Saturday Night Fever: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

The film opens with Tony Manero walking down 86th Street in Bensonhurst to 'Stayin' Alive', the neighbourhood in his stride. It is set in Bay Ridge, but the opening scene was shot at 86th Street and Bay 20th Street. The strut carries him to Lenny's Pizza for two slices, then on to the hardware store where he works. The street is still a busy shopping strip, and the walk is short enough to follow on foot.

Location precision: The opening walk is at 86th Street and Bay 20th Street; the pin marks the nearest address point on 86th Street.

Visitor guidance: The walk runs along 86th Street in Bensonhurst, between Bay 20th Street and 20th Avenue; the D train stops overhead at 20th Avenue.

Tony stops at Lenny's for two slices and eats them stacked one on top of the other, a habit the pizzeria turned into a 'double-decker' pizza named after Travolta. Lenny's had been in Bensonhurst since 1953, when it was one of the neighbourhood's first pizzerias, and stood at 1969 86th Street at 20th Avenue. It closed on 19 February 2023, when the owner retired, and a home care company now occupies the premises. The corner is still easy to find.

This is where Tony works, and where he is carrying the pot of paint in the opening stretch. The film calls the place Pearson Paint & Hardware; location guides know the building as Bay Ridge Home Center at 7305 Fifth Avenue at 73rd Street. It has changed hands and been renovated, but it is still a hardware store. The shelves of paint and tools are the nearest thing left to Tony's day job.

Visitor guidance: Still a working hardware store at 7305 Fifth Avenue at 73rd Street in Bay Ridge.

Tony lives here with his family, in a smart middle-class stretch of Bay Ridge. The house at 221 79th Street was recognisable for years, then got a thorough makeover. It is the Manero family's base between Tony's nights at the disco, the place he leaves and returns to as the week turns. It is a private home, so admire it from the pavement and keep moving.

The king of the dance floor ruled here. 2001 Odyssey was a real club at 802 64th Street at Eighth Avenue, and the film added a $15,000 lighted floor that stayed after the shoot. It later became Spectrum, a gay men's dance club, keeping the illuminated floor, but the building has since been demolished. There is no dance floor to see now; the corner is just a Bay Ridge street corner.

Visitor guidance: The club is gone; the site is the corner of 64th Street and Eighth Avenue in Bay Ridge.

Tony and Stephanie rehearse here for the dance contest, and it is where he meets his new partner while she is practising. The studio was Phillips Dance Studio in Bensonhurst, at 1301 West Seventh Street at Bay Parkway; location guides found it still running as a dance school years later. The practices carry the pair to the competition, which they win, though Tony gives his trophy and award money to a Puerto Rican couple he thinks danced better.

Visitor guidance: The address is 1301 West Seventh Street at Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst.

Tony and Stephanie sit on a bench in the shadow of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on the Bay Ridge Promenade. In a rare quiet moment, tough-guy Tony shows his vulnerable side and shares his dreams with her; the scene ends with Stephanie planting a kiss on his cheek and Tony in tears. The original bench was replaced in the 1980s, but the spot now carries a plaque and remains a pilgrimage for fans of the film.

Location precision: The original bench was replaced; the pin marks the promenade stretch nearest the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

Visitor guidance: The bench with the plaque is on the Bay Ridge Promenade; walk south along the water towards the bridge.

The gang ends up here after Saturday nights at the disco, climbing and horse-playing on the bridge. In the film's last act they stop at a point on the bridge and climb out; Bobby's bravado turns suicidal and he falls to his death. The bridge itself opened on 21 November 1964 with a 4,260-foot central span, and it was never built with a pedestrian walkway. You can drive across, or see it from the promenade below.

Visitor guidance: The bridge has no footpath; cross by car or view the span from the promenade below.