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Mary Richards House - On the sitcom THE MARY TYLER
MOORE SHOW/CBS/1970-77 Mary Tyler Moore played news producer Mary Richards who
worked at WJM-TV in Minneapolis. At the end of the day, she returned home to her
walk-up apartment (D) in an old Victorian home located at 119 North Weatherly
Avenue.
Mary Richards arrives at her new home in 1970
Mary marked her territory with a large letter "M" which she mounted on
her kitchen wall. Upstairs from Mary lived Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), a
window dresser, who coveted Mare's more spacious accommodations (Rhoda lived in
a converted attic space). Their gossipy landlord Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris
Leachman) dropped in from time-to- time with tidbits about her husband, Lars (an
unseen dermatologist).
Upstairs apartment
In reality, the property used as Mary Richards' residence belonged to a
University of Minnesota humanities professor. Built in 1892 at the cost of
$15,000 by architect Edward Stebbins, the three-story, four bedroom Victorian
home (plus attic space) with two kitchens and six bathrooms is located at 2104
Kenwood Parkway in Minneapolis near Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. The
first owner of the property was Spencer Davis, president of a farm implement
company.
When fans of the show began to regularly bother the owner, the peeved professor
refused MTM producers the right to continue filming her residence. To show she
meant business, she hung an "Impeach Nixon" sign on her home. The character Mary
Richards soon after moved to a high-rise apartment at 932 N. Weatherly.
Exteriors of the Cedar Riverside Plaza at 1610 6th Street South across from the
University of Minnesota were used as Mary's new residence. Fans of the show
still stop outside Mary Richard's old residence and take snapshots for
souvenirs. And, of course, they all throw their hats in the air.
As of 1988, Mary Richards' home was owned by Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Director Evan Maurer and his wife, Naomi. In March 2004, the Maurer's decided to
sell the five-bedroom, six-bath 112-year-old Victorian (6,461 square foot) home
for nearly $1.7 Million (Price: $1,695,000) with Coldwell Banker Burnet. The
house is now painted taupe instead of the original white. Also, the unfinished
attic that was supposed to be Mary's room has since been converted into a a home
office space.
Mary's House as of 2004
In 2007, the current owners of the house - Don Gerlach, a high school English
teacher, and his wife, Pat - placed the fully renovated property on the market
for 3.6 million dollars.
TRIVIA NOTE: According to Mary Tyler Moore if you
look real close at the silhouettes in the windows of the high-rise building as
seen from Mary's apartment balcony, you can see people doing "nasty" things
(a.k.a. "The Wild Thing") to each other. Mary admitted that she and other cast
members painted the pictures in between filming on the set.
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