J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has chosen Liverpool to take on the role of 1920s New York.

The news was revealed via local newspaper Liverpool Echo, who also received a quote from series producer David Heyman.

“We are thrilled to be bringing Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them to Liverpool, a city which has such fond memories for me,” Heyman said. “My mother is from Liverpool and, as a child, we would often visit family there. The architecture in this beautiful city works perfectly for our film, set in 1920s New York, and I know we will receive a very warm welcome.”

Liverpool will be the only non-studio location the movie will film at, according to The Echo. Shooting will be “starting soon at key city centre locations” including “St George’s Hall, which was screened off with huge metal fences, and near the Three Graces over the past few weeks.”

Here’s a photo of St. George’s Hall. The Echo says that giant, black fences are already blocking the place off ahead of filming getting under way:

It looks like a building that would exist in New York, doesn’t it? For comparison’s sake, here’s a photo of the New York Public Library under construction in 1908:

Fantastic Beasts’s plans for Liverpool aren’t small. According to the Liverpool Echo, over 500 cast and crew members will be coming into town for the production.

Fun/random fact: It’s about a 3-hour drive between Leavesden and Liverpool. Road trip!

We don’t blame Warner Bros. for not shooting in actual New York. After all, the city doesn’t look like it did 90 years ago. It’d suck if The Hunger Games Exhibition off Times Square accidentally appeared in the background of a scene between Newt and one of his enemies, you know? That kind of thing really takes you out of a story.

Fantastic Beasts opens next November and stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. Filming is primarily taking place at Leavesden Studios, where all eight Harry Potter movies were shot.