Ghostbusters Headquarters (Hook & Ladder 8)

On a quiet corner of North Moore and Varick Streets in Tribeca stands Hook & Ladder 8, the working FDNY firehouse whose exterior became the Ghostbusters headquarters in the 1984 film and its sequels. Built in 1903 as the first in a series of Beaux-Arts firehouses designed by city superintendent of buildings Alexander H. Stevens, it has tall banks of windows on each floor and a single arched truck portal framed in limestone. It originally ran twice as wide with two vehicle doors, then was cut in half in 1913 when Varick Street was widened, the brackets and cornice copied so precisely that the seam is almost invisible. For photography, the strongest frame is from the opposite side of the street, angled to take in the full height with the Ghostbusters sign above the entrance. If you aim to capture it in the morning you'll get cleaner light on the north and west faces and thinner tourist crowds, since the building draws fans by the busload later in the day. This is an active firehouse, not a museum, so a truck may be pulling in or out at any moment, which can make a unique action shot but it also means you should stay clear of the entrance while you are shooting to stay out of the crew's way. (Tribeca, New York, United States)