 On a budget of $ 110 million , principal photography took place mostly on location in New York and Washington , D.C. from March to June 2009 . Noyce decided to avoid " typical post @-@ card views of Washington DC " to reflect " the more day @-@ to @-@ day environment of massive federal buildings inhabited by the typical bureaucrat " . The opening sequence in North Korea was shot at the Floyd Bennett Field , with an extra who had experience with prisoner exchange acting as a consultant . Salt 's rendezvous with Orlov was shot on the " Frying Pan " , a former lighthouse ship , now moored in the Hudson River , at 26th Street in New York . The outside of the KA training facility was the <unk> Monastery in Russia , while the interior was the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection in New York 's East Village . Filming for a chase sequence took place in Albany on Water Street near the Interstate 787 ramp between April and May . Studio production took place at Grumman Studios in Bethpage , Long Island , New York . While the film was in post @-@ production , di Bonaventura became dissatisfied with some scenes . Steven Zaillian was brought for uncredited rewrites , and reshoots , mostly of action scenes , were held in New York during January 2010 . Filming also took place in upper Manhattan 's neighborhood Washington Heights on 157th St and Riverside Dr. Some scenes were also filmed outside of Manhattan including The Bronx , Queens , Staten Island , and in Westchester County . 
