The 1990 romantic comedy Green Card is an example of a movie that is kinda cute, kinda funny, and would be kinda forgettable if it hadn’t been for the apartment that Andie MacDowell’s character Brontë lives in.
Until I watched again recently, I couldn’t recall much about it other than the basic plot: woman marries Frenchman so he can stay in the U.S. and they (spoiler alert!) fall in love.
But who could forget her New York City apartment with the lovely greenhouse and rooftop garden? Let’s take a look back the sets they created for the movie.
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Andie MacDowell’s Apartment in “Green Card”
In the scene below, Brontë is leaving her apartment
and we get a glimpse of the outside of the building:
It’s known as the Aylsmere in Manhattan and was built in the 1890s (the architect was Henry Andersen):
60 West 76th Street is a pre-war rental building in the Upper West Side’s Central Park West neighborhood finished in 1900. Situated at 60 West 76th Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, the building contains 56 units and rises 7 stories. The elevatored building’s amenities include: basement storage, washer/dryer in building, elevator and live-in superintendent.
According to On the Set, it has an onyx lobby and marble floors throughout, and “The apartment building was used for interior and exterior use.”
According to IMDb.com, the entire movie was shot in New York City, and there’s no mention of a separate soundstage being used.
Gérard Depardieu played the Frenchman Brontë marries so he can get his Green Card and she can get her greenhouse.
She’s a horticulturist who has found the perfect apartment in Manhattan with its own conservatory.
You’d think money would be the problem in securing a place like that, especially for someone who works with plants for a living, but no.
The dilemma: this apartment building is for “marrieds only,” so she needs to find a husband, and quick. (Don’t you hate when that happens?)
Brontë checks out the greenhouse and sees all the work that needs to be done out there,
but it doesn’t scare her off. It has a fountain:
And a Skylight:
Looking from the conservatory into the living room:
Georges sits at the writing desk in the living room, writing “love letters” that will hopefully fool the INS into thinking they’ve had a real relationship that spans more than a few days together:
The kitchen is tiny but charming!
As if the greenhouse isn’t enough, there’s a door in the kitchen
that opens up to a rooftop garden:
Green Card Set Decorator John Anderson also worked on the “Gilmore Girls,” and you can see some of the same soft, feminine, and vintage look to them:
In the mood to watch “Green Card” again? You can get it on Amazon (affiliate link).
Visit my Houses Onscreen page to see the other movies I’ve featured, listed A-Z.
I remember loving this movie mainly because of that apartment! What a dream! There was Holly Golightly’s apartment in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I remember as a kid being impressed by the apartment in the movie “Sweet November” with Anthony Newly. I can’t remember the apartment in the newer version that was done with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. I remember being impressed by the office space in “The Hudsucker Proxy”. Oh…loved Ingrid Bergman’s apartment in Indiscreet. That’s all I can think of now….
Those are good ones! I’ve gotten some requests to do a post about Tina Fey’s apartment in “Baby Mama.” I didn’t really remember much about that one, so I just rented it to check it out.
thanks julia!! i always loved that apartment, but haven’t seen the movie in years. i think the decor still looks lovely…did you notice the subway tile in the kitchen? bronte (what a cool name) was ahead of her time.
nanne in columbus, indiana
I’m always jealous of the rooftop gardens in movies and tv shows!! I never seem to find buildings with those!!
Love that soft vintage look to the kitchen. So pretty! Had forgotten about that movie!
I had forgotten how much I liked that apartment!
Rene Zellweger’s apartment in the movie The Bachelor (with Chris O’Donnell, who is not on NCIS Los Angeles) is a favourite of mine. Very feminine and pretty.
Good grief – I meant he is “now” on NCIS LA.
I was madly in love with this apartment and, having never been to New York, thought all apartments must look something like this! HA!
It’s fun to see how Shabby Chic everything was, long before it became popular.
