Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them: Everything We Know So Far
2. The Magical Congress Of The United States of America
Britain has the Ministry of Magic, but America has the Magical Congress of the United States of America. While it's supposed to be housed inside the real Woolworth Building in New York (which was the city's tallest skyscraper at the time), the interiors were actually shot on a massive stage measuring 250 feet long and 50 feet high, with the ceiling set to stretch up to reach nearly 700 feet - via CGI - in what production designer Stuart Craig describes as, "an empty cathedral of light, a hugely impressive, brilliantly lit space." The two (of four) phoenix statues seen above have been placed in the entrance of the Magical Congress as a way to paying respect to those who died during the Salem Witch Trials. There's actually going to be a lot of gold inside this sure to be iconic location as the building - which is loosely based on the interior of the Gothic art-deco American Radiator Building in midtown Manhattan - uses it as a way of bringing, "a richness to the decoration," says Crag. "Given that this is the seat of power of the government in the magic world, its appropriate that it is gilded." It's not included here, but the emblem for this Magical Congress is apparently based on the US Presidential seal, albeit with an etching of the American flag combined with a phoenix. With no Hogwarts to base the action around, chances are that this is going to become a big focal point of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise!
