a 25-mile radius of Columbus Circle. The same circle coincidentally defines the city's "film zone" that local unions operate in, a counterpart to Los Angeles' studio zone. The New York City government employee handbook considers a trip beyond a 75-mile radius from Columbus Circle as long-distance travel. As a center for soapbox orators The circle became known as a center for soapbox orators in the early-mid 20th century, comparable to Speakers Corner in London. It became a home particularly for non-leftists in contrast to Union Square, and for a time in the late 1930s it became a home to a number of far right speakers. The area sometimes had a poor reputation for cranks and street preachers, the "lunatic fringe whose tub-thumping make a nightmare of Columbus Circle" condemned by a New York Court of Appeals ruling in a case related to elsewhere in the city, that prompted mid-20th century configurations, but was also sometimes showcased by the national government as a rambunctious symbol of American freedom of speech. In popular culture Columbus Circle was also featured in the 1954 romantic comedy film It Should Happen to You. In the film, Judy Holliday's character, Gladys Glover, began her quest for fame by renting a large billboard overlooking Columbus Circle, on which she had her name emblazoned. Columbus Circle, and in particular the USS Maine Memorial, was featured in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver, where Robert De Niro's character was thwarted in an attempt to assassinate a presidential nominee. Columbus Circle was featured in the 1984 movie Ghostbusters as the place where the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man manifests and then walks up Central Park West. The shooting of Joseph Colombo in Columbus Circle by Jerome A. Johnson in 1971 was featured in the 2019 film The Irishman. Gallery References Explanatory notes Citations Bibliography External links NYC Parks Department – Columbus Circle Smithsonian's Inventory of American Sculpture Entry New York City History – Columbus Circle 1905 establishments in New York City 59th Street (Manhattan) Broadway (Manhattan) Central Park Eighth Avenue (Manhattan) Kilometre-zero markers Monuments and memorials to Christopher Columbus New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Roundabouts and traffic circles in the United States Streets in Manhattan