This post originally appeared in print in issue 5 of Retrofied magazine.

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The Golden Girls aired for seven seasons on NBC from 1985 until 1992 and has enjoyed enduring popularity in syndication ever since. The show’s four main characters–Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia–lived together in Blanche’s house located at the fictional address of 6151 Richmond Street in Miami, Florida. While suburban homes are a fixture of countless American sitcoms, The Golden Girls house has truly become the fifth character of the show. An exterior shot of the house is featured in the intro to all 180 episodes of the show, fading in just after the dulcet tones of “Thank You For Being a Friend” end. A short, equally hummable incidental tune leads us into the living room (or out on the lanai) to catch up with the Girls. Of course, the Emmy-winning writing and performances are the show’s most endearing features, but the house is more than just a backdrop. It continuously unites the Girls as a chosen family. Sure, Blanche almost sold everyone out for a hot tub in the final season but, as with any sitcom, it all got worked out in the end.

Far from being the only sitcom structure with a real life counterpart, there is perhaps no other that has become quite so iconic as The Golden Girls house. In the show’s first season, the exterior of a real home located in California is used in the intro. Designed by the Hawaii-based architectural firm of Johnson and Perkins and built in 1955, it still stands at 245 N Saltair Avenue in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles where Bea Arthur also lived. From the second season on, the intro then featured the exterior of a replica built on Residential Street, part of Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour in Orlando, Florida that opened in 1988. Betty White even appeared in 1991 in a segment during the park’s Happy Easter Parade to promote it. This “down the road and back again” journey may seem curious, but the replica provided a brighter, more visible view of the house. It also allowed for the creation of additional footage such as cars pulling up in the driveway that helped to set the scene in later episodes. Unfortunately the Residential Street house was demolished in 2003, and the Backlot Tour ended in 2014. Today the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction occupies the space, which is a fun twist of fate considering Bea’s place in the franchise.

The Golden Girls house is also a uniquely timeless example of television set design. Its Mid-century modern, ranch style layout juxtaposed with the many decorative elements and knick-knacks added throughout the set by production designer, Ed Stephenson, continue to evoke just the right amount of nostalgia. Features like the wicker furniture in the living room and the copper molds that line the kitchen walls conjure memories of homes that many viewers and fans grew up in or visited in the past. These cozy touches make the house a home and contribute to the intimacy of the Girls’ friendship. And then there is Blanche’s bedroom. Like her, the room is a bit over the top, and it’s there that we glimpse a moment of 80s excess. Even still, the infamous “Martinique” banana leaf pattern is a design that originated in the 1940s. It’s an inventive tropical backdrop that is both retro and fresh. Recent trends such as Millennial Pink and Cottagecore also extract 1980s design elements for 21st century consumers. 

The Golden Girls showed audiences that older women continue to lead vibrant, full lives, and the house set the scene for many of the groundbreaking episodes that the show has become known for. It was in the context of this safe space that Rose faced the possibility of having AIDS and Dorothy found the courage to tell off a bigoted new friend, to name just a couple of instances. It’s also striking to remember the many significant political and social events that took place when The Golden Girls originally aired: the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the Gulf War, and Anita Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against Clarence Thomas, among many others. Perhaps the same could be said of any sitcom during this time period, but The Golden Girls continues to enjoy such widespread popularity thanks to the writers’ willingness to position the show alongside current events rather than placing it in a wholly fictional universe. 

In April of 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, Hulu viewers watched 11 million hours of The Golden Girls, proving perhaps once and for all that escaping to 1980s Miami for some cheesecake with four fabulous friends is the ultimate in comfort TV. A few months later, fans were also granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of a sort at getting a glimpse inside the real Golden Girls house when it went on the market. It’s a little hard to picture Rose telling one of her St. Olaf stories in the bright and spacious living room or Sophia baking a lasagna al forno in the sleek kitchen of the actual interior. The vaulted ceilings are really the only structural features that resemble the set, and the new owners have since added shrubs and a gated privacy wall around the house’s exterior perimeter. While it’s bittersweet that fans no longer have the opportunity to take a selfie in front of the iconic facade, the lore of The Golden Girls house remains as popular as ever. In real life we often have to say goodbye to our cherished childhood homes and loved ones, but 6151 Richmond Street is always just a click away.