Friday Funny: Mapping Seinfeld's Locations

Whether it was a show about nothing, or, as Eric Jaffe claims, a show about anything, Seinfeld was all about New York City. And it debuted 25 years ago, on July 5, 1989.

1 minute read

July 11, 2014, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"America celebrated an important anniversary late last week. Obviously that refers not to July 4 but July 5, which marked 25 years since Seinfeld debuted, back in 1989," explains Jaffe.

But the show wasn't about America; it was about New York City:

"The city supplied the 'excruciating minutia' that kept the narrative motor running for a group of self-obsessed, over-analytical, otherwise-unoccupied characters (think about it: only Elaine had a steady job). From Steinbrenner to Mickey Mantle to Keith Hernandez, chance sidewalk encounters to apartment and doorman etiquette, an endless parade of health clubs and diners to a bottomless dating pool, glorious Hamptons weekends to 3 a.m. cock fights to games of Risk on the subway—the situations were all contrived, and anywhere but New York they might have felt like it."

To mark the occasion, Jaffe leads a digital tour of "five classic Seinfeld spots still here, and five since gone." 

Jaffe also recommends a great fan site called Maps About Nothing, which bills itself as a "Seinfeld reality tour on steroids."

Monday, July 7, 2014 in CityLab

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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