Three are a lot of places around the world that have become famous for being set locations or exterior shots from television shows. From restaurants, to prisons, to houses, to everything in between. These are just a few of these now-famous locations everyone recognizes from their favorite shows.
Tom's Restaurant - Seinfeld
In virtually every episode of Seinfeld, the gang met up at Monk's Diner. The interiors were a set, of course, but all the exterior shots for Monk's were of Tom's Restaurant at the corner of Broadway and 112th Street in New York City. The cast of Seinfeld is enshrined in caricatures on the wall. One more fun fact about the eatery, it was also the restaurant that inspired the song "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega.
Highclere Castle - Downton Abbey
Grand houses dot the English countryside, many of which are quite famous for their ornate beauty. One house now stands out from the rest, Highclere Castle in Hampshire. As hardcore fans of Downton Abbey know, not only was it used for the exterior of the house, but many of the interiors, including the iconic library, were used in the production.
The Painted Ladies - Full House
San Francisco was once home to thousands of grand Victorian homes, though many were destroyed by the earthquake in 1906. A notable row that survived across from Alamo Square Park is famously known as "The Painted Ladies" and is a big tourist destination for fans of Full House after they featured prominently in the show.
Police Beach - Lost
The mysterious island in Lost was in actually many filming locations across Oahu in Hawaii. One of the most famous locations is known as Papailoa Beach or Police Beach. It is located on the North Shore and was used a lot in the show as the spot where the plane crashed and where the survivors lived for a time.
94 Bedford Street - Friends
94 Bedford Street, at the corner of Grove and Bedford, has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City. Not because anyone famous has lived there, but because that's the building used for the exterior shots of where most of the characters on Friends lived.
St. Michael's Mount - House Of The Dragon
St. Michael's Mount in southeast England is less famous than its cousin, Mont-Saint-Michel in France, but they are very similar monasteries. Both were built on little spits of land surrounded by a tidal area that leaves them completely separated from the mainland much of the time. St. Michael's Mount serves as the exterior for Driftmark, the seat of House Velaryon in House Of The Dragon.
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Salish Lodge & Spa - Twin Peaks
On Twin Peaks, one of the most prominent locations is The Great Northern Inn, where Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) lives during his time in the town investigating the murder of Laura Palmer. The exterior of the hotel, located above a beautiful waterfall, is actually the Salish Lodge & Spa in Snoqualmie, WA.
The Bull & Finch Pub - Cheers
Tourists in Boston are often startled to see the exterior of Cheers as they walk around the Public Garden at the foot of Beacon Hill. The famous bar from Cheers was once called The Bull & Finch Pub and has been in that spot since the late '60s. In the early '00s, the owners changed the name to Cheers.
Pasadena City Hall - Parks And Recreation
Parks & Recreation may be set in the town of Pawnee, Indiana, but the exterior shots of the City Hall on the show were filmed much closer to where the show was actually filmed in LA. The building is, in fact, the City of Pasadena's City Hall. A far cry from rural Indiana, but these days the building is more famous for being in a fictional TV town in the Hoosier state than the City of Roses.
Richmond, London - Ted Lasso
A little alley in Richmond, London, has become one of the most visited tourist spots in a town chock-full of great tourist spots. That's because it served as the exterior to Coach Lasso's apartment in Ted Lasso. The pub nearby was also one of the most-used shooting locations for the show and fans of the hilarious show have been flocking ever since.
The Belnord - Only Murders In The Building
There are a few famous apartment buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, including The Belnord. The grand building is one of the most prominent of all, especially now as it serves as the titular building in Only Murders In The Building starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. It's located at 86th St. and Amsterdam.
Dubrovnik Harbor - Game Of Thrones
HBO's Game of Thrones made quite a few locations around the world famous, and while the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia was already famous among historians, it entered popular culture in a big way when it was the stand-in for King's Landing throughout many episodes of the show. There is a little harbor on the city's west coast that was one of the locations used in some of the most famous scenes.
The Waybury Inn - Newhart
In Newhart Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) and his wife Joanna (Mary Frann) moved to Vermont to run the Stratford Inn. The real-life Stratford Inn is actually The Waybury Inn in Middlebury Vermont. And yes, it's still a hotel, and you can still stay there.
Ranger's House - Bridgerton
The stately home of the Bridgerton family in Bridgerton is, in fact, called Ranger's House. Built in 1722 in what is now London, it's located near Greenwich Park, just a couple hundred yards from the famous Royal Observatory, Greenwich, which was where time was set for the world for centuries, but it is now a museum.
Mr. Beef - The Bear
Chicago is famous for a lot of different foods. Pizza and hot dogs are probably the two most people think of first. Or at least, they used to. After the wild success of The Bear, one of the best shows on Hulu, the Windy City is increasingly famous for Italian Beef sandwiches, like the ones served at Mr. Beef. The small eatery stood in for The Beef on the show.
15 Washington Street, Brooklyn - Gossip Girl
Located basically under the Manhattan Bridge in the Dumbo neighborhood, 15 Washington Street has become iconic for its use as the exterior of the Humphrey loft in Gossip Girl.
Bell Works, Holmdel, NJ - Severance
The Bell Works building in Holmdel, NJ was locally famous for decades before the Apple TV+ show Severance made it famous everywhere. Long a favorite in architectural circles, the building, designed by Eero Saarinen, was the R&D headquarters for Bell Labs for decades starting in the early '60s. It is a perfect building to house the mysterious Lumon Industries on the show.
