 Principal photography for "Awakenings" began on October 16, 1989, at the functioning Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn, New York, and lasted until February 16, 1990.According to Williams, actual patients were used in the filming of the movie.In addition to Kingsboro, sequences were also filmed at the New York Botanical Garden, Julia Richman High School, the Casa Galicia, and Park Slope, Brooklyn.