My trip to the "Corleone Mall"!

Well, this was close to a religious experience. I just returned from visiting the Corleone "Mall". I can't believe how the house still looks exactly as it did 30+ years ago in the movie. (Minus the fake stone walls) Here are a couple of pictures. If anyone want the full-sized, high resolution pics, just message me. Feel free to use them as you like.

Nic Pics Beautiful House

The only thing surprising is that the house isn't really that big. It's much smaller than expected. It does have a very large piece of property though.

Wow! Great pics. Thanks for sharing. It's nice you were able to get that close to take the pictures.

Great Pics. Is that the house that they filmed in, or did they film on a set?

It was real strange feeling being on that block, being able to get so close to the house, and walking
where some great scenes were filmed. I imagined what is was like when they were filming some of the wedding scenes right where I was walking.

I believe most, if not all of the indoor scenes were a set.

It seems to me that the Don's office was pretty much the entire house. The Don's office was a HUGE room, that's what made you believe that the rest of the house was bigger.

Yeah, it seems the only rooms on the first floor were Vito's den, the kitchen and the small living room. I don't think we ever got that much of a look of the upstairs. I don't think the house was that big.

Yeah, when the steps were shown, the upstairs looked kinda small.

Where is the house located?

what I wouldn't give to own that house

I bet its worth a few quid

I don't know what a quid is but I'll say yes

Do people live there? I noticed that beware of dog sign..

Nope, here in America the dog lives in the house and the people live outside LOL I couldn't help myself

I would imagine people live there, I did about a year ago for the house and it said someone was living there.

Nice job, JL!

I wonder if the "Beware of Dog" sign means theres a real dog there or is just to keep sight-seers away.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

There were no signs of people or a dog. In fact, that gate wan't even closed. I had to fight temptation to walk in.

maybe the owners were at the vet

I'll bet.

Nice Pics!!!!


So tell me something, besides getting the urge to walk in, did you yell out ".... get off your asses..."

I believe that right next door, at 120 Longfellow, the wedding scene was shot on those grounds.


Don Cardi

Those are great! Got anymore?

I heard that the wedding was filmed at 120, but after being there, I can tell you the outdoor wedding party was definitely filmed at 110. In the bottom picture, you can see a small stone wall that surrounds the large yard at 110 Longefellow. In the movie, there was a fake large stone wall around it. It is clearly shown from above, during the begining of the wedding. 120 Longfellow is at the end of the block. The only scene in the movie that I know is filmed from this location is when Mike, Tom and a few others are standing outside when Carlo is killed. They are standing in front of 120, and as Carlo is driven off, Mike walks over to 110.

Yes, but due to server limits, I can only post a couple. In fact, the server is about to hit the 100MB, 24 hour limit. I guess a lot of people are looking at them. Anyone that wants them, just email me. They are quite large though.

I'm trying a new server that supposedly has unlimted
bandwidth. Here's a few more pictures. If it works, I'll move the other pictures. In the bottom two pictures is the large yard where the wedding took place.

Just lou- is this the house with the driveway that had the big chain across it right after Sonny was killed?

WOW! What great shots! I suppose I have permission to add them to the GF site, right?

Did you get any of 120 Longfellow, or any other GF locations?

BTW - Those shots are beautiful! What camera do you have??

Yes. But it's not really a driveway. The stone gate, fence and sometimes "chain" were just added in the middle of the street. The house is near the end of a
dead end. They made the entire end of the street the "Corleone Mall". In the top pictures you see a view looking down the street where the fake stone gate/chain went across.

JL- so the 4th pic is the street the house is on?

(It kind of looks like it's the street BEHIND the house if you get wha I'm saying, just trying to understand lol)

I didn't take any of 120 Longfellow. There wasn't much to see of it. I should have taken some more pictures of 110 Longfellow's large yard where the wedding was shot. Oh well. Next trip. I think I was hypnotized from actually standing in front of the house, and standing on the same spot where so many stars walked in and out during the movie. That was the only GF location I took. I took a quick ride over there this afternoon. Took about 30 minutes from my house. My camera is nothing special. It's a Kodak DX6340 3.1 mega pixel with 4X zoom. Feel free to do what you want with the pictures.

Yes. That is the steet the house is on. The front is blocked by trees when looking down the street. In the movie, the large fake stone gate/entrance was built across this street, and the small stone wall you see on the right was surrounded by a fake, larger stone wall. During the weeding, this is also where all the cars were parked, and the FBI was checking out the license plates.

Grazie! now I see what you are saying.

I am definitly looking into buying that house if it ever goes on the market!