P.S. Don’t name your child Brontë. Even if the people you know are all intelligent and college-educated they still won’t get it. We named our ten-year-old daughter Brontë and after several days of everyone saying “Brundy? Blondie?” We threw our hands up in the air. And she became Arabella.
I remembered the movie but somehow had forgotten all about this fantastic aqpartment, not to mention the conservatory and the rooftop garden. Thanks, Julia, for bringing these photos to us.
The kitchen is lovely because it’s so small, perfect for just one person. Susan’s desk is a dream as is her kitchen table. I also love those French doors to the conservatory.
This reminds me of the movie “Bed of Roses” with Mary Stuart Masterson and Christian Slater that I watched a few days ago. Lewis’s apartment and rooftop garden and his flower shop are gorgeous.
It’s a lovely apartment. This has nothing to do with houses, but why did they costume her in that awful sad sack of a green jumper?
Thank-you!!! This has been my favourite all-time movie apartment since I first saw this film in theatres. love love love!!!!
I remember watching the movie many times just to see the apartment and greenhouses. I especially love that it actually exists and is not just a sound stage.
Loved revisiting this movie – I can’t believe it was that long ago – what a wonderful apartment – so quaint in many ways – lovely
Mary x
I will have to watch this movie. When I was very young, I lived on West 70th street, close to Central Park. The funny thing is, I had a friend who lived further up and probably near where this movie took place. My friends apartment had a similar balcony access and her Mom let us sleep one night out on the roof on chaise lounge chairs. The one thing I remember about that exciting event was waking up with soot all over my face ;-D Happy memories!
Love your blog!
In case people want to walk by that building it’s actually 60 West 72nd Street at Columbus Avenue. (Not 76th Street) I walk by it allll the time. It’s one of my favorite buildings.
What a beautiful apartment. Especially with that greenhouse. I love the design and details.
Remembers those jumpers …. yuck ….
I know, right? Did we ever think those were attractive?
I had so many of them. I remember thinking they were hip, somehow. *smh*
The apartment itself doesn’t do a lot for me, but I love the idea of the garden right outside…even though I’m no gardener!
Movie Apartments I Have Loved:
–Meg Ryan’s in “You’ve Got Mail.”
–Any of them in “Hannah and her Sister’s”
–Amy Irving’s in “Crossing Delancy”
–Sandra Bullock’s in “While You Were Sleeping” (also that house, and this may be for purely I-Love-Chicago reasons).
–Marsha Mason’s in “The Goodbye Girl” because it was “real”
–Bridget Jones’s–not decorated amazingly well, but oh so cozy, inside and out.
–Jennifer Beals’s warehouse apartment in “Flashdance” (so much room to store your ripped sweatshirts and leg warmers!)
–Not Julia Child’s apartment in “Julie and Julia”.
Most groovy apartments I can think of that weren’t filmed over a decade ago are on TV though, come to think of it. I wonder why.
I can’t believe I forgot to mention Meg Ryan’s apartment in “You’ve Got Mail”! One of my faves. Glad you reminded me about “Crossing Delancy,” too. I need to watch that one again. Great list, Beth!
I too love Meg Ryan’s apartment in “You’ve Got Mail”. Super sweet!!
one of my faves movie apartment is from Meg Ryan’s movie “Addicted to Love” Anton’s apartment
Yes! I loved the apartment in Addicted to Love! Also loved his gorgeous restaurant.
Mila Kunis had a great apartment in Friends With Benefits.
From about the same time period as this, I remember Annabella Sciorra’s downstairs NYC apt, and Matt Dillon’s apt. (Brooklyn?) in Mr. Wonderful. I loved the courtyard of her apartment building (especially at the end)! Of course, someone already mentioned Meg Ryan’s apt in You’ve Got Mail. It’s my all-time favorite (and I know you’ve already featured it)!
