You know the shot. A spunky woman in a winter coat tosses her hat into the air, the Minneapolis skyline glitters, and suddenly every independent woman in America feels like she can "make it after all." But if you actually drive out to the Mary Tyler Moore house Kenwood neighborhood fans obsess over, you might be in for a bit of a shock.
For starters, Mary Richards didn’t actually live there. Not really.
The stately Victorian at 2104 Kenwood Parkway served as the "establishing shot" for the first five seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In the TV world, it was 119 North Weatherly Avenue, Apartment D. In the real world, it’s a massive 9,500-square-foot mansion that would have been way out of a local news associate producer’s price range, even in 1970.
The Mystery of the Missing Apartment
Most people show up at the corner of Kenwood Parkway expecting to find a quaint apartment building with a shared entryway and maybe a nosy neighbor like Phyllis lurking near the mailboxes.
Instead, you find a fortress.
The house is a single-family home. It was built in 1900, designed by architect Edward Stebbins, and honestly, it’s gorgeous. It has those ornate Victorian details, a giant sweeping porch, and that iconic third-floor turret where Mary’s "apartment" was supposed to be. But the interior? It looks nothing like the set. There’s no shag carpet, no "M" on the wall, and definitely no studio kitchen where Rhoda could just pop in unannounced.
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Why the Location Changed
If you’re a superfan, you noticed that in Season 6, Mary suddenly moves. She leaves her charming attic for a high-rise at Riverside Plaza (those colorful, somewhat polarizing buildings near downtown).
Why the move? It wasn't just a plot device to show Mary "growing up."
The real-life owner of the Mary Tyler Moore house Kenwood property, a woman named Paula Giese, got pretty fed up with the fame. Imagine dozens of tour buses idling outside your bedroom window every single day. People were constantly trespassing, trying to peek into the windows to see "Mary's room."
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To stop the production from filming any more exterior shots, Giese famously hung "Impeach Nixon" signs and other political banners across the front of the house. Since the show couldn't have Mary Richards living in a house covered in anti-war and anti-Nixon posters without making it a whole political thing, they just... moved her.
Real Estate Reality: The Price of Fame
The house has a weird history when it comes to the market. It’s a bit of a "white elephant" in the real estate world.
While the "Mary Tyler Moore" connection makes it a landmark, it also makes it a headache for anyone who actually wants to live there. In 2012, it was listed for nearly $2.9 million. It sat. And sat. And sat.
The price kept dropping. $2.4 million. $1.9 million. $1.7 million.
Eventually, in late 2017, shortly after Mary Tyler Moore herself passed away, the house finally sold for about $1.45 million. That’s a massive haircut from the original asking price. It turns out that while people love the idea of the house, living in a tourist destination isn't always the dream.
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What the House Looks Like Today
If you were to walk inside today—which you can't, because it’s a private residence—you’d see:
- Seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. (Way more than a single girl and her friend Rhoda needed).
- A professional-grade kitchen. We're talking four ovens and a massive granite island.
- Modern Luxuries. A sauna, an exercise room, and five different fireplaces.
- The Turret. The third floor actually houses a family room and rooftop decks now, rather than a cramped studio apartment.
The current owners are regular people. Recently, locals on Reddit have even complained that they aren't great about shoveling their sidewalks in the winter. It’s a funny reminder that even "holy sites" of television history are just houses that require maintenance and snow blowers in the Minnesota winter.
Tips for Visiting the Mary Tyler Moore House Kenwood
If you’re planning a pilgrimage, don't just put the address in your GPS and hope for the best.
- Be Cool. This is a residential neighborhood. People live here. Don't walk onto the lawn, don't knock on the door, and don't park your car in a way that blocks the neighbors.
- The View is Better from the Lake. The house is just a short walk from Lake of the Isles. This is where the opening credits showed Mary walking (and where she was wearing that iconic white jumpsuit).
- Check Out the Statue. If you want a photo where you won't get yelled at, head to the corner of 7th Street and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. There’s a bronze statue of Mary throwing her hat. That’s the official spot for the "tam toss" photo op.
- The "New" Apartment. If you want to see where she lived in the later seasons, drive by Riverside Plaza. It’s much easier to spot from the highway and has a completely different, brutalist vibe compared to the Kenwood Victorian.
The Mary Tyler Moore house Kenwood remains the ultimate symbol of a certain era of Minneapolis. It represents a time when the city was being "discovered" by the rest of the country. Even though the interior was a Hollywood set and the real owners eventually got tired of the cameras, the house still stands as a monument to the idea that you can move to a new city, find a great apartment (even if it’s just a room in a turret), and actually make it on your own.
Actionable Insight: If you're visiting, start your morning at Lake of the Isles for a walk, drive past the Kenwood house for a quick (and respectful) look, then head downtown to the IDS Center's Crystal Court. That’s where Mary ate lunch in the credits, and it’s still one of the best spots in the city to grab a coffee and people-watch.