You'll have to outbid me. The house is actually very modest. The property is very large though. The yard where the wedding was held is awesome. I wonder if the people that own it now, know how famous it is?
I would assume so.

I would just love to restore it back to what it looked like during the movie.


I'm sure the owners hear all the time " did you know that is the etc.."


put a fake doll of Vito in the window like they have for the hitchcock mansion in Florida lol

The house looks totally unchanged from the movie. Even the color is identical. Besides the fake stone wall, the only difference from the movie I could tell is in the scene after Sonny strikes back at Bruno Tattaglia. When Michael, Clemenza, and the rest of the regime are walking back into the house, there is a man with a gun on a second floor balcony. There are no balconies on these windows. They have either been removed, or were just props.

Fantastic pictures JL! So close up. I don't blame you at all for being tempted to walk thru that gate. Only a true GF fan would understand just how awesome it would be.


TIS

Almost like someone wanting to sit at a desk

So true DMC!!! Only those here understand the thrill that would be!!

TIS

TIS- that is the sort of crime you get arrested for and just HOPE the judge belongs to this board

you: "I just wanted to take a look at the front door"
judge: "You mean you didn't go inside? You showed great self control, I would have been sitting in the Don's office! Case dismissed"

Awesome pictures man, great job. God I wish I lived up there.

After looking closely at the real house I see I've never noticed the wood gate before (the one on which the "Beware of Dog" sign is posted).

Here's JL's pic of the entranceway, and below is roughly the same view from the movie (thats Connie running into the house near the end of the film - you can clearly see the wood gate).





I love looking at the real-life scenes and comparing them.... thanks, again, JL.

That's a cool comparison. You can really see how the entrance hasn't changed in almost 35 years.

Its short for a pound.Just likes "bucks" is short for the dollar

I've heard that the location on Staten Island was, in fact, the location of the wedding scene. I've also heard that the compound is located on Long Island. In your photos, I don't see the area that served as the entrance to the compound (the spot where a chain stretched across when Michael returned with Clemenza and both learned that "we hit Bruno Tattaglia at 4 o'clock this morning"). I'm going to New York for the first time in 3 weeks and I'd love to visit the actual location. Which is it?

The compound's address in the movie was located on Long Island. The real address is actually 110 Longfellow Ave on Staten Island. The entrance to the compound was fake. If you look in this photo, the entrance was located between where the car and truck are parked. To the right is the large yard where the wedding was shot. This street is also where the cars for the wedding were parked, and the FBI was checking the plates.

Thanks, JL. I can see exactly what you're referring to. I can't wait to go there in a few weeks.

the owners of the house changed the brick in the entrance way.


I wonder if it's still the same exact gate from the movie?


SC- how do you get all of these screenshots?

It looks like the same gate... If you have a DVD program like WinDVD 6 on your computer, it's easy to capture any scene you want. That's how I made my avatar.

JLou your pictures are really great!! How exciting for you! How cool that you were just able to drive up and start shooting pictures - they obviously don't have a neighborhood watch- but I'm sure everyone who lives there knows how famous that neighborhood is. What a great field trip.
SC, your comparison photo idea was awesome; it's creepy to see the "real" house with the movie house (even though it was the real house)

Get ready for my "Sequel Visit" thread. I got to meet the elderly owner, and he told me some little secrets.

Great! Will stayed tuned!

I have been away from this site for a while but now Im glad Im back..what great pics..the entrence with the chain....is this where the scene was shot with Diane Keaton trying to leave but Tom said she couldnt?? do you have any more..??

You are thinking of GF2 at Lake Tahoe.

DM you are soo right..I was having a blonde moment..so what am I thinking of..maybe when Kay came to give a note to Tom....was this the same entrence as the pics show???

yes. The picture of the long street is actually the driveway in the movie. It is when Kay shows up to give Tom the note, they move the car and the big chain out of the way and that is also the scene where Kay asks about the car that was blown up.

Here's another "then and now" of 120 Longfellow Ave. This is the scene after Carlo's murder, and a picture I took yesterday. The only difference is the door is now painted brown.

Wonderful job, JL.... keep 'em coming!

Another thing I never noticed before, but you can plainly see it in the movie frame (as well as in your pic) is the house number.

Ok.

Super awesome. I am emailing these to my sister Angel who's a huge GF fan and she's practically having a coronary!

These photos are great. I will be in New York in a few weeks and I plan on making the trip to Staten Island to see the houses. Meet me out there JL...I'll bring the canolli.

I never realized how small Al Neri actually was

One more....

