As I mentioned a billion times before, Billions is a dream show for me not only because my favorite actor is in it, but also because New York, from its landmarks to its city parks and to its quirky shops, appears as a cast member in the show! As someone who feels the only home she has in the world is the city that never sleeps, I particularly love it that Billions is taking over New York, the BIG film studio that it is, and shooting all over the place, from Manhattan to Queens to Brooklyn to The Bronx to Long Island and to northern suburbs. So I have put together this Billions Season 7 Location Guide as a loving tribute to my most favorite place on earth (and also to my second favorite place on earth!) and a heartfelt thank you to the show creators for writing a love letter to the city.
Hope you pick and choose and take your own Billions tour in New York City and beyond and give us feedback – especially if you know about a location that is missing in this post! Oh, and in case you missed Fan Fun locations guide for the previous seasons, you can check them out here, here, here, here and here. And please note that many show staples like Axe Capital HQ, Chuck’s Southern District office, Chuck’s Brooklyn Brownstone or Chuck Senior’s Upper East Side apartment were all listed in previous seasons when they first appeared. ENJOY!
Episode 1: Tower of London
We find Chuck and Ira in his capacity as Chuck’s attorney in the courthouse making a request for Chuck to take off the GPS ankle monitor he has been wearing.
The building was designed by Cass Gilbert, a famous architect and an early proponent of skyscrapers, who also designed other NYC landmark builldings such as the Woolworth Building and the Alexander Hamilton Customs House.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sits in the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse and it is one of the most influential and active federal district courts in the United States, largely because of its jurisdiction over New York’s major financial centers!
I am not positive about this location. But since I followed Billions shoot very closely and noted down that they were filming in the Willliamsbridge area in the Bronx mid-November 2022, I believe that the Rhoades family mausoleum where Chuck and Dave meet in the wee hours should be located at the Woodlawn Cemetery.
Founded in 1863 by some of New York’s most prominent citizens, Woodlawn Cemetery covers over 300 acres and is a resting place for 300K people including musicians Miles Davis, Duke Elllington, Irving Berlin, authors Herman Melville, Dorothy Parker, E.L. Doctorow, and Macy’s department store founder Rowland Hussey Macy. The cemetery has some fine examples of Art Nouveau, Egyptian Revival, Greek Revival, and Romanesque Revival architecture and design on its grounds. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
Federal Hall National Memorial:
Dave Mahar and a squad of state troopers confront Chuck in front of the Federal Hall. Dave is here to let Chuck know that she knows Chuck is behind the on-going PR campaign favoring him. She is utterly annoyed about getting calls from politicians and civic leaders all over the city for dropping the case against Chuck.
The original building that stood here, as the two characters talk in the scene, served as the original seat of the government in the Colonies and,George Washington took the oath of office here. The original building was demolished in 1812 and the current Greek-revival style Federal Hall was completed in 1842 and used as the first U.S. Custom House. Federal Hall is now a Nationa Memorial housing a museum on Washington’s administration. A piece of the balcony Washington stood on at his inauguration as well as the Bible used in the ceremony is on display.
Billions comes to London, my second favorite city on earth and the only one that can, in my humble opinion, rival NYC in arts, music, food and culture.
And here we are at the Tower of London, the location Axe chooses to meet Wendy when she calls on Axe to help stop Prince from ruining the company they built together.
Tower of London is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. The White Tower was originally constructed by William the Conqueror in the 1070s. It has been expanded upon throughout the centuries with a series of smaller towers. The Tower has been used in various capacities, as an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels.
As Wendy appreciates the Tower of London, a place where the Kings or Queens stayed the night before their coronation ceremony and a place where countless executions took place, in the episode, it is inevitable to remember Damian as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall here…
…before Wendy hears a familiar voice:
“Stirring spot, isn’t it?”
