UPDATE: The candy store location may in fact be on 61st Street and 4th Avenue and so I have added a link to Google Maps under the location I thought it was. Also, since this page was created, The Riffs basement hangout is confirmed to be at 742 Greenwich Street. I am still hunting down the gas station and Baseball Furies hangout locations!
During a visit to New York in September 2015 I managed to visit the filming locations used in The Warriors. Filming took place across the city in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens but strangely not in The Bronx which is where the famous conclave scene was supposed to take place. As you’ll see, the filming locations used by the production team often don’t match up to the locations where the scenes were supposed to be set. Let’s start the journey…
This is part one of the filming locations feature. Click here for part two and here for part three.
The first scene comes from the deleted introduction and shows The Warriors on the boardwalk in Coney Island.
As you can see, the shops and restaurants along the front have changed somewhat over the years but it is still very much recognisable.
So, moving on to the real first scene of the movie, we see The Wonder Wheel.
I am pleased to say that this icon of Coney Island is still there and still going strong. I visited during the summer so was able to go for a ride!
Cleon announces that the conclave is still on and we see various talking heads of The Warriors talking about Cyrus and their journey up to The Bronx. We are also treated to various scenes of different gangs making their way through various subway stations on their way to the conclave. Whilst the talking head shots were filmed under the platform in Coney Island, it is difficult to work out exactly where all the shots of the gangs were filmed. I suspect most of these were filmed at Union Square and Hoyt-Schermerhorn where other subway shots were filmed. Some of the details on the subway walls and ceiling in these scenes also indicate that this was likely the case. This shot of The Boyle Avenue Runners is recognisable and was filmed at Union Square.
Note that the original “To Street” sign is still on the wall.
Finally, The Warriors, along with all the other gangs, find themselves at the Conclave in The Bronx – except it’s not The Bronx but Riverside Park in Manhattan just off the intersection of Riverside Drive and West 96th Street.
The park looks a lot smaller than it appears in the movie. Cyrus was set up in the centre of the oval whilst a fence ran along the back blocking the view of what is now a dinosaur playground.
Here’s the view from the platform Cyrus was standing on.
Here it is in the daytime with no gangs. The arches and railings are instantly recognisable.
Here is a shot of some of the gangs against one of the curved walls in the park.
Here is how it looks today.
Here is another closeup of some of the gangs in front of the archways.
The park hasn’t really changed in all these years.
After Cyrus gets shot, the cops arrive at the gates to the park (off of Riverside Drive).
These may even be the original gates.
Meanwhile a bunch of cops also show up at the main gates (off of West 96th Street) which lead on to the top of the park above the arches.
You can still see the distinctive top to these gates in the image below.
As the gangs start to flee the scene, we see this shot from the side of the park.
It looks like the original lampposts are still used to this day.
Some gang members, including an Electric Eliminator, climb up some scaffolding in front of the arches.
The scaffolding may have been installed for the movie but it is not there today.
The Warriors then fight their way through the fence behind Cyrus and run past the ramp behind the park.
The fence was probably installed as part of the movie set. It is absent from the park today.
The Warriors then run into a graveyard which was filmed in The Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn.
As you enter the cemetery from Bushwick Avenue, follow the main road straight, ignoring the turnings to the left and right, and these graves appear on the left, not far from the entrance.
Fox finds his way through these gravestones.
As you can see these were real graves and not movie props.
Rembrandt climbs up a statue to look for the subway.
The statue is still there although it looks a bit more weathered now than it did in the movie as you might expect.
Here’s a closeup of Rembrandt at the top of the statue.
The statue is located very close the gravestones above and can easily be spotted. Rembrandt would have been able to see Broadway Junction (named Eastern Parkway at the time) subway station from here.
The Warriors then walk off towards Broadway Junction subway station.
Note that the lamp is no longer present. This is likely to have been a prop used by Andrew Laszlo to light the scene even though it would be strange to have a lamp in this part of the cemetery. It also looks like there are prop gravestones and memorials in this scene including the one Rembrandt marks with spray paint.
After The Riffs send out the word to all the other gangs in New York to find The Warriors, when “Nowhere to Run” plays, we see a shot of an underpass.
This shot is back in Manhattan right next to the scene where the conclave is filmed. This is West 96th Street under Riverside Drive. This scene was also used in a deleted scene where The Warriors are trying to find the meeting. They were very close!
The scene in the storm was shot just outside The Evergreens Cemetery on Stewart Street.
The ‘AL’ graffiti is still there but is now barely visible. The area beyond the tunnel looks quite different.
From the tunnel the gang run up this road with a distinctive wall.
The road they are running up is Cooke Court. By going this way they are heading away from the subway station.
Next up, The Warriors have to get past the Turnbull ACs and on to the elevated subway platform.
Sadly this entrance to the subway is now long gone. It is located on Conway Street near to Broadway.
The elevated subway gantry in this area made for a great filming location for the Turnbull ACs turf.
This scene was filmed on Broadway close to Conway Street and Stewart Street.
The Warriors make it back on to the subway but are forced off the train by a fire in Tremont. However, this isn’t Tremont but Queens.
This was shot on 23rd Street between 45th Road and 45th Avenue.
Here is a closeup of the area with the fire. It is just around the corner from where The Warriors meet The Orphans and is right below the subway station.
The area is still an empty lot.
As The Warriors exit the subway, we see Luther and The Rogues turn up at a candy store.
It was thought that this was filmed on 1st Avenue near East First Street on in East Village near Bowery…
Luther goes to make his phone call at the soda fountain.
Whist this locksmith shop was thought to be the location, it might actually be this location on 61st Street and 4th Avenue – the United Glass store is still there (with the same phone number on their sign) which would mean that the candy store was in the tire shop. Thanks to Jose M. Serrano for the inside knowledge!
This is part one of the filming locations feature. Click here for part two and here for part three.