Maps of Movies
Carol (2015)
Where Carol says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Manhattan at Christmas 1952 is really downtown Cincinnati: the department store, the hotel in Chicago and the family house were all shot in Ohio and Kentucky
View on the mapScenes and places
Frankenberg's, the department store where they meet (1952)
Therese, working the toy counter in the Christmas rush, helps Carol, who is looking for a doll for her daughter, and steers her to a model train set instead. Carol leaves her gloves behind, and Therese mails them to her.
Set in Frankenberg's department store, Manhattan — A fictional Manhattan department store at Christmas 1952, where Therese works the toy counter.
A department-store Christmas in 1952: toy floor, elevators and a street front, none of them in New York.
Filmed at Former Oskamp-Nolting store, 26 W 7th St, Cincinnati — The toy department was built on the empty second floor of this former department store, now Mill End. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Downtown Cincinnati, on 7th Street. Check what is open before going; it is now a shop.
Filmed at Former Shillito's store, 151 W 7th St, Cincinnati — The outside of Frankenberg's, seen from the street. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Downtown Cincinnati, corner of Race and 7th Streets.
Filmed at Carew Tower elevator lobby, 5th St, Cincinnati — The Frankenberg's elevators are in this lobby, two blocks from the toy floor. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Carew Tower is on 5th Street downtown; the lobby is a public building.
The New York Times office (1952)
Dannie invites Therese to the newspaper where he works and offers to introduce her to a photo editor friend. For Therese, who wants to be a photographer, it is a way in.
Set in The New York Times offices, Manhattan — The newspaper office where Dannie works nights and invites Therese to dinner.
A glass-walled newsroom set, dressed up in an empty downtown Cincinnati building the sources do not name.
Carol's house in New Jersey (1952)
Carol invites Therese home. Harge arrives unexpectedly to take Rindy to Florida for Christmas, grows suspicious of Therese, and argues with Carol while Therese watches.
Set in Carol's house, New Jersey — Carol's home, where her daughter Rindy and her husband Harge are also present.
A 1905 limestone mansion on a Hyde Park street, standing in for a New Jersey home.
Filmed at Hanna mansion, Grandin Road, Hyde Park, Cincinnati — The mansion used as Carol's home: its limestone entrance and rooms appear in many scenes. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Grandin Road in Hyde Park is a residential street; the house is private, so look from the street only.
The Christmas tree on the way (1952)
Carol picks out a Christmas tree on the way home. Therese photographs her at the tree lot, and Carol notices.
Set in A Christmas tree lot, on the way to Carol's home — A tree stand where Carol picks a tree and Therese photographs her.
A hilltop city park, used here for a tree stand and, in another scene, Central Park.
Filmed at Eden Park, Cincinnati — The park stood in for a Christmas-tree stand and for Central Park. It is also where filming began on March 12, 2014. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Eden Park is a public park above downtown, open to walk through.
The night train (1952)
A passenger train carries the story forward at night. The sources give only that it was filmed, not what happens in it.
Set in A passenger train — A passenger train scene; the sources do not say which scene it is.
An industrial riverside rail line east of downtown that doubled as a 1950s line.
Filmed at Railroad tracks near the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, East End, Cincinnati — The crew rigged a huge black-out screen so they could shoot a night train ride in daylight. The pin is the boathouse; the exact stretch of track is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: The tracks run along the riverside near the Boathouse on Riverside Drive; do not go on the tracks.
The first diner on the road trip (1952)
Carol, running from the divorce, takes Therese on a road trip west. The first stop is a small-town diner.
Set in A diner in Philadelphia — The first stop of Carol and Therese's road trip, set in Philadelphia according to the filming report. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A downtown diner with a courthouse in the background, 40 km from where the film is set.
Filmed at Kostas Restaurant, 221 Court St, Hamilton, Ohio — The first stop on Carol's road trip. The Butler County courthouse is visible a block away. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Downtown Hamilton, about 40 km north of Cincinnati.
The Drake Hotel in Chicago (1952)
Carol and Therese check into a grand Chicago hotel on the trip west. In Chicago Therese later learns that Carol has flown home to fight for custody.
Set in The Drake Hotel, Chicago — The Chicago hotel where Carol and Therese check in on the trip. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A 1930s Art Deco hotel in downtown Cincinnati that stands in for the Drake in Chicago.
Filmed at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, 35 W 5th St, Cincinnati — The Chicago “Drake Hotel” is this downtown Cincinnati hotel. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Downtown Cincinnati on 5th Street; the lobby is open to guests and visitors.
The motel in Waterloo, Iowa (1952)
On New Year's Eve in a small-town motel, Carol and Therese kiss for the first time. The next morning they discover the salesman they met is a private investigator hired by Harge.
Set in A motel room, Waterloo, Iowa — The motel on New Year's Eve in the town of Waterloo. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A set built for the film: there is no real motel to visit.
The Ritz Tower lounge (1952)
Months later Carol and Therese meet in a hotel lounge. Carol has a new job and a new apartment, and asks Therese to come and live with her. A colleague of Therese's interrupts them.
Set in Ritz Tower Hotel lounge, Manhattan — The hotel lounge where Carol and Therese meet again after the road trip; Carol has a table waiting in the Oak Room. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A real 1927 Park Avenue hotel tower, kept as the film's setting; the sources do not name the room used for filming.
Filmed at Maury's Tiny Cove, 3908 Harrison Ave, Cheviot — A date-night bar and restaurant (scene not specified) Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Arnold's Bar and Grill, 210 E 8th St, Cincinnati — A bar scene (scene not specified) Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Spare Time Grill, 7807 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria, Kentucky — A roadside diner on the road trip (scene not specified) Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at 12th and Walnut, Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati — A busy Manhattan street corner (scene not specified) Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- Therese Belivet — A young shop clerk and aspiring photographer working the toy counter of a Manhattan department store at Christmas.
- Carol Aird — A glamorous woman in the middle of a difficult divorce who comes to the store looking for a doll for her daughter.
- Dannie — A friend of Therese who works at The New York Times and offers to introduce her to a photo editor.