A Visitor’s Guide to Gatsby’s New York

“I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited — they went there.”
- Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

Movie screens have, once again, come to life with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale of wealth, love and longing, “The Great Gatsby.” Director Baz Luhrmann has recreated the opulence and decadence of Jazz Age—New York in the film, recalling a time when flappers were all the rage, parties were raucous and wealth was abundant.

“The Great Gatsby” takes place in New York, both the city and the nearby “Gold Coast” of Long Island, so named for the concentration of mansions along the shore. West Egg and East Egg in the novel actually refer to the towns Manhasset and Great Neck. Today, many of the estates and gardens that once served as the summer homes of American elite (such as the Vanderbilt family) are at least partially open to the public. When combined with the many New York City landmarks from the book, it’s quite simple for the average tourist on holiday to experience the life of the Great Gatsby and his friends.

Manhattan

The narrator of “The Great Gatsby” is Nick Carraway, a 29-year-old bond trader working in New York City who is caught in the world of the super-wealthy Jay Gatsby. Nick lives a simple life. Early on, he describes his typical day in the city and the walk he takes on most evenings.

He starts his walk to the Yale Club, where he lives and dines. The club, at 50 Vanderbilt Ave near Grand Central Station, remains a private club for Yale graduates, although it occasionally hosts private events for non-Yale grads. From the club, Nick walks down Madison Avenue to 33^rd Street, all the way to what was Pennsylvania Station and is now the site of Madison Square Garden. Today, the route is bounded by landmarks that Nick would not have seen, such as the Empire State building, which wasn’t built until 1934. If you follow in Nick’s footsteps, you might also notice the abundance of optical shops, which may have served as the inspiration for the billboard for Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that plays a pivotal role in the novel.

The legendary Plaza Hotel, a popular choice among those taking New York City breaks, also makes an appearance several times in “The Great Gatsby,” including serving as the location as the penultimate scene of the book. In honour of the release of the film and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s affinity for the site, the hotel is offering a “The Great Gatsby” suite decorated with period furniture and art deco pieces. It also features photos of Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, and the cast of the 2013 film. If your budget is more Nick Carraway and less Jay Gatsby, and the £1800 per night rate for the room is a budget-buster, you can still enjoy one of the 1920s-inspired brunches or teas, sip Gatsby-era cocktails in the champagne lounge or enjoy live jazz in the Rose Room.

Long Island

After exploring the city, take a trip through the borough of Queens and over the Queensboro Bridge (itself an important landmark in the novel) to the Gold Coast of Long Island to see the grand homes that inspired the setting of “The Great Gatsby.”

While Land’s End, the home that was believed to have inspired the abode of Gatsby’s doomed love Daisy Buchanan, was torn down in 2010, other homes in the area provide a glimpse into this playground of the uber-rich. The English country–style Old Westbury Gardens appears in the new film as Daisy’s home, along with several other private homes in the area. Two area museums, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and the Clayton/Nassau County Museum of Art, are housed in homes built in Gatsby’s era. They still contain exhibits and art of the time, offering a glimpse of 1920s-era New York.

As Nick Carraway notes, few people were actually invited to Jay Gatsby’s lavish parties — most just arrived, ready to enjoy his hospitality and the scene sure to unfold. While the champagne may no longer flow as freely, visitors are still welcome and it’s still possible to capture a touch of the glamour, and the style of the Jazz Age in New York.

Image by 757Live From Flickr’s Creative Commons

About the Author: After reading “The Great Gatsby” for a school assignment, Kitty Butler became enthralled with the 1920s and the flapper culture of the time. She finds flights to New York every few years to take a trip to the novel’s setting and is planning to do the same this summer.

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