If you happen to be in London and love history, you should by all means visit the Tower. There is so much to see varying from the Crown Jewels of England to Tower Green reserved for upper class executions (think of Henry VIII’s wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard both of whom were accused with adultery) and to ‘Lines of Kings’ exhibition housed inside the White Tower displaying one of the largest armories in the country, with pieces dating back to the 15th century. I also recommend highly the Tower tours with the Yeoman Wardens who have been guarding the Tower since Tudor times. iThe one who gave us a tour had great sense of humor kept referring to me as “that red head” in a delightfully sinister way during the tour 🙂
Episode 2: Original Sin
Wendy, Wags and Taylor arrive at Axe’s new humble digs in the UK: Welcome to Raby Castle, one of the finest medieval castles in England
Raby Castle was built in the 14th century by the powerful Neville family. Located close to Staindrop, Durham County, the castle was home to Cecily Neville, mother of two kings of England, namely Edward IV and Richard III. They plotted the Rising of the North in favor of Mary, Queen of Scots, at the Raby Castle, which also was a Parliamentary stronghold during the English Civil War. Still a private home, Raby Castle is open to the public every year between May and September and at Easter.
Here is a painting of the castle and its landscape by the brilliant J.M.W. Turner currently housed at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
While Axe, the new owner of the castle, gives his people a tour, I am not sure whether they filmed the interior scenes at the castle.
Episode 3: Winston Dick Energy
The North Condo Building, Williamsburg
Thanks to jotting down every single address posted online as Billions filming locations, I have been able to identify the building where Winston lives! But of course… The guy who thinks very highly of himself lives where the cool kids live: Williamsburg!
Grant’s Tomb (General Grant National Memorial):
Located in the Morningside Heights, my former neighborhood, General Grant National Memorial is the final resting place for President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia. And it is the largest mausoleum in North America. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and its facade as well as the interior are NYC designated landmarks.
It is very smart of Karl, Senior and Ira to meet Chuck at Grant’s Tomb . Because he is a student of history, it is inevitable that Chuck remembers General Grant lost at Shiloh but President Lincoln refused to remove him as the commanding general of the Union Army because he trusted Grant’s abilities. And Grant went on to win at Chattanooga and Vicksburg. And so Chuck lost once, but he can still win!
And while the Ulysess S. Grant story is a great one, the real motivator is inside the mausoleum: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. One of the greatest all-time basketball players, who won a record 6 MVP awards, is here to get Chuck back to his true nature.
They filmed the interior scene between Kareem Abdul-jabbar and Chuck at Gould Memorial Library at Bronx Community College, one of the few campuses in the US that are designated as a National Historic Landmark because of their collection of architecturally significant buildings. Gould Memoria Library is one of these architecturally significant buildings. Built by renowned architect Stanford White, who designed many private homes as well as the monumental arch in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, the library is widely accepted as White’s masterpiece.
Episode 4: Hurricane Rosie
Little Island is an artificial island park in New York City. Located at Pier 55 in Hudson River Park, it is free to the public. There are pedestrian crosswalks across the West Side Highway at 14th Street and 13th Street that connect Little Island to Manhattan.
A unique attraction, this floating island park has 350 species of flowers, trees and shrubs over 2.4 acres. There is a 687-seat amphitheater, an intimate stage and lawn space, arts activities, food, and beautiful views of the city and the Hudson River.
And Chuck and Prince meet in front of Little Island to talk about Big Problems 🙂
Episode 5: The Gulag Archipelago
The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers
The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers offer a unique opportunity to drive, chip and putt on a scenic Hudson River pier. The premiere golf destination in the city, the four-tiered “super-range” features a 200-yard hitting fairway, a full-service teaching academy, Full Swing simulators, and membership options for frequent golfers.
And it seems the newly appointed Police Commissioner Raul Gomez is a member! Chuck finds him there to ask for a favor, namely giving Chuck CCTV records so that they can catch the man who stole Ira’s phone with home-made porn on it!
Episode 6: The Man in the Olive Drab T-shirt
Barclays center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Brooklyn. It is home to the NBA team Brooklyn Nets and WNBA team New York Liberty. The arena also hosts concerts, conventions and other sporting and entertainment events.
