For any cinephile, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather probably holds a very special place in their imagination and hearts. From the ambush of Luca Brasi to the elimination of Barzini, the anchoring location throughout the film is the imposing Corleone compound on Staten Island, where the family hatches its plots and muses over the politics of New York’s criminal underworld. Now, never-before-seen background footage, and Coppola’s original blueprints of the Corleone "mall" are up for auction at the price of $733 through RR Auction.
Located at 110 Longfellow Avenue in Emerson Hill, Staten Island, the mansion of Don Vito Corleone had been on the market for several years at the price of $2.1 million and finally sold in 2012. While the interior has been redecorated since the film’s days (albeit the Don’s office is the only on-sight interior location) the exterior retains its Tudor Revival details.
Although the mansion is familiar, the neighborhood bears little resemblance to that pictured in the film. Staten Island Local News reports that Coppola’s production team surrounded five homes on Longfellow Avenue with a "fake brick wall and wrought-iron gate, turning the street leading up to the house into part of a sprawling well-guarded retreat."
Not only do the for-auction blueprints contain the floor plans of the Corleone mansion, but diagrams for the Don’s office, guard house details, as well as the entire set design for the opening wedding scene. While the cost of these blueprints may seem a bit steep, can you truly put a price on cinematic history?