The Exorcist (1973) filming locations

3600 Prospect Street NW (Georgetown)

Washington, United States

Private house from 1950, located at the corner of Prospect Street and 36th Street, in the Georgetown neighborhood, not far from the Potomac.

The scene : The house where actress Chris MacNeil lives with her daughter Regan: it is in front of this house that Father Merrin arrives at night, and it is through Regan's bedroom window that Father Karras tumbles towards the neighboring staircase.

Washington, United States

Public staircase of 74 steps built in 1895, connecting Prospect Street to M Street in Georgetown; it was called the Hitchcock Steps.

The scene : The long concrete staircase descending from Prospect Street to M Street: Father Karras tumbles down it in his final fall, Lieutenant Kinderman then comes to examine him, and the film closes near the steps with Father Dyer.

Washington, United States

Georgetown bar-restaurant that inspired the bar in St. Elmo's Fire.

The scene : Several guides place the bar scenes of the film in this bar, directly across from Regan's house; however, the blog Then & Now attributes Karras's conversation to Martin's Tavern on Wisconsin Avenue.

Washington, United States

Restaurant founded in 1933 by former baseball player and manager Billy Martin, presented as the oldest family restaurant in Washington.

The scene : Father Damien Karras and Reverend Bermingham sit down at the bar to discuss, settled in the booth known as the "Paul Scully Power Booth," while "Ramblin' Man" by the Allman Brothers Band plays in the background.

Washington, United States

An iconic building of Georgetown University, constructed in 1879 according to the designs of Paul J. Pelz and John L. Smithmeyer, and designated a National Historic Landmark on December 23, 1987; it houses the office of the university's president.

The scene : In front of Healy Hall, amidst a crowd of students, Chris MacNeil films the "film within the film," Crash Course, a movie about student protest: this is Ellen Burstyn's first appearance. Father Karras walks along the set and climbs the stairs at the north end of the building, where other scenes have been shot inside.

Healy Hall (Office of the President)

Washington, United States

Office of the president of Georgetown University, on the second floor of Healy Hall.

The scene : The president's office at the university, on the second floor of Healy Hall, serves as the setting for the archbishop's office.

Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart

Washington, United States

Chapel of Georgetown University was built in 1893, at the heart of the Dahlgren Quadrangle.

The scene : The campus chapel is the one that the film shows obscenely desecrated.

Washington, United States

Sports field of Georgetown University, whose former track has been covered with a synthetic surface for the field hockey team; the Heyden Observatory borders it to the south.

The scene : On the track of the sports field, Lieutenant Kinderman approaches Father Karras; the two men continue their conversation while walking to the priest's dormitory.

Dahlgren Quadrangle

Washington, United States

Historic courtyard of Georgetown University, where the Dahlgren Chapel stands.

The scene : The walk of Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Lieutenant Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) ends in this courtyard, at the foot of the priest's dormitory.

Washington, United States

Outdoor staircase that runs alongside the Lauinger Library of Georgetown University, between the campus and the intersection of 37th Street and N Street.

The scene : Having finished her day of shooting, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) returns home by descending the steps that run alongside the Lauinger Library, between the campus, on the Healy Hall side, and N Street.

Washington, United States

Row of terraced houses from the early 20th century in Georgetown.

The scene : On the way back, Chris walks east on P Street, then turns right onto 36th Street and walks past these townhouses.

Washington, United States

Episcopal Church of Georgetown, founded in 1817.

The scene : As he passes by the church, Chris catches sight of Father Karras having a lengthy conversation with another priest.

Washington, United States

The scene : The sermon scene was filmed in this Catholic parish in Georgetown.

Washington, United States

A road bridge crossing the Potomac River between Georgetown in Washington and Rosslyn in Virginia.

The scene : The bridge that connects Georgetown to Rosslyn, Virginia, appears in the film, notably in an overview shot of Georgetown.

Washington, United States

Pedestrian footbridge of the towpath of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, in Georgetown, near the Key Bridge.