Chuck meets his special advisor Paul “Triple H” Levesque, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time who is currently serving as the chief content officer and head of creative for WWE, at Barclays Center. Chuck is there to pick Triple H’s brain about how to convince the governor, the state AG and DGiulio about allowing Andolov to come back to the States.
The Summit NYC is a luxurious rental high rise in Midtown East that is offering a number of amenities including The Arena: a sports center with state-of-the-art equipment that includes spin bikes, strength machines and cardio, a full basketball court and an aquatic center with a heated lap pool, hot tub, sauna and steam rooms.
We saw Mike Prince playing one-on-one basketball with Dominique “Human Highlight Film” Wilkins at the Arena in Season 5, and now he is practicing on his own as he tries to recover from the traumatic experience of the MPC employee surveys 🙂
Episode 7: DMV
Another find thanks to noting down every Billions fillming location I spotted online and a bit of online research.
Founded in 1937, Queens College is a public college in Flushing, Queens. It offers undergraduate degrees in over 70 majors, graduate studies in over 100 degree programs and certificates as well as doctoral degrees through CUNY Graduate Center. The college’s student body represents more than 170 countries. Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Simon, Fran Drescher and Adrien Brody are a few of the notable alumni. The college website says that the campus makes for the perfect movie set. Whether it is a film shoot, photo shoot or commercial, Queens College is willing to accommodate productions…
And, accordingly, they accommodate Billions! I believe Student Union at Queens College stands in for the DMV building where Kevin takes his road test twice 🙂
Yet another find thanks to noting down every Billions filming location I spot online and the wonders of Google Earth! It turns out while Winston chooses to live in Williamsburg, Philip lives in a modern building (with average sale price of an apartment around $5M) in the historic West Village.
And Chuck catches Philip after his run in front of his building because Philip told Wendy earlier that he might want to talk to Chuck.
An iconic event venue in a landmark building in Midtown, Gotham Hall has a 9,000 square-foot Ballroom with 70-foot ceiling and an ornate stained-glass skylight. The venue hosts all kinds of events from elegant social events to corporate parties to non-profit galas.
MPC chooses to host its first annual casino event at Gotham Hall when the higher ups agree to skip the annual performance reviews. Or do they? The fun night at the casino, complete with roulette, blackjack, craps, baccarat and Texas Hold’ Em turns out to be psychological experiment after all!
Episode 8: The Owl
White Pine Camp and Paul Smith’s College:
Billions was in snow-covered Paul Smith, a town in the Adirondacks, to shoot scenes for The Owl, a bizarre old and rich white men running naked in the woods kind of gathering 🙂
White Pine Camp is a restored classic Adirondack Lodging that was once the summer White House of President Calvin Coolidge. The camp has 13 distinctive cabins and cottages with hand-built Adirondack furniture, some with wood stoves and others with stone fireplaces. Most cabins and cottages have private porches or patios. The camp offers a year-round retreat to its guests.
Chuck, Chuck Senior and Ira arrive at White Pine Camp that Billions production has turned into The Owl!
We also have bird-eye’s view of the camp in the episode.
Based on what I can see from White Pine Camp’s pictures online, I believe the morning conversation between Chuck and Governor Nancy Dunlop takes place at the camp’s Original Boat House…
…whereas the evening conversation between Chuck and Fourth takes place at the camp site’s bowling alley.
Forestry Cabin at Paul Smith’s College:
Paul Smith’s College, also known as the College of Adirondacks, is a private college that offers associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. Founded in 1946, the college has one of the largest campuses in the world. And, over the past decade, the campus has served as a film set for about a dozen films ranging from documentaries to dramas.
According to an article in the Adirondacks Daily Enterprise, Billions filmed on the second floor of the Forestry Cabin, an Adirondack structure built by Paul Smith’s College students and faculty on campus! The centerpiece of its main room is a massive two-sided fireplace, built using stone from the original resort hotel that was located there and surrounded by high ceiling beams and overhead canoes. Here is a small picture of the main room in Forestry Cabin. And the picture that follows is a scene where the Owl’s bizarre leg wrestling takes place. As you can see, the fireplace as well as the wooden structure above the fireplace are the same. So… bingo!