Thanks for posting those pictures. I remember loving that apartment at the time and now when I look at it I think I would want to lighten it up a little somehow. I love movies that have anything to do with New York, and especially their apartments. I really love gwenyth paltrow and michael douglas’ apartment in ‘the perfect murder’. It was the perfect apartment! Especially the kitchen. (without all the blood from the murder, of course!).
I have all the dvd’s of gilmore girls too. It was such a fun show. Miss it 🙁 I loved it when luke finally remodeled some of her house.
Well, I guess thats why we all love your blog!…we have this weird addiction to houses!
I love Green Card!
Drew Barrymore’s apartment in Fever Pitch is pretty cute. Have you done that one yet?
Jennifer Garner’s apartment in 13 Going on 30.
Reese Witherspoon’s in Just Like Heaven–looooooove.
I know there are a lot of cute ones but now the movies are all getting mixed up in my head!
I haven’t done “Fever Pitch.” I don’t remember that one. I did love “Just Like Heaven” and really should write a post about it. One of these days I’ll get to it! 🙂
Yay! Thanks for responding to me. 🙂 You should definitely do Just Like Heaven–I look forward to it!
have we met? i LOVE movie apartments. to pick a favorite would be a total crapshoot. breakfast at tiffany’s, the guitar, honey, sweet november, before sunset, sex & the city, love & other drugs, diario de una ninfomana, moulin rouge, because i said so, i now pronounce you chuck & larry, catwoman, along came polly, sundays in new york…. i devoted a whole flickr set to the subject.
it’s funny, what i like about them varies based on certain experiences living in apartments. many things would not be acceptable in a house that are part of the compromise (or making the best of) living in an apartment. the one in ‘green card’ is comparable to a house by nyc standards. especially given this woman is no heiress. here it’s all about how much private space you can afford. the fact that she has no window in the bathroom is pretty much a dealbreaker for me. but given the size of the space and all the other windows and decks… take for instance, ashley judd’s little studio in “someone like you.” in america, it would be fairly unacceptable to have your bathtub next to your kitchen. …but in new york? you might just be glad the bed doesn’t have to be next to the kitchen.
(i don’t know about that rooftop view, julia. there are two exhaust stacks right there. perhaps if she put up a trellis to disguise them.)
I was drawing a blank this morning when I posted this. All day I’ve been thinking of more great movie apartments and you named a few more here I had forgotten!
i have more! iona’s in “pretty in pink,” the guy in “burlesque,” in america, confessions of a shopaholic, desperately seeking susan, kate & leopold, pam’s in “carlito’s way,” material girls, the dreamers…
Ahh what a lovely trip down movie-memory lane this was! Other movie apartments I always remember are probably the apartment of Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing on “Six Degrees of Separation”, and the one Michael Douglas has in “A Perfect Murder”… and numerous others ill remember in a second!
I love this place and Andie. I could soooooo live there. I also love Meg Ryan’s apt. in You’ve Got Mail.
I can’t remember much about that movie, but I know I liked that scene where he plays the piano. And I’d LOVE a greenhouse like that, but I’d have to fill it with fake plants and that would be tacky…
Hi Julia – well this is great love the movie and this apartment is beautiful. The thing is looking at homes and apartments these days they seem to have gotten much larger. Don’t know if people can live in something so small these days. I love Catherine Zeta Jones’s apt. in No Reservations. I wont say no to either apartment. Regards Esther from Sydney.
I have the full set of GG DVD’s as well! Wish towns like that really did exist…I’d move there in a heart beat.
I have watched them all twice, and I love they way the sets are decorated in a quirky but warm and timeless way.
Julia, Green Card is one of my favorite movies and the apartment was so cozy. The greenhouse definitely stole my heart! Thanks so much for the linky love. Always love your movie posts!
I love the movie ranks one of my favorites! I named my Himalayan Bronte after the Andie’s character. btw I saw Andie at the local mall a few months ago she is even more beautiful in person.
I remember watching this movie years ago and admiring her apartment.
