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All About The Great Gatsby: A Tale of New York City

The Great Gatsby was a beloved New York tale long before Baz Luhrmann reworked F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece for the screen in 2013. In fact, Gatz, a minimalist, theatrical 6.5-hour reading of the entire novel, sold out its run of performances…twice.

The story is indeed set in the Jazz Age (1920s) on Long Island, New York, and it revolves around the narrator’s encounters with Jay Gatsby and his infatuation with Daisy Buchanan, a woman from his past. It’s what we consider a must-read (in addition to some of the the other great books about New York City).

the great gatsy book
What is it about The Great Gatsby that continues to resonate with New Yorkers nearly a century after its release? Photo credit: yoppy

New York City’s role in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is set in real-life New York City and the surrounding areas. Gatsby, the Buchanans, and Nick Carraway live in East Egg and West Egg, Long Island (inspired either by Great Neck, or by Westport, Connecticut, where Fitzgerald lived briefly).

Nick, Tom, and Gatsby return to Manhattan regularly (if not daily) for work or “business.” And the revelers who converge on Gatsby’s parties are New Yorkers.

Gatsby’s particular mansion might be fictionalized. But lavish estates like his still exist in Long Island and the tri-state area. Wealthy New Yorkers continue to spend astounding sums on these status symbols, and Manhattanites still flock to the expensive, extravagant parties designed to both impress…and be featured in the press.

large house on beach front
Extravagant Long Island beach homes are still a major symbol of wealth. Photo credit: Sue Elias

F. Scott Fitzgerald in New York City

Many of the novel’s key events take place within New York City. Fitzgerald lived in Manhattan, so he knew it intimately. 

Scott and Zelda’s antics in NYC are legendary. They caroused at wild parties, rode on top of taxis on 5th Avenue, danced on tables at the Waldorf, and leapt into the Pulitzer Fountain outside the Plaza.

Even the act of riding a NYC taxi is part of his life and literature. “I remember riding in a taxi one afternoon between very tall buildings under a mauve and rosy sky,” Fitzgerald wrote. “I began to bawl because I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again.”

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that Fitzgerald used New York as the setting for his first three novels, and for many of his stories.

Fitzgerald crafted his New York Gatsby scenes with detail and eloquence. Here are the locations of some of his most famous scenes.

Pulitzer Fountain where Fitzgerald danced and partied.
Scott Fitzgerald’s parties were… renowned. He ended up leaping into the Pulitzer fountain more than once. Photo credit: Tdorante10

Where to find The Great Gatsby‘s most famous scenes in NYC

If you’re a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, and the era where it was written, you can still walk around New York City and find yourself in the exact same spots where Gatsby, the fictional character, would’ve been, and Fitzgerald, the real individual, and famous writer, lived and partied.

The Queensboro Bridge

Sometimes called the 59th Street Bridge, this was the gateway to Manhattan for Gatsby and Buchanan. The story’s narrator, Nick Carraway, muses: “The city seen from Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world.'”

Cross the bridge, as many times as you must, and ponder over this promise the novel mentions.

bridge over water
“Anything can happen now that we’ve slid over this bridge, I thought; anything at all…”  Photo credit: Skellig2008

Financial District

Where Nick works as a bond trader. It’s described as “the white chasms of lower New York.”

Manhattan's financial district
Manhattan’s Financial District seen from Upper New York Bay. Photo credit: Ken Lund

5th Avenue and Central Park

Nick and Jordan Baker enjoy a romantic drive through Central Park. Carry the book with you and see that not much has changed since then, or has it?

Central Park North
You’ll find extraordinary sights in the northern area of Central Park. Photo credit: Harry Gillen

Midtown Manhattan

Nick describes his daily evening commute from the Yale Club (still extant beside Grand Central), down Madison Avenue, and west on 33rd Street to Old Penn Station (since he doesn’t have a sports car, this is his gateway to NYC).

Later, on a stifling summer day, Jordan suggests taking refuge in one of midtown’s movie palaces.  She says, “I love New York on summer afternoons when everyone’s away. There’s something very sensuous about it—overripe, as if all sorts of funny fruits were going to fall into your hands.”

depiction of Times Square at night
A glimpse into vintage Times Square. Photo credit: Boston Public Library

42nd Street

In a “Forty-second Street cellar,” Gatsby and Nick have lunch and run into enigmatic “businessman” Meyer Wolfsheim.