The land surrounding the Forestry Cabin is called the Woodsmen’s, “a dream for lumberjacks and jills” according to College’s website. I suspect the wooden Owl statue in Billions may be standing there.
Timbersports take place in both fall and spring semesters at Paull Smith’s College. Sports events include pole climbing, log birling, chopping, splitting, sawing, pulp toss, axe-throwing, and pack-board relay. The school’s highly regarded woodsmen squad travels to meets throughout the Northeast and Ontario, Canada.
Episode 9: Game Theory Optimal
The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York
Well, I have been able to figure out that Chuck and Dr. Gilbert’s court scene was not filmed in Thurgood Marshall Courthouse but at the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York building because… I spotted Billions set signs and Chuck’s and Dr. Gilbert’s trailers midtown Manhattan and followed them to the set…
Here you go! This is Wendy’s building in West Chelsea. We also see her apartment number as Wags and Taylor ring the doorbell: 901 🙂
A luxury high-rise in West Cheelse The r have beautiful views of the Empire State Building and Hudson River from their expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. The apartments are conveniently fitted with washer-dryers (such a luxury in NYC, I’ve never lived in an apartment with a washer/dryer in the unit!) and many feature private terraces and balconies.
Episode 10: Enemies List
One of New York’s absolute jewels, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a huge complex of buildings on the Upper West Side. The Center houses nationally and internationally renowned twelve performing arts organizations including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet and hosts 5 millions visitors every year.
Lincoln Center made its first appearance in Billions back in Season 5: Mike Prince, who seems to be attending a black tie event at Lincoln Center, gives Axe a call, an insulting one, before going in.
And, now in Season 7, Axe returns the insult in a huge way in one of the most clever and entertaining scenes in the entire series.
Prince arrives at Lincoln Center in his tux and with his entourage, extremely confident that he is so close to residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, only to run into the last person he would imagine of running into: Axe donned in his Slayer T-shirt playing Angel of Death to his presidential campaign!
Axe has Derek, Andy’s lover with him, who is ready to share his story with Anderson Cooper, Christiane Amanpour and Rachel Maddow. And Axe is convinced that nobody in the U.S. would vote for “President Cuck” 😀
Episode 11: Axe Global
Starrett Lehigh is a 19-story building in West Chelsea occupying the entire block betweeen 11th and 12th avenues. It was built in 1930s in a joint venture by The Starrett Corporation and the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The two companies that planned to develop a freight terminal and warehouse to replace the railroad’s previous freight terminal and they jointly built this building. The Starrett–Lehigh Building has mostly been used as an office building since the late 1990s. And now it houses the new Axe Global HQ that turns into Taylor Mason Foundation at the end of Series Finale 🙂
In the episode, Bobby Axelrod drives his Bentley on the West Side Highway to the new Axe Global Headquarters in his Guns’N’Roses T-shirt, leaves the car to the vallet and enters the all-white, warehouse-like Axe Global offices.
Old South Ferry Subway Station:
I figured the subway station where Kate and Amanda meet thanks to a real New Yorker, who actually worked in the Financial District for years. Here is our Lady Trader describing the old South Ferry Station:
“The scene is set in the old South Ferry station on the 1 line of the NYC subway system. It was very distinctive as the train could not come all the way into the station, the platform was curved, and when the train stopped, a little grate jutted from the platform to the subway car door to make up for the gap between the train and the platform. The chains you see in the scene were to make sure riders did not get close to that gap and fall in! I rode that line for years when I worked at One New York Plaza, which is a stone’s throw from the station, getting to and from Penn Station. That platform has been closed for several years and a much nicer, more modern one opened close by right after Hurricane Sandy. Only a true New Yorker would recognize that underground meeting place!”
Episode 12 Admirals Fund
I have not spotted any location in the series finale that I have not written about earlier except for the place that stands in for Camp David. And I have no idea where they filmed it. If you know it, let me know. Thanks!
