Behind the Scenes at St. John’s Center

When it came time to find a location for Craig McDean’s “Heaven Snake” photo shoot [pictured above; see the entire story here], one space felt like a natural fit: St. John’s Center, a gigantic production space on Washington Street in Manhattan. It’s an elongated five-acre property so large that Houston Street actually passes through the building on its way to the West Side Highway—which means lots of space for enterprising photographers to play around in. It’s a historical building, too: it was originally built as the terminus for the New York Central Railroad. And this summer, they’re as busy as we are: five television pilots just wrapped up there, and St. John’s will play host to multiple movie production companies, commercial shoots, and high-end fashion exhibits throughout the summer and into the fall. Oh, and come next Fashion Week, we’d keep an eye on the space—in the past, it’s hosted shows like Edun, McQ, Proenza Schouler, and 3.1 Phillip Lim. We can’t wait to see what’s next.