July 15, 2010

"Salt" Featuring Angelina Jolie Uses OCA Cathedral For Orphanage Setting


In the movie SALT, Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn Salt - a 20-year veteran of the CIA with a husband and a dull suburban life.

When she's accused of being a Russian sleeper trained to be a superspy, she fights for her life going from blond to brunette to escape detection.

SALT was filmed in New York, Washington D.C. and on the Volga River in Russia.

The location for the Russian orphanage in the movie was the OCA Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection in New York (59 East Second Street). Filming took place in May of 2009 at the Cathedral and the film is due for release in July. See photos from the shoot here.

The Russian Orthodox Cathedral was first converted to a chapel in 1867 by the New York Mission Society, catering to immigrants with services in German, Hungarian, Italian and Russian. It was designed by renowned architect Josiah Cleveland Cady, who would later think up plans for the original Metropolitan Opera House.

The property was purchased by the Orthodox Church of America in 1943. It now has a religious school, a library on Orthodox Christian texts and regular liturgical services.