Coming To America (1988) Filming Locations | New York & Los Angeles
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall’s classic “Coming To America” was filmed in Brooklyn, New York, Los Angeles, and Simi Valley, California. From the Mcdowell residence to Akeem and Semmi’s Apartment Building, we found em all thanks to our readers’ tips.
Location #1
The Zamundan’ Palace was a full-sized set erected in a large field at the Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California. All of the exterior shots of the Palace were filmed here in the Mountains of Ventura County. Since this was only a large prop, all of the interior scenes had to be filmed on a sound stage at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California.
Visit the Big Sky Ranch Location Here!
At the beginning of the Movie, Akeem his father, the King, are seen walking and talking on the property of the Zamunda’s palace. The elephants and zebras scenes were filmed at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens located at 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, California
Where is the McDowell’s Restaurant located? Is it real?
Location # 2 is the McDowell’s in Queens. This is a real restaurant and is now called Wendy’s. Located on Queens Blvd in Elmhurst, you can actually visit this location and eat some food in the same location as where the movie was filmed.
As you can see on google maps, this location was unfortunately town down in late 2018 map it here!
Queens Boulevard, Elmhurst, New York
Location #3 is Akeem and Semmi’s Apartment Building
All of the exterior and interior scenes were shot here “The King Has Entered the Building”. Walk down the same halls as Akeem, Semmi, the King, and the whole crew. This building is still here and is probably just as nice as it was back then. And for only $2,597 – $3,824 a month, you can live here as well.
Map It! S. 5th St & Hooper St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Location # 4 is the classic My-T-Sharp Barbershop seen in the film. All the great scenes were filmed in a small shop that was actually located downstairs on the bottom floor of Hakeem and Semmi’s apartment building.
google street view: 392 South 5th Street & Hooper Street, Brooklyn
Location # 5 is the Mcdowell Residence. This awesome “Castle” can be found not in New York but in Sunny Los Angeles, California. This amazing 7000 square foot house can be yours for only $8,000,000. Sorry, but we’ve taken the address down at the request of the current owner. The only clue we can give you is that it’s located about a 1/2 mile from John Burroughs Middle School, the school used in the Nightmare On Elm Street movies.
Good luck finding this one 🙂
Location # 6 Terminal 7, JFK International Airport, Jamaica, Queens, New York.
Location # 7 is where Randy Watson and Sexual Chocolate performs at the Black Awareness night at a High School Gym/Auditorium.
Do you recognize this location? Send us a Tip Here!
Location #8 is where Akeem and Lisa eat dinner and slow dance. This great scene was filmed at The River Café in Brooklyn.
map it! 1 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Location #7 is Madison Square Garden. This is where Lisa and Akeem double date at a basketball game.
google street view: 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001
Visit Coming 2 America Filming Locations Here!
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‘Coming To America’
Filming Dates: 1987, New York, Los Angeles
When: 06/29/1988, Paramount Studios
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones
Directed By: John Landis
First Published: Dec 1, 2016, 2:00