You can clearly see the same window on the left. The trees sure have grown up in front of 120...too bad.

Send me a message when you're going to be here. Maybe
we can get a bunch of board members to meet.

One of the reasons I waited until winter to visit was, I figured the trees wouldn't be blocking the buildings so much, and I'd get some better shots.

Here's something I noticed from GF Part II. In the scene where Frank Pentangeli returns to the old Corleone House, they didn't bother to put the fake wall around the compound. You can clearly see the modest ranch style house across the street. FWIW, when I was there this house was either rebuilt or completely renovated.

Richard Bright is listed as 5'9", but he doesn't look much taller than the 5'6" Pacino.

Just got back from NYC last night. Made the trip over to Staten Island to see the "mall". How awesome. A great experience. I also walked the hallway in the Hotel Edison where Luca Brazi walked before he got whacked. If you haven't been there, you gotta go...it's truly awesome.

I plan to vist some of the NYC sites when the weather gets warm. I'm over the City a lot, and never took any pictures of GF sites. I'm going to next time over there. ....Nothing is going to beat the "Corleone Mall" though.

Hey Chicago Jim,

I stayed at the Edison in 03 when I was in NYC and walked the same hallway. !! I would like to see the mall someday too.


TIS

Don't they have "Malls" out in California yet?
Oh, you mean the Corleone Mall

Well what are you waiting for? The door is always open!

Don Cardi

I can't believe you saw that house!! I had no idea that people actually lived there...how cool would that be?! I would have walked through the gates. It would be worth it to be arrested for trespassing just to get that close!

Believe me, I wanted to walk through the gate, and go into the yard so bad it hurt. Check out this thread when I went back the next day and got to talk to the owner.

Trip to the Corleone Mall Part II

Wouldn't it be the epitome of cool if the owner let us all rent just the outside area for a big BB Bash???? Better yet, someone here on the BB gets married and we duplicate the "wedding" scene. Who else but us would truly appreciate it hu??

Ok, I'll be happy just to go to the gate I guess.


TIS

....I want to buy that house if it ever hits the market.

Funny that you say that TIS! Not far from the "Mall" is the church where we see The Corleone's outside after the baptism, the scene where Michael tells Carlo to stay in New York and not go on to Nevada just yet. Well the church is still there, although I think it has been refurbished on the outside since The GF movie, but on the grounds there is a huge CYO center that has been built that could probably accomadate a Gangster BB Bash! Right next to the GF church and only several miles from the "Mall". And it is only about 1/2 mile from my home.

SC and I will buy a bus, you all come to NY for a gangster bb bash, and SC and I will drive everyone to all the places in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Manhatten that were used for the GF movies! How's $20 per person sound?

Oh, and I know that you are a big Law and Order fan. Well believe it of not the outside of that same church was used on several Law and Order episodes.

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=158855


Don Cardi

I read the church burned down in the 70's and was rebuilt.The only thing that survived the fire was the front facade.

Yes, I believe that it did burn down right after the GF movie was released. I have posted a link above showing a current picture of the church.


Don Cardi

Count me in Don C. If they are not going to have the gangster convention this year that would make a nice plan B I'll be sure to bring plenty of film. I call a window seat

I did a search and found this:
"On Wednesday morning, 4:40 am, December 19, 1973, a fire that started in the boiler room destroyed the landmark church. Only the steeple and 4 charred granite and brick walls were left standing. The church was rebuilt in 1976."

For an extra 5 bucks a head we'll throw in The Bronx location, too!

DC and I actually talked about starting a tour business on the old boards. Geez, was that four years ago already?

Thanks for that pic, JL. I remember reading about the fire when I first did some research on this a few years back, but I never saw that photo before.

WOW! Time goes by really quick when you're amongst great friends!

Don Cardi

OMG!!!!!!!!! That would be absolutely terrific!!!

Really, you can't even imagine how I'd LOVE to do such a trip!

Quite cheap!

$20 bucks??? Is that the "family" discount?? Works for me. Just a tip for SC tho, better let DC do the driving.


TIS

EXCELLENT!


Don Cardi

can i get the pictures? the ones on this thead wont even show up and i really want to see them!

Yeah i cant see them too.

Wow. This thread brings back memories. If you click on THIS LINK, you can get all the pictures I took almost 3 years ago. Once on the site, the password is "corleone" to get the full size images from the site.

Great collection of pix, JL. Thanks for posting the link!

No problem. Now that I actually live about 5 miles away from the "mall", and own a much better camera, I promise to update my photos sometime soon.

Awesome Lou. Great work. Thanks!

Thanks for that Lou.