42nd Street during night
You, too, can walk around 42nd Street and meet some enigmatic “businessmen” almost just like a century ago. Photo credit: Andreas Komodromos

Washington Heights 

This neighborhood is home to the W. 158th Street apartment kept by Tom for his assignations with Myrtle Wilson, situated in “a long white cake of apartment houses.” Fitzgerald knew the area well, since he lived on Claremont Avenue when he first came to New York, in 1919.

Washington Heights just like in The Great Gatsby
You don’t need to visit a set to feel yourself in another time, do you? Photo credit: Андрей Бобровский

The Plaza Hotel

Nick and Jordan have tea there. Later, in a Plaza suite, Tom and Gatsby finally confront one another over Daisy, and the heated scene leads to the novel’s tragic conclusion. Fitzgerald knew the Plaza quite well, having frequented it often.

The Plaza Hotel entrance in New York City
The Plaza Hotel elegance is just as it was during the times of The Great Gatsby. Photo credit: Jorge Royan

The “Valley of Ashes”

The bleak no-man’s land that is a void between lush East/West Egg and glamorous Manhattan. The Corona Ash Dumps, where the Wilsons lived, were piled with ashes from the city’s coal-burning furnaces.

In the next decade, Robert Moses would transform the area for the 1939 World’s Fair. Today, it’s the site of Shea Stadium and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Insider’s Tip: New York is definitely a walking city, but finding the perfect route can be a bit daunting. Check out our Walking Guide to NYC’s Neighborhoods to help you plan your day and make the best out of your visit.

Valley of Ashes, a Great Gatsby scene location.
Valley of Ashes, this area definitely looks quite different nowadays. Photo credit: Greater Astoria Historical Society

New Yorkers inspired The Great Gatsby‘s characters

Along with the novel’s locations, its characters are, of course, rooted to New York. If you’re visiting the city, why don’t you look for these characters who some people consider archetypes of New York.

The anonymous pleasure-seekers

The people who crowd Gatsby’s parties. You can still see them around New York: They spend considerable time and money on traversing the velvet ropes of the city’s trendiest clubs, hoping to get “in with the in-crowd.”

Fancy party The Great Gatsby style
Lavish parties were a highlight of the roaring twenties. Photo credit: cottonbro studio

Tom and Daisy Buchanan

Wealthy, entitled New Yorkers that sound like, well, Wall Street denizens sipping champagne and laughing at a protestor’s demands for financial accountability, feeling above the law. Your typical Wolf of Wall Street.

Nick notes, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Wall Street people in New York City
Walk around certain streets and you may see the people behind all the Wall Street news. Photo credit: Medienstürmer

George and Myrtle Wilson

Working-class New Yorkers, living in harsh conditions and struggling to survive. They have little education or opportunity to better their lives. Both dream of escaping their lot, and Myrtle will go to desperate lengths to taste the finer things in life.

NYC Subway
From the NYC subway to the tallest skyscraper in the city, does that make sense? Photo credit: Manuel Lardizabal

Nick Carraway

A great example of New Yorkers who feel like outsiders. Present, yet observing; amongst a crowd, yet isolated.

Nick says: “At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others.”

Man walking alone on a bridge
An outsider in NYC, just like a tourist, looking around at the stories of others. Photo credit: Sean Valentine

The Great Gatsby

Finally, Gatsby and Fitzgerald both are archetypal New Yorkers. Born and bred elsewhere, ambition drove them to New York City.  They were eager to recreate themselves, to succeed, and to prove their worth.

While they both attained their dreams quickly, neither could savor them. Gatsby was destroyed at the height of his influence. But it was even worse for Fitzgerald: After his fame with Gatsby, he endured a slow, painful descent.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave with a quote from The Great Gatsby
You can visit Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s grave, with a quote from The Great Gatsby. Photo credit: MrTinMD

Update Notice: This post was updated on February 11, 2024.

Inspired to see more of New York’s most iconic sites?  Check out our Must-See Manhattan Tour. With a local New Yorker leading the way, you’ll explore Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios, 5th Avenue, the historic Grand Central Terminal, and some of the most stunning views of NYC.

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About the author

Fiona's an Irish travel writer who has made New York City her home for the past 10 years. While she frequently returns to Dublin, she's captivated by the vibrant food, diverse people, and rich culture of NYC. Fiona's passion for travel extends beyond NYC and her homeland—she frequently explores new destinations, documenting her adventures and sharing her lively stories.

More by Fiona F.

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