The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy (1994)

 

East coast rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G or Biggie Smalls, was born and raised in Brooklyn.  Juicy, the first single off his debut album, describes his tough upbringing.  The song samples the instrumental and some lyrics from Mtume's 1983 hit Juicy Fruit.  For the video, Biggie is seen on St. James and Fulton Streets where he grew up, showing his ascent from poverty to the lap of luxury.

Location: Notorious B.I.G's Townhouse

Address: 208 St. James Place, Brooklyn, NY

Location: Street Corner

Address: 932 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 

Location: Running Down The Street

Address: 920 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY

Location: Subway Station & Street Light Pole

Address: next to 910 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 

Location: Strolling Down The Street

Address: 969 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY

The Crown Fried Chicken awning makes it difficult to get an exact matching shot.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s childhood home is located at 226 St. James Place, just down the street from the these spots...

Locations Visited: December 2024

Locations Master List

School Ties (1992)

High school senior David Greene is given the opportunity of a lifetime when he receives a scholarship to the prestigious St. Matthew's Academy.  He leaves a depressing Scranton, PA for the sprawling Massachusetts campus and immediately hits it off with his roommate and football teammates.  He also catches the eye of a pretty blonde.  All seems to be going well until they find out David's Jewish.  He quickly becomes the campus pariah and the scapegoat when it's discovered someone cheated on an exam.  When he goes to confess, David discovers one of his peers exposed Charlie Dillon as the real cheater to the headmaster.  He then calls Matt Damon a prick.

School Ties is an excellent film but unfortunately a stellar cast, many who would springboard to stardom, couldn't put it on the dean's list of 1992 movies.  The film didn't quite make back its budget and quickly left theaters.  

Location: The Cemetery

Address: 938 E 4th Street, Bethlehem, PA

St. Michael's Cemetery

Most of the church has been turned into an apartment building.

Location: The Greene House

Address: 1009 E 4th Street, Bethlehem, PA

Location: Walsh's Tavern

Address: 637 Atlantic Street, Bethlehem, PA

The yellow fire hydrant is still there.  Unfortunately a car pulled up just before I was going to take the photo...

Location: The Mobil Station

Address: 1768 Main Street, Northampton, PA

Location: Chip's Lucheonette

Address: 2015 Main Street, Northampton, PA

Location: The Roxy Theater

Address: 2004 Main Street, Northampton, PA

Location: The Steel Stacks

Address: 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA

Locations Visited: December 2024

Locations Master List

 

The Simpsons (1989-)

 

The Simpson family debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show as short films two years before their own premiere.  In December 1989, their Christmas special hit the Fox airwaves and soon America was enthralled in the weekly shenanigans of Bart Simpson and his family.  36 seasons and almost 800 episodes later, it is the longest-running animated series, American sitcom and scripted primetime series.  The Simpsons was a cultural phenomenon upon its release.  Merchandising had a cash cow man - t-shirts, books, calendars.  And I had them all.  I even drew pictures of the characters and sold them to my friends.  My interest in Fox's animated dysfunctional family waned pretty quickly for reasons I don't seem to recall.  Though it wasn't originally the inspiration, a replica of The Simpsons house was built in 1997 for a promotional contest.  Both exteriors and interiors were recreated in great detail.  Though the winner decided on a cash prize instead, the house was sold as a private residence in 2001.

Location: The Simpsons House
Address: 712 Red Bark Lane, Henderson, NV

Universal Studios Hollywood dig an amazing job recreating Springfield around The Simpsons Ride...

Location Visited: July 2024

Locations Master List