Chief Joseph Ranch - Yellowstone
Some terrible things have gone down on the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch in Yellowstone. It has to be the most violent place in all of Montana, in the context of the show. Luckily, the real ranch where it is filmed, Chief Joseph Ranch is like it in looks only. It's a guest ranch and fans of the show can even stay there. Just try not to murder anyone.
Holsten’s Brookdale Confectionary - The Sopranos
One of the most controversial and possibly one of the best endings of a show in TV history took place at Holsten’s Brookdale Confectionery in Bloomfield, NJ. The Sopranos ended when Meadow walked through the door of the diner and the screen went black. Did Tony die or didn't he? The arguments will last forever, an argument you could have over some onion rings at Holsten's.
Twisters Restaurant - Breaking Bad
A Twisters Restaurant in Albuquerque, NM is better known to Breaking Bad fans as Los Pollos Hermanos. The chain restaurant location on Isleta Boulevard in Albuquerque was re-dressed as Los Pollos Hermanos for the show and its spinoff Better Call Saul.
Speedy’s Cafe - Sherlock
221B Baker Street is one of the most famous addresses in literary history as the home of Sherlock Holmes. On the BBC show Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the flat is located next door to a cafe called Speedy's. Not only is the restaurant's exterior featured on the show, but the interior is shown on occasion, such as when Watson (Freeman) meets with Mycroft (Mark Gatiss).
Senoia, Georgia - The Walking Dead
Senoia, Georgia is a small unassuming town on the far southwest edge of the Atlanta metro area. It's a quaint, picturesque southern town that is not a hotbed for tourism by fans of The Walking Dead as it became the setting for the settlement of Alexandria on the show.
Buckingham Fountain - Married... With Children
The Buckingham Fountain in the heart of Grant Park in Chicago has long been a local landmark in The Windy City. When it was used in the opening moments of the credits on Fox's Married... With Children, it became a national landmark, recognized the world over. Along with having one of the most famous musicians ever singing the theme song, Frank Sinatra, it became an iconic opening.
Mystic Grill - The Vampire Diaries
The real Mystic Grill is located in Covington, GA, and has become a must-see location for fans of The Vampire Diaries. It pre-existed the show and looks pretty much identical to what fans remember from the beloved show.
Frist Campus Center - House
Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where Dr. Gregory House torments his residents and his patients on House isn't actually a hospital at all. The famous exteriors are actually of the Frist Campus Center on the campus of Princeton University. The building is also famous for Room 302, where Albert Einstein lectured when he was a professor at the school.
Torrance High School - Beverly Hills, 90210
Without a doubt, Torrance High School in Torrance, CA, is one of the most recognizable locations in television history. It was the setting for West Beverly High on Beverly Hills, 90210, but that's not all. It was also the stand-in for Sunnydale High on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Ulysses S. Grant High School in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and it was used in movies like She's All That, Not Another Teen Movie, and Bruce Almighty, among others.
Waterfords' House - The Handmaid's Tale
In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Waterfords live in Boston, but the mansion used for the exterior shots of their home is actually in Hamilton, Ontario, near Toronto. Like other houses featured in shows, it's become a popular place for selfies, but do you really want to memorialize that house after everything awful that happened inside it?
Rosenheim Mansion - American Horror Story
The stately Rosenheim Mansion in Los Angeles has a look that is just perfect for horror stories. Most notably, it was used in American Horror Story. It's also been featured in other creepy shows like The Twilight Zone, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, and Dexter. Yikes!
Franklin Square House Apartments - St. Elsewhere
The exterior of St. Eligius Hospital, the fictional hospital in the critically acclaimed '80s show St Elsewhere is actually an apartment building called Franklin Square House Apartments, in Boston's South End, where the hospital was also set. The show launched quite a few careers, including Howie Mandel's and Denzel Washington's, and like their careers, the apartment building is still around today.
1618 Pine St., Boulder Colorado - Mork & Mindy
If you find yourself in Boulder, CO, and are a fan of Mork & Mindy, you can take a selfie in front of their apartment. The exterior used is a house that still stands on Pine St., near the middle of town.
Old Joliet Prison - Prison Break
If you close your eyes and picture a classic American prison, you'll probably see something that looks a lot like the old Joliet Prison in Joliet, IL. For that reason, the now-closed prison has been a popular shooting location over the years. Not only does it serve as the exterior of the jail in Prison Break, but it's also where Jake Blues (John Belushi) is released from in The Blues Brothers, and has been in numerous other movies and TV shows.
Cincinnati Enquirer Building - WKRP In Cincinnati
Though it was really only used in the opening credits and very occasionally in the show, the studio for the fictitious radio station WKRP from the hit '70s sitcom in the Cincinnati Enquirer Building, located in downtown Cincinnati. When you're in town, you can pretend all your favorite DJs and intrepid reporter Les Nessman are hard at work in the building.
Hugh Scott
Syndication Editor
Hugh Scott is the Syndication Editor for CinemaBlend. Before CinemaBlend, he was the managing editor for Suggest.com and Gossipcop.com, covering celebrity news and debunking false gossip. He has been in the publishing industry for almost two decades, covering pop culture – movies and TV shows, especially – with a keen interest and love for Gen X culture, the older influences on it, and what it has since inspired.He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Political Science but cured himself of the desire to be a politician almost immediately after graduation.
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