The scene : On the small towpath bridge, closest to the Key Bridge, Chris meets Father Karras to talk to him about Regan's possession.

Bellevue Hospital (Manhattan)

Manhattan, New York, United States

The public hospital of Manhattan, Bellevue was founded on March 31, 1736.

The scene : The hospital scenes of Regan were filmed inside Bellevue, on First Avenue.

New York, United States

New York University Medical Center Hospital (NYU Langone Health), on First Avenue.

The scene : This is where the arteriogram scene of Regan is filmed, at the medical center of New York University.

New York, United States

Building of the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University, located in the Bronx.

The scene : In a basement room converted into a language laboratory, Father Karras listens to recordings of Regan's voice.

460 West 54th Street (Manhattan)

New York, United States

Former New York studios of Fox, located on 8th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

The scene : The studio houses the interior sets of the MacNeil house, starting with Regan's bedroom, refrigerated so that the breath fog is visible on screen during the exorcism; the desecration of the church statue is also filmed there.

424 West 48th Street (Manhattan)

New York, United States

Residential building whose entrance has since been bricked up and replaced by windows; it is now part of a larger ensemble.

The scene : Father Karras visits his mother and enters her building on West 48th Street.

New York, United States

The scene : A subway station from the film, photographed by the blog Then & Now at the corner of 7th Avenue and 33rd Street West; the scene is not specified.

New York, United States

The scene : Father Karras's mother exits the subway through this entrance and then goes back down, while her son waves to her from the other side of the street.

New York, United States

The scene : In front of the Williamsburg Bridge, Father Karras signals to his mother, who is emerging from the subway on the other side of the street.

Goldwater Memorial Hospital

New York, United States

Former Roosevelt Island Hospital, on the East River, opened in 1939, closed on December 31, 2013, and demolished in 2014: the building no longer exists and its site is now partially occupied by the Cornell Tech campus. This point marks the approximate location of the former hospital.

The scene : Father Karras visits his sick mother in the psychiatric ward of the hospital, whose interiors were filmed here.

New York, United States

The scene : IMDb lists Brooklyn as one of the filming locations for the movie, without specifying a scene or address.

900 Sylvan Avenue (Englewood Cliffs)

Englewood Cliffs, United States

The office building of a magazine publisher, present since at least the mid-1960s, was demolished in 2001; the headquarters of CNBC has stood in its place since 2002. The rock formation and the neighboring tree are still there.

The scene : The office building that stood here serves as the exterior shot of the Barringer Clinic and Foundation.

Burbank, United States

Historic Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, one of the largest film production complexes in Hollywood. They were founded in 1926.

The scene : Part of the filming took place in the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.

Hatra

Hatra, Iraq

Ancient fortified city of Upper Mesopotamia, southwest of Mosul, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site; taken by the Islamic State in 2014 and recaptured on April 26, 2017, it lost most of its statues, but the essential part of the temple remains standing.

The scene : Opening of the film: at the excavation site of the ruins of Hatra, Father Merrin discovers the statue of the demon Pazuzu, facing it; the city where he feels unwell is Hatra itself.

Mossoul, Iraq

The scene : Father Merrin mingles with the hustle and bustle of the city, between an outdoor café and an underground market.

Sinjar, Iraq

The scene : Movie Tourist cites Sinjar, with Hatra, among the locations of the opening sequence filmed in Iraq.

Mossoul, Iraq

Mosque in the center of Mosul renowned for housing the tomb of the prophet Jonah, destroyed by the Islamic State.

The scene : Father Merrin swallows his heart pills in a tea house facing the mosque; this tea house is not located, the point indicates the nearby mosque.

Mossoul, Iraq

Historic Great Mosque of Mosul, destroyed by the Islamic State.

The scene : In the courtyard of the mosque, after examining the excavation artifacts with him, Father Merrin bids farewell to the museum curator and informs him that he must return to America.