1993 Zell-Breier Promotional Pictorial View of New York City Film Industry

An imaginative depiction of New York City focusing on its film and television industry, this c. 1993 promotional pictorial view was drawn by Rob Zell-Breir and produced by Bayside Promotions.

A Closer Look

As stated in a note at bottom-right, the map takes liberties with the arrangement of industry establishments for aesthetic purposes; in reality, most of the Manhattan offices operated in Midtown Manhattan, with concentrations in Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and around 42nd St. on the east side. Several studios and other facilities are illustrated in and around Long Island City in Queens, including the still-prominent Silvercup and Kaufman Astoria Studios. Household names like NBC and HBO appear alongside a constellation of businesses involved in lighting, sound, editing, casting, catering, and more. A grid surrounds the view, providing coordinates corresponding to an index at bottom.

At bottom-right, on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, the logo of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees appears on a billboard along with local chapters and a note about labor relations in New York's film and television industry. A blank banner pulled by plane at right was possibly meant to include information of various sponsors.

Publication History and Census

This view was designed and illustrated by Rob Zell-Breier, colored by Teri 'the Great' Cheney, and published by Bayside Promotions. It may have been distributed along with the New York Production Guide illustrated at bottom, near the World Trade Center. Zell-Breier, Cheney, and Art Bodner, illustrated and quoted towards bottom-left, were all involved in the production of pictorial promotional maps such as this in the late 1980s through the late 1990s, though specifics are sparse (they variously published under International Caricature Productions, Cityscape Graphics, and Bayside Promotions). We have been unable to locate other examples of this view in institutional collections or on the market.