(For the record, Miranda was technically born and raised in Inwood, a neighborhood located immediately uptown from Washington Heights at the very edge of Manhattan Island. Like Washington Heights, Inwood’s also known for its immigrant and Latino populations as well as its Latin food, music, culture and street life. So why the focus on the Heights? As Miranda told TheNew York Times years ago, “Washington Heights is hillier, it’s more climactic, it’s more well known, it’s more iconic. And it sings better.”) As any proud city kid would do, Miranda (along with the movie’s director, Jon M. Chu) made sure to showcase lots of the real-life Upper Manhattan landmarks he’s known throughout his life in his beloved musical. Before In the Heights hits theaters and HBO Max on Friday, June 11, take a stroll down Miranda’s memory lane with a look at the actual Washington Heights locations where the movie was made.
In the Heights Filming Locations
191st Street Subway Station
The 1 train, one of the main arteries of the New York City subway system, is the only train that passes through Washington Heights’ 191st Street Subway Station—which also happens to be the city’s most subterranean stop at about 173 feet below street level. For filming In the Heights, the colorful, mural-filled station was reportedly closed for three days.
Highbridge Pool
Get ready for a showstopping moment when one of the musical’s most high-flying songs, “96,000,” is staged at a public pool complete with a fleet of professional synchronized swimmers! (As luck would have it, Variety reported that it was unseasonably cold over the two days in June 2019 when the number was shot.) Highbridge Pool is located in Highbridge Park, which runs along the northeastern border of Manhattan Island.
J. Hood Wright Park
According to the film-location website SceenIt, the characters of Benny (Corey Hawkins) and Nina (Leslie Grace) will share a special moment at this city park located in the West 170s, famous for its beautiful views of the George Washington Bridge, which crosses over the Hudson River to connect Upper Manhattan to New Jersey. Besides that amazing bridge view, the park also boasts public art, a dog walk and natural rock caves!
Floridita Bar and Restaurant
According to the blog The Curious Uptowner during the filming of the movie show star JimmySmits, Chu and other cast and crew standing outside the Floridita Bar and Restaurant. While there are also two Floridita locations in Upper Manhattan—one in Washington Heights, another several blocks uptown in Inwood—it seems the latter was chosen as the movie’s filming location.
St. Nicholas Avenue
A hug of Washington Heights street life, St. Nicholas Avenue is just one place where actress DaschaPolanco was seen prancing around on the In the Heights set.
Domingo Grocery at Audubon Avenue and West 175th Street
The Curious Uptowner also reports that “a lot of the action—including what looks to be a big dance number with StephanieBeatriz front and center—takes place in this intersection in front of Usnavi’s fictional bodega, City Mart Tropical Products Deli.” Domingo Grocery was seemingly the real-life convenience store at that intersection that was given a “fakeover” to stand in for City Mart in the movie, but according to Yelp, it’s closed down since In the Heights was filmed back in 2019. In fact, so much of the movie was shot at this intersection that Miranda personally tweeted out his thanks to residents there after filming of the movie’s exterior scenes had wrapped. Next, find out why our movie critic calls In the Heights “a summer burst of salsa-flavored sunshine.”
