TBT: Hey, Look, You Can Buy Mary Tyler Moore’s Apartment!

The very first shot of the first episode of the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”—the iconic 1970s sitcom that introduced America to a spunky and independent new breed of single career gal—is of thick snowflakes falling in front of a grand Queen Anne Victorian in Minneapolis, one that had been, apparently, cut up into apartments.

The next shot: Mary Richards and her pal Phyllis enter what would become her apartment: a large studio on the attic floor of the house, with a brown shag rug, a sunken living/sleeping space, a galley kitchen, and a wood-burning stove. The set designers faithfully re-created the Palladian windows from the actual house.

Her first-look (and very Mary) reaction: “Wow. Hey, it really is charming, isn’t it?”

It’s even more charming now. Also? It’s for sale. More on that later.

So why’d they choose that house for the setting?

Well, it was practical, says Realtor® Barry Berg, who, along with his partner Chad Larsen at Coldwell Banker Burnet, is listing the home.

The grand abode sits at an angle on a corner lot with a wide frontage. “It’s very easy to photograph,” he says. “It has that visible third floor. One could easily imagine it being rented out.”

The neighborhood, close to downtown and full of leafy streets, would have been a perfect entry point to the new city where Mary moves after her boyfriend of two years refuses to marry her. “It would have been snapped up in a heartbeat by a young professional,” he says. “It fits her persona.”

The character of Mary was an iconic figure: liberated in some ways by the women’s movement, but so sweet and accommodating no one would dare label her a feminist (a highly charged word in that era—and this one, for that matter). 

“It was the most influential show on this generation of female comics,” says Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author of “Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And All the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic.” “This was what they were watching when they were growing up.”

As for choosing Minneapolis, in addition to the potential for dramatic weather (see the classic snowstorm episode), it was a big break from the traditional sitcom settings of Los Angeles and New York—all the better for character definition. “The idea is that because Mary’s from the suburbs, for her Minneapolis would be the big city,” says Armstrong.

The fictional address was 119 N. Weatherly Ave., Unit D, but at the real house—at 2104 Kenwood Parkway—the attic was unfinished at the time. But, man, is it finished now.

The 9,500-square-foot home, which a previous owner called “Minnesota’s version of Graceland,” is priced at $1,995,000. (Even Lou Grant would have trouble swinging that mortgage.) Built in 1892, the home has been remodeled top to bottom. It features seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, nanny quarters, a sauna, a weight room, and a three-car garage.

The real kitchen is about 20 times the size of Mary’s tiny one, and it’s seriously decked out. It’s part of an addition in 2008. The house now has four levels (finally we know how Rhoda could live above Mary’s attic apartment).

While Minneapolis has gained a lot of recent real estate market steam, it’s been hard to find an eager buyer for this impressive home. It was listed in June 2012 for $2,895,000, then bounced on and off the market for a few years. In March, it was relisted at $2,250,000, with the latest price cut in October.

Living in a legend isn’t for everyone. Tour buses do pop by. “I did lurk outside, like I’m sure many people have in the past,” says Armstrong.

Still, its urban lore won’t really be a draw or a drawback for the right buyer, says Berg. “The ultimate buyer probably won’t be swayed by its ‘pedigree,’” says Berg. “It’s just an amusing backstory.”

Clearly, it’s no longer the place for a single gal and her quirky neighbors. In fact, by the end of the show’s seven-year run, Mary herself had moved to a fancier high-rise. Anyway, says Berg, “the neighborhood wouldn’t have permitted the apartments, but anyone can take poetic license.”

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