Danny Aiello

East 6th Street

Between Avenue A and Avenue B

100 YEARS AGO

East Village

NEW YORK

This photo was taken on East 6th Street in 1971. I’m sure you’re thinking that it looks much older than that. But in reality this is a 1970s photo of East 6th Street all dolled up to look much older – for the filming of the Godfather II! Pretty cool, right? The Oscar-winning sequel used East 6th Street to depict Vito Corleone’s Italian neighborhood of 1917, where he first started his family and his life of crime. I even found a couple stills from the movie where you can clearly make out the buildings and storefronts on the block – here you can see the double arched windows of the S. Fiore storefront at the far left of our photo, and here you can see that beautiful painted glass storefront bearing the name “The Washington.”

East 6th Street

Godfather Part II

NEW YORK NY

This is 100 years after the time our photo depicts, and 45 years after it was actually taken. Thankfully we’ve managed to hold on to this entire strip of tenements, and many of their architectural details. The arched windows at 524 and the protruding glass storefront and centered wooden doorway of 520 (now a bar, rather than The Washington) all remain. At 522, the ground-level configuration is the same although in The Godfather image they appear to be two separate storefronts (one with an awning, one with Instituto Italiano at the frieze). This building’s upper floors seem to have lost their arched windows and lintels, too.

EAST 6th STREET

Between Avenue’s A & B

East Village

2017

Robert DeNiro on East 6th Street

GODFATHER II

FRANKIE PENTANGELI and his Bodyguard CHI CHI

Meeting with The ROSATO BROTHERS

7B BAR ( Vazac’s Horseshoe Bar )

Avenue B at East 7th Street

In The EAST VILLAGE

NEW YORK NY

The GODFATHER Part II

Francis Ford Coppola

After visiting Florida to seal the deal with Roth, Michael pays an unannounced visit to Pentangeli on Long Island and asks him to help take his revenge. As part of his plan, he insists that Pentangeli capitulate to the Rosato brothers so that Roth will not suspect that Michael is on to him. Pentangeli prefers open warfare against Roth and the Rosatos, but reluctantly obeys Michael’s order.

Pentangeli arranges a meeting with the Rosato brothers. Arriving at the meeting place, Pentangeli leaves his bodyguard outside and enters the bar alone. Once inside, Tony Rosato (Danny Aiello) ambushes Pentangeli with a garotte, telling him, “Michael Corleone says hello.” A policeman steps inside, and the attack degenerates into a shootout in the street. Pentangeli disappears and is believed to be dead.