I forgot about this apartment. Oh that garden just makes it. Love love love!
Totally remember the movie, and the apartment (and those awful jumpers we wore back then). I *still* want an apartment like this!
After many, many, many requests for you to photograph this movie apartment, I just want to say: THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!!!
Of course, there are every so many amazing movie apartment, it is true, but man oh man THIS IS THE ONE! I have not been this happy with your site since you did “Hanging Up.” YOU HAVE MADE…MY…DAY!
I feel sorta silly, I’m one of the people who asked to to do this one–but it’s not nearly as cute as I remember it! Or has my taste just evolved over these past 20 something years?! Do still love the greenhouse and balcony though.
I love “You’ve Got Mail” a lot, too.
As a kid I just adored Bob & Emily’s high rise on the ‘Bob Newhart Show’ and couldn’t get enough of Rhoda & Joe’s apartment in the first couple seasons of ‘Rhoda’.
Such an amazing post, Julia. I loved the movie for Bronte’s apartment, too 😀 I can only imagine how much it would cost to have a rooftop garden and greenhouse in NYC. The apartment truly is charming and delightful. Thanks so, so much for posting!
I loved this movie Julia! I lived on the upper-west side of NYC in the early 90’s when I saw it, and as young college grad, this apt. was the ultimate dream apt. for me and my friends and our murphy-bed studios! I mean a greenhouse garden, it still makes me swoon! 🙂
THIS is what I’m thinking of when “Selling New York” showcases all of those multi-million dollar builder blah boxes (that then must be professionally designed and decorated to suit a buyer’s personal taste) with their requisite sleek kitchens and faceless features. Where’s the charm?? I want cozy, small, intimate, homey, with fabulous woodword and architectural details. Spacious minimalism is so overrated. And if I never see another white sectional with chrome and glass table, it will be too soon; but I digress. This apartment has ‘good book by the fireplace with a cup of tea’ written all over it . . . which is my idea of home.
Thanks so much for finding and posting these beautiful pictures. I will add this to my “favorites” and use it for reference. My husband and I bought a very modest home in Southern California that has a screened in patio. When I saw it my mind immediately went to the movie Greencard for inspiration. I told Brad, trust me, I can do something with this eyesore. It’s now filled with plants that are thriving and just this morning a huge ficus tree was delivered. The wonderful thing is that the common wall between our living room and the patio is all glass, so the greener I make the patio the more all that “life” just projects into our living room.
I love this apartment but I don’t know if I could live in it with all the clutter. Also, it seems very dark. When movie was released this look was very fashionable – but to look at it now, it looks very dated.
What about Richard Gere’s apartment in Runaway Bride?
If you want to talk great apartments in movies, there is Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse’s prewar unit in “Rosemary’s Baby” from 1968. Interiors were filmed on a soundstage, but exteriors were shot at the famous Dakota on the Upper West Side. And there was also 1970’s “Boys in the Band”, which is set in the character Michael’s Upper East Side flat. The apartment was supposedly based on the real life apartment of actress Tammy Grimes (a friend of the film’s director), which included a terriffic roofdeck.
le sigh
The roof top , to my knowledge was not the same apartment as the conservatory. I remember living in that neighborhood for 20 years and took my little kids to go inside. We were let in by someone just happening to be walking in. She told me the story of the filming. If you are up on the roof ,in the movie, it looks over the Dakota. Well, that would not make any sense because the Dakota was further south and on Central Park West.
I love this apartment. Recently re-watched the movie–i had forgotten how great it was. I also love Jennifer Garner’s apartment in “13 Going on 30.” Not so much the furniture as the size/layout. And there’s this old movie titled “Bells Are Ringing” with Dean Martin and Judy Holliday. I love Dean Martin’s apartment. It’s small but he has a tiny balcony and a little elevated working area that’s great.
This apartment is a DREAM!! Worth marrying some perfect stranger, maybe….