The New York Yacht Club from “Hannah and Her Sisters”

While filming locations are, of course, my first love, I am all about discovering unique, off-the-beaten-path, non-Hollywood-related landmarks and hidden gems, as well (as evidenced here, here and here).  So my interest was immediately piqued when, shortly before my 2016 trip to the Big Apple, my friend/fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, informed me of a building known as the New York Yacht Club that boasts highly unusual ship-like windows.  Photos of the structure I found online only served to further my intrigue and I promptly added the site to my stalking itinerary.  In person, it did not disappoint.  I was completely taken with the whimsical property and snapped numerous photographs of it, never imagining it was a filming locale.  So imagine my excitement when I spotted it pop up in Hannah and Her Sisters while scanning through the 1986 dramedy in preparation for my recent post on Bemelmans Bar.  Though its appearance in the flick is extremely brief, I figured the building was still most-definitely deserving of a write-up.

The New York Yacht Club was originally established in 1844 by 9 sailing enthusiasts.  Though initially headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, the group moved to its current home, a Beaux Arts-style stunner located at 37 West 44th Street in Midtown, in 1901.  Designed by the Warren and Wetmore architecture firm, who also gave us Grand Central Terminal, the stunning structure, which cost $350,000 to complete, features an elaborate maritime-inspired limestone façade with a grand main entrance, fourth floor rooftop terrace, and massive wooden pergola.

The building’s pièce de résistance, though, is a set of 3 towering bay windows that were built to resemble the sterns of 16th Century Dutch ships.  The mammoth oriels, situated on the club’s second floor, are held up by carved cascading waves that appear seconds from spilling onto the pavement below.

The galleon-style windows are fanciful, cartoonish, and striking all at the same time and very reminiscent, to me at least, of those located at the rear of Captain Hook’s pirate ship.

Of the Yacht Club’s eccentric design, The New York Times stated in a 1906 article, “Except for the absence of motion, one might fancy oneself at sea.”

Though the NYYC’s exterior is exquisite, its interior is even more impressive, with a Grill Room modeled after the hull of a wooden ship, a sprawling library that houses more than 13,000 books, and an extravagant 100-foot long Model Room that is capped by a giant Tiffany-designed stained glass ceiling.  Sadly, only members and invited guests are allowed past the front door to see the spectacle.  The rest of us have to make due with admiring the stunning interior from afar via the various photos and videos that can be found online.

In addition to its architecture, the private, invitation-only club is famous for its extensive roster of prominent past and current members which include John Jacob Astor, William F. Buckley Jr., Ted Kennedy, Michael Bloomberg, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, Walter Cronkite, Ted Turner, J.P. Morgan, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.  The NYYC is also known for having not only won the America’s Cup in 1851, but managing to hang on to the coveted trophy until 1983, when it was lost to the Australia-based Royal Perth Yacht Club.

And the club can add “filming location” to its already-impressive bio.  In Hannah and Her Sisters, David (Sam Waterston) takes April (Carrie Fisher) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) on a tour of some of his favorite architectural landmarks, which includes a brief drive-by of the New York Yacht Club.

The club is also visible in the background of the scene in which “Wall Street King” Eli Colton (Tate Donovan) and his drug dealer Harry Ingram (Will Brill) discuss a payoff in the Season 18 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled “Net Worth,” which aired in 2017.

Though some online sources have claimed that the Yale Club scene from the 2000 drama American Psycho was lensed at the NYYC, that is not, in fact, correct.  The segment was actually shot at the Consort Bar at The Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Canada.

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Big THANK YOU to my friend Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, for telling me about and taking me to this location! 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The New York Yacht Club, from Hannah and Her Sisters, is located at 37 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

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