The Golden Girls House

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This past weekend, thanks to fellow stalker Owen, I was able to stalk the home used in one of my favorite ’80s TV shows – The Golden Girls.   Being that I was only eight years old at the time The Golden Girls premiered, I probably seem like a very unlikely fan of the show.  But, for some reason, a sit-com which centered around the trials and tribulations of four single senior citizens living together in a Miami area home appealed to me.  What can I say – I absolutely loved it!

But besides being a fabulous show, The Golden Girls also had, hands down, the BEST television theme song ever!  🙂  “Thank you for being a friend!  Travel down the road and back again.  Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant.”  Sing it with me, now!  “And if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew, you would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend!”  LOVE IT!  LOVE IT!  LOVE IT!

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I am happy to report that The Golden Girls house looks EXACTLY the same today – and I mean EXACTLY the same – as it did when the show first premiered in 1985.  It is absolutely unbelievable to me that the home has remained unchanged in a whopping twenty-four years time.  LOVE IT!  I’d like to go on record right now and thank the owners of this house for letting this piece of television history remain untouched for all of us stalkers to appreciate years later.  Why can’t more filming location owners be like you?????  LOL

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What’s even more amazing to me is how iconic The Golden Girls house truly is.  Even my fiance recognized it, and he recognizes virtually NOTHING.  In fact, I think I can safely say that in all the years we’ve dated (eight and half, but who’s counting?), he has never once recognized a location that I’ve dragged him to – ever!  Until this past weekend, that is.  🙂     Even though The Golden Girls house is extremely non-descript, for some reason a picture of it is imbedded in my brain, almost more so than any other TV home – except, of course, for the 90210 house!  🙂

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A big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location after hearing numerous rumors about its wherabouts – rumors like the house was actually located in Florida or Pacific Palisades or that it only ever existed on a studio backlot.  He ended up finding the house several years ago on a German website that had a map of Los Angeles with the general vicinity of the GG home earmarked.   Once he had the general area locked down – even if it was in German 🙂 – it didn’t take him long to find the home’s exact address and put to rest all of those pesky location rumors.  The real story of the Golden Girls home is this: During the first seasons of the show, a Brentwood area house was used for all of the establishing shots of the ladies’  Miami area residence.   Then in 1988, a replica of that home was built on the backlot of Disney MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, and that replica was used for the exterior house shots for the remainder of the series – which seems odd to me being that the show was actually taped right here in Los Angeles.  Anyway, you can see a photograph of the replica home here.  Sadly, in 2003 the replica was torn down, along with the rest of Residential Street, in order to make room for a new stunt show called “Lights!  Motors!  Action!”   To quote Chelsea Lately,”I don’t like that!  I don’t like that at all!”   At least the real house is still standing, though!

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And if you are a big fan of the GG house, or just the show in general, I definitely recommend checking out this girl’s website.   And people say I have way too much time on my hands!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Golden Girls house is located at 245 North Saltair Avenue in Brentwood.

42 Replies to “The Golden Girls House”

  1. I’m wanting to know what kind of ferns those are curbside in front of the house. They’re huge and I’ve always wanted to plant them. I’ve searched the internet to no avail. Any ideas?

  2. So I just visited this house for the first time, thanks for the info! The history on it HAS to be incorrect, though. The MGM house wouldn’t have been built by the show’s second season. Also trying to compare the foilage (the sky mile-high palm tree to the house’s off-center left side that’s there and even taller today in person) … I think they used the Brentwood home for much of the show’s run.

      1. Oh that bottom photo is instructive. In shots where the trees behind the house are primarily wide-spread coniferous save one big palm right behind it, the show is using the house in Orlando. Doesn’t look like it’s just a facade though, does it? More than one palm behind it probably means the Brentwood home.

      2. Hey update! So I did a little investigatory work. I’m probably the only person on earth who cares about getting this absolutely correct. The Brentwood Home continued to be used in later series, sometimes on the same episodes the Florida home was used. In “Till Death Is Do Volley” from 1989 for instance, the Brentwood Home is used in nighttime shots (you can tell because the Brentwood Home has a thick white birch tree on the side of the house opposite of the garage while the Florida Home has a big bundle of trees in that location. NOW: when the show is syndicated it gets even trickier. In the LOGO version that aired recently, the Brentwood Home was used in daytime breaks when LOGO needed to cut a scene in half. The Florida Home was left in tact when the original transition scenes were left in tact. The Brentwood Home was used for all nighttime scenes for the episode both original and syndicated. Given that the Golden Girls is primarily seen in syndication by new audiences, it’s probable people are actually more familiar with the Brentwood Home rather than the Florida home.

  3. I remember seeing the set up in 1991 at MGM Studios. It’s not even a real house, just the front facing. So much fun being able to see it though!

  4. Wow, I love this show and now I have my 10 year old daughter loving it too! Tnx for the info and your website is awesome. Was checking out Bev Hills last night, love it!!! Lots of love to you lady, xoxo

  5. I have been watching The Golden Girls lately and decided to look up where the house is located. As the show has them living in Miami, FL, I am a little disappointed to find out that the house is located in Brentwood, CA.

    The producers could have at least when to Miami, FL for an open screen shot of a house, since this is where they lived.

  6. Hi. Thanks so much for your blog thing lol. I am from New Zealand and I will be coming here in October. I have been to the USA a lot of times but like many others thought the house was in Miami. Well now I can go and get my pic. It is still very popular here even now. Thanks soooo much for your comments and the address. Looking forward to it!!

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