Tribeca, New York: The Real Ghostbusters Firehouse

Photo: Firehouse, Hook and Ladder 8 by Kidfly182, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Our first Neighborhood of the Week is Tribeca, in Lower Manhattan, home to one of the most recognizable buildings in movie history.

Who You Gonna Call? Hook & Ladder 8

At 14 North Moore Street, on the corner of Varick Street, stands the firehouse of Hook & Ladder Company 8. You know it as the Ghostbusters headquarters. The 1984 film used it for the outside shots of the team's base. The inside scenes were filmed in Los Angeles, on a studio set and at an old Los Angeles firehouse, Fire Station No. 23.

Why a firehouse? An early version of the script imagined the Ghostbusters as a city service, like police or firefighters, so a fire station made a natural home base.

The building has its own history, too. It opened in 1903 as one of the first in a series of Beaux-Arts firehouses designed by Alexander H. Stevens, the city's superintendent of buildings. It used to be about twice as big. When Varick Street was widened in 1913, the firehouse was cut down to its current size.

Still a Working Firehouse

Photo: Ghostbusters Firehouse by Daniel Schnerf, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This isn't a museum. Hook & Ladder 8 is an active FDNY company. In 2011, the city planned to close 20 fire companies to save money, and this one was on the list. A public campaign, with help from actor Steve Buscemi, kept it open. A $6 million renovation followed from 2016 to 2018.

Fans still stop by for photos. The Ghostbusters logo sign from the movies still hangs in the station, and in 2021 a group of fans called the Buffalo Ghostbusters raised money for a full-size replica sign that now hangs above the front door. Every June, around "Ghostbusters Day" on June 8, fans gather for a fundraiser. The firehouse has also turned up in Hitch and an episode of Seinfeld.

One tip if you visit: it's a working firehouse, so keep the doors clear.

Rep Tribeca

Live in Tribeca, grew up there, or just love it? Grab the Tribeca Neighborhoodie. Nearby, we also make the Financial District Neighborhoodie and the Greenwich Village Neighborhoodie. Not your neighborhood? We make Neighborhoodies for more than 21,000 neighborhoods across the country, so find yours or browse more Manhattan Neighborhoodies.

Next up: Sleepy Hollow, New York, where the Headless Horseman rides.

Know a neighborhood with a story we should tell? Email us at hi@704shop.com and it could be next.

Sources: Wikipedia: Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8; Atlas Obscura: The Tribeca Fire Station That Got a Starring Role in Ghostbusters