Co. (downtown location at 716 Broadway), maybe even order some flowers from the local Plant Shed (2750 Broadway) instead of 1-800-FLOWERS.

Too broke from buying and furnishing your way-too-deluxe uptown apartment? Remember the admission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a "suggested donation." Maybe visiting these sites aren't great date material, but on the other hand, Harry and Sally started as friends first...

Related Stories:
· Classic New York Movies coverage [Jaunted]
· Movie Set Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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