The Real New York City Buildings Behind Television’s Most Iconic Homes

Some of television’s most famous New York City apartments are almost as recognizable as the characters who supposedly live in them. We know their front steps, their fire escapes, and their impossibly spacious interiors, but what about the real buildings behind them?

From Carrie Bradshaw’s beloved West Village brownstone to the Upper West Side apartment building that inspired Only Murders in the Building, some of television’s most memorable addresses are hiding in plain sight. And while the interiors were often filmed on soundstages, the buildings themselves have histories worth exploring.

Ahead, we’re taking a trip down memory lane to revisit the real New York City buildings behind some of our favorite fictional homes.

---

Friends

If we had to pick the most iconic New York City building from television, it would be the one from Friends. Why, you ask? Even if you didn’t watch the show, you know this building in the West Village. While the address on the show was never revealed, the real one is 90 Bedford Street, which currently houses a very delicious restaurant dubbed the Little Owl. The show was actually filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles, which explains the much more secure and larger fire escape than the real ones.

---

Sex and the City

There has never been a more beloved stoop than this one, also in the West Village. Proof? Head to 66 Perry Street on any beautiful New York City day, and there will be hordes of people taking selfies. Look, we get it; 66 Perry Street is an absolutely stunning piece of architecture. It was built in 1866 by architect and developer William H. Hume and represents a true and authentic Gilded Age feel. Plus, we’ve seen Carrie Bradshaw really go through it on these steps, and that makes us love this house even more.

---

Only Murders in the Building

The Arconia may be fictional, but the grand Upper West Side apartment building featured in Only Murders in the Building is very real. Known as the Belnord, the landmarked building at 225 West 86th Street was completed in 1909 and is perhaps best known for its enormous landscaped courtyard, which spans an entire city block. Designed by architects Hiss and Weekes, the Italian Renaissance Revival-style building was one of the most luxurious apartment residences of its time. And while the show’s murders are (thankfully) fictional, the building’s fascinating history and impressive architecture are anything but.

---

Gossip Girl

The Lotte New York Palace is technically a hotel, not an apartment, but that didn’t stop Gossip Girl’s Serena van der Woodsen and her family from living here for, seemingly, the entire series. Unlike so many of the buildings on this list, the characters on the show actually referred to this place by its real name: The Palace. And it doesn’t just have a beautiful facade that made for good TV; its interiors are just as incredible—though the cast didn’t film in there.

---

Will & Grace

Will Truman’s ninth-floor apartment at 155 Riverside Drive is one of those early 2000s TV apartments that don’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a fireplace, an elevated kitchen, a living-dining room, a TV room, and a balcony. Yes, he was a lawyer, but for most of the show, he was a Coalition of Justice employee, making these posh living quarters seem a little unrealistic, but we love the apartment no less.

---

Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld’s and Kramer’s apartment is arguably the most famous address on the show (save for maybe the diner). 129 West 81st Street was built in 1900, contains 20 units, and is where some of the best scenes from the show took place. It’s certainly a more modest structure than some of the others on our list, but that doesn’t make it any less dear to our hearts and screens. We may be a bit more partial to Elaine’s townhouse on West 20th Street (which sold for $6.8 million in 2021), but that’s neither here nor there.