NEIGHBORHOOD TIME TRAVELING, PT. 2: "NAKED CITY" (SEASON 2, EPISODE 22)

 Naked City wasn't the only TV series shot on location in New York. It wasn't even the first. But it was the best. Of course, if you live in New York today and watch it on Amazon Prime, you play the game of "Hey, I Know Where That Is!" 

In Part One of "Neighborhood Time Traveling", I compared the then-and-now views of the boardwalk along the East River, just a block from where I live.

A recent episode featured a return to my neighborhood. One scene took place on the foot & bike bridge at East 103rd Street that we take to get to Randall's Island in the middle of the East River. In the first photo, we see Luther Adler (brother of acting guru Stella Adler).

Don't let that innocent look fool you, for his character is an emotionless sociopath. Appropriately, that's the Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Randall's Island behind him. There seems to be a pier on the left where boats are kept. Today...

A fence has been erected all along the bridge to prevent jumpers from jumping. The psych center still exists, obviously. The squat buildings seen over Adler's right shoulder are gone, as is the pier. The white and brown buildings on the right today make up the NYC Riding Academy, which was built in 1988. Drop by if you feel like saddling up.

Adler is now on the opposite side of the bridge, and has been joined by Susan Oliver. The FDR Drive is in the background, with fewer cars than on an average day now. The large white building looming over the scene is the Metropolitan Hospital on 1st Avenue & 97th Street. Fun fact: I worked on two shows at that hospital: Madam Secretary (where I wasn't seen) and the pilot episode of a police series that was never picked up. I hope other people have better luck there than me.

The view today through the fence:

The once-dominant Metropolitan Hospital is now barely visible behind several newer buildings. A grey parking garage can also be seen now. The four story apartment building in the middle of the screenshot is gone. Several newer high-rise apartment buildings are visible in the background where there used to be none. When I see photos like this, I'm shocked that Manhattan hasn't sunk under its own weight.

Reverse shot:

Randall's Island is on the left behind the very sad-looking Susan Oliver. You can tell it was filmed in the winter because the trees are bare. (Naked City's original lead actor John McIntire quit midway through the first season because he hated New York winters, and returned to Los Angeles. Coward!)

When Susan Oliver collapses into Adler's arms, it gives us more of a view of the borough of Queens, which appears nearly unchanged from how it likely looked in the early 20th-century. You can also get a better look at the Randall's Island path along the water.

Today:

The trees are in full bloom on this hot summer day. Whatever that building was on Randall's Island is long gone. In Queens, the big building with the slanted roof is gone. Condos have sprung up along the water, while on the right you can catch a glimpse of one of the many high-rise office towers that have shot up in the last few years. 

Yes, lots of changes on all sides of the East River. But somehow things don't look as interesting as they did 60 years ago. I'm going to keep a lookout for the ghosts of Luther Adler and Susan Oliver each time I cross the bridge to Randall's Island, though. 

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