| Sesame Street | |
|---|---|
| Sesame Street location | |
.jpg) Signpost of Sesame Street | |
| Created by | Joan Ganz Cooney Lloyd Morrisett |
| Genre | Childrens education |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Street |
| Races | Muppets Humans |
| Location | Manhattan, New York City |
| Locations | Locations |
| Character | Characters |
Sesame Street is a fictional street located inManhattan,[1] aborough inNew York City. The street serves as the location for the Americanchildren's television series ofthe same name, which is centered on 123 Sesame Street, a fictionalbrownstone building.[2]
In honor ofSesame Street's 50th anniversary on May 1, 2019, the intersection between Broadway and West 63rd Street was officially renamed Sesame Street, and an actual sign was placed permanently at the intersection. Characters from the show joined the mayor ofNew York City,Bill de Blasio, for the unveiling. The location of the permanent sign and designated intersection were chosen because they are near theSesame Workshop.[3]
The fictional Sesame Street represents an unspecified neighborhood inNew York City.Art directorVictor DiNapoli has said it is supposed to be located on theUpper West Side.Sesame Street's co-creator,Joan Ganz Cooney, said in 1994 that she originally wanted to call the show123 Avenue B after theAlphabet City area of theLower East Side andEast Village.[2]
The opposite side of Sesame Street is not part of the set, although the other side is occasionally shown from another location. The opposite side has been seen in the twoSesame Street movies.
The featured building and bridge in the background are composites and are to represent a broader variety of American cities.[4] The bridge represents threebridges of New York City.[5]
Sesame Street primarily revolves around abrownstone-typerow house called123 Sesame Street. The house is a three-story building with adaylight basement, totaling three known apartments.[2]
The building is meant to appear typical ofNew York neighborhood brownstones, being described as a "survivor ofgentrification" by DiNapoli.[6]
Oscar the Grouch'strash can is his home, and sits in front of a fence made of salvaged doors. Gordon states that the trash can has three and a half bedrooms. Oscar's girlfriend Grundgetta is the most frequent visitor to his trash can.
In the episodeSesame Street Visits the Firehouse, Gordon mentions that Oscar's trash can has "Two elephants, a puppy, a rhino, a goat, and a worm." The interior of Oscar's trash can was first explored in the 1999 filmThe Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland whenElmo impatiently enters the trash can in search of his blanket. In Season 46, as part of a set redesign, the trash can is moved to a dumpster unit of the front of 123 Sesame Street. It is now part of a recycling center with acompost bin and Oscar can appear at different locations throughout the street.
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Big Bird lives in hisnest. One of the windows of Gordon and Susan's apartment overlooks the nest. Big Bird's Nest was redesigned following ahurricane that hit Sesame Street. Big Bird's best friendMr. Snuffleupagus is the most frequent visitor to his nest. In Season 46, the nest was moved to a tree.
The Arbor is aforecourt that serves as the entrance to acarriage house; it is also aplayground, and separates 123 from atenement. In the first season, the Arbor was a tiny location between the two buildings. In the late 1990s, the characters decided that the neighborhood needed moregreen space and built acommunity garden in a vacant lot behind the Arbor.[2] The garden behind the Arbor is where Stinky the Stinkweed resides.
At one time, the carriage house that serves as its backdrop housed a garage. Susan kept herVolkswagen there and Hiroshi used the space as his art studio. At other points, Oscar the Grouch (who has also been shown as the owner of the garage) has kept his Sloppy Jalopy there. The Sloppy Jalopy is the name of the car Oscar uses for his taxi service, which was first introduced on the show in episode 1252. For a while, it was also the location of Gina's veterinary practice, and later Charlie's Auto Repair garage. During the Season 46 set redesign, it was converted to acommunity center with the community garden being extended behind 123, connecting onto Big Bird's nest area while becomingAbby Cadabby's home.
Hooper's Store serves as alunch counter andgeneral store. Above the store were the apartments of Bob, David, and most recently, Charlie.
Hooper's Store was opened byMr. Harold Hooper in 1951. David worked at the store from 1971 to 1983, becoming the proprietor of Hooper's Store following the death of Mr. Hooper (due to the death of actorWill Lee).
In 1989, David moved away to live with his grandmother and left the store in the hands of a retiredfirefighter named Mr. Handford. The store's current proprietor is Alan who bought the store from Mr. Handford in 1998.
Owners
Employees
TheSesame StreetLibrary is a common point of interest on Sesame Street. ALending Library was located next to Hooper's Store in the spot that has since housed the Fix-It Shop, the Mail-It Shop, the Laundromat, and a pet shop. Maria worked there while Grover would occasionally help out. All the residents of Sesame Street would come to borrow books.Linda worked as a librarian for several years in a different library that has, at different times, been located across the street from 123 as well as in another part of New York City. The library was later seen located next to the Subway Station where the bike shop is now (in a 2007 episode), and as a pop-up library in The Arbor featured in an episode that aired in 2019.
TheFix-It Shop opened in Season 3 as theL & R Fix-It Shop run by Luis and Rafael. Rafael departed at the end of the season and Luis ran the business by himself until he hired Maria in 1976. Maria was later promoted to full-time partner in 1981 and in 1988 the two got married. The street's residents would bring their broken items to be fixed; toasters were the shop's specialty.
In 2002, Maria and Luis converted the Fix-It Shop into theMail-It Shop which they ran with their daughter Gabi. Residents of Sesame Street would use the Mail-It Shop to send and receive letters and packages. Grover occasionally did delivery work for the Mail-It Shop. It was converted back into the Fix-It Shop in 2006.
TheLaundromat is the current business operating next to Hooper's Store after the Fix-It Shop was removed in 2008. Beginning with Season 39 ofSesame Street, the laundromat has been moved next to Hooper's Store. The Laundromat was originally run by Leela and has since been seen in the care of Nina and Grover among others.[6]
Previously, inThe Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, a Laundromat was seen across from 123 Sesame Street.
Sesame Street has its ownSubway Station, which is a replica of the72nd Street Subway entrance. It was originally seen on the "Around the Corner" part of Sesame Street until it was transferred to the main Sesame Street set, next to the Fix-It Shop, when Around the Corner was removed.
In Season 45, aBicycle Shop appeared in the vacant storefront near the Subway Station that was briefly used for a flower shop. It was opened by Luis who sold bicycles, repaired them, and sold other bike-related items. It was opened as a result of the closure of the Fix-It Shop, while Maria became the superintendent of 123. It is now run by Nina who started working there part-time in Season 46 and took over management in the following season. As part of the rare views of the other side of Sesame Street, the Bicycle Shop is next to a CGI depiction of Manhattan where it shows a playground and theTriborough Bridge among the cityscape.
In Season 46, a newsstand was added in between the Subway Station and what is currently the Laundromat. It is run by theTwo-Headed Monster. There previously was a newsstand Around the Corner that was run by Oscar. It was located in between the Subway Station and the park. Grouch sold newspapers, regular newspapers, out-of-date newspapers, and magazines with dirt or fish inside them. Hooper's Store has also functioned as a Newsstand.
Other locations on Sesame Street include the following:
Around the Corner was an expansion of the set seen from season 25 to season 29.
Sonia Manzano said that "By expanding the street and going around the corner, we will have other places to hang out beyond the stoop of 123 Sesame Street, and we will be able to explore family issues which we think are so important to kids today."[7]
The Around the Corner parts were dropped by season 29, though they did appear inThe Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.Caroll Spinney andMartin P. Robinson further commented that viewers had a hard time keeping up with all the new characters.
Among the known locations of Around the Corner include:
