Tootsie Reality Tour

The Tootsie Reality Tour

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | Home

In 2005, I visited a number of the New York City locations used in filming the movie Tootsie to see how they have changed over the last 23 years.

Location 1 - The loft.
This is where Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels (Dustin Hoffman) and Jeff Slater (Bill Murray) lived. It was set in a somewhat run-down section of the city and had the ambiance of a cavernous old artist's studio/freewheeling bachelor pad. This was one of the most difficult spots to locate. In one shot from the movie (shown below) Dorothy leaves the loft to attend her first day of work. We can easily see that the street number of the building is 15-17. By zooming in on the awning of the furniture store next door, we see a phone number and an address that appears to be 13 W. 16th Street. However, the cars are facing in the wrong direction for 16th Street, which goes West. With that in mind, I tried 18th Street, and as soon as I turned onto the street, I knew it was the one. The street has been markedly improved in the last two decades, with all of the vacant and industrial storefronts replaced with trendy shops and restaurants.

Scene from Tootsie - 1982:

Same spot in 2005: They really cleaned this area up. Note the "P" shaped square design in the wall just to the right of the "15" in each shot.

In the following shot, Dorothy yells out the window to reluctantly invite John Van Horn (George Gaynes) up to the loft after he sings to her from the street. Surprisingly, Dorothy is actually yelling from a window at this location. I would have expected that this shot was from a different location.

The same building in 2005. I wonder if the current resident of the left unit knows that Dustin Hoffman yelled out of his window in 1982.

Continue on to part 2, "The Sherry Netherland", or return Home.

The movie images above are the property of the copyright owners. For more information e-mail alanboris at aol.com

242-3967