2104 Kenwood Parkway
Minneapolis, MN, USA

Tina Fey and Oprah Visit Mary Tyler Moore's Statue in Minneapolis

"In a 2015 documentary, "Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration," Oprah Winfrey gushed over Moore, whom she considers a major influence.

"Mary Tyler Moore lived in Minneapolis — I tried for years to get a job in Minneapolis. I wanted to move to Minneapolis, I wanted to be in Minneapolis because of Mary Tyler Moore," Winfrey said." - MPR News (https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/01/25/mary-tyler-moore-in-minneapolis)

In 2020, Tina Fey and Oprah reenact Mary Tyler Moore's hat toss in Minneapolis while they visit the city for Oprah's "2020 Vision" tour

The Mary Tyler Moore House is Listed for Sale!

"The iconic [Queen-Anne style Victorian] house portrayed as Mary Richards’ residence on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is currently for sale in the Kenwood neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Remodeled and expanded, the 9,500-square-foot home includes seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms — and is currently listed for $1,695,000. When the three-story house was first put on the market in 2012, it was priced around $3 million, slightly above what its current owners paid for it in 2007.

Though scenes inside Mary’s residence were filmed on a Hollywood set, exterior shots were captured at the Minneapolis home built in 1900." - Star Tribune

2104 Kenwood Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN, USA

2104 Kenwood Pkwy Home History
Edward S. Stebbins, 1892 / renovated, 2006

A Queen Anne house that became a local icon by virtue of its association with the popular Mary Tyler Moore Show, which aired on net work television from 1970 to 1977. An exterior shot of the house identified it as the location of Moore's apartment. Had this been true, she would have been living beyond her means as a producer for a bargain-basement television station. The house, extensively renovated in 2006, is in fact a private residence.

Citation: Millett, Larry. AIA Guide to the Minneapolis Lake District. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009.

Mary Tyler Moore Receives Statue Dedication!

"Nora Kain, left, Mary Holly and Bryce Kirchoff wait for Mary Tyler Moore to make an appearance at a statue dedication May 8, 2002, in Minneapolis. The statue depicts Moore tossing her tam from the opening credits of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." - Mike Ekern | Getty Images 2002 | MPR News

"In a 1974 interview with Time Magazine, James Brooks, one of the show's creators, shared the reason they chose the Twin Cities: It has to do with football...'We chose Minnesota when one of the writers began talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the Vikings,' Brooks said."... [other reasons include]...

In "Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted," a book that examines the making of the show and its legacy, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong expands on the Minneapolis decision:

"Now Mary would live in the city — Minneapolis, they decided, to get away from overplayed Los Angeles and New York.

Minneapolis's bad weather could provide plot points and visual interest. Mainly, snow. And lots of coats.

It would also allow for a bit of character illumination. What seemed like a big city to Mary would be a small town to her New York transplant best friend, Rhoda."

Kenwood Parkway Sketch

House sketch by artist Barbara Novak

Behind the Scenes of Mary Tyler Moore

"During the first 5 seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, main character Mary Richards lived in an attic apartment in an old Queen-Anne style Victorian house in Minneapolis, Minnesota." - BlogSpot

Attached are some photos of the house during the filming of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, including an exterior shot of where her character's apartment was, the TV set in Hollywood of the home's interior, the set's blueprint, Mary standing in front of the house (that she never entered for filming), and interior shots of the set during the show.

Mary Tyler Moore House

Mary Tyler Moore standing in front of the house that her character, Mary Richards, lives in during the first couple of seasons of the Mary Tyler Moore show!

Exterior Home Photos from 1970s

Exterior home photo from the 1970s!

Lot Survey Record

Lot Survey Record!

"A porch was added in 1923 and that was when the lot survey pictured here was commissioned." - Hennepin County Library

Kenwood Neighborhood in 1894!

"Mary Tyler Moore, one of Minneapolis’ most famous “residents,” was born on December 29, 1936. The actress never actually lived in Minneapolis, but her 1970s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, used real Minneapolis landmarks and establishing shots to place Mary, Rhoda, and their friends firmly in the city. Of all the local spots associated with Moore, however, the most well-known might be “her” house.

The Queen Anne Victorian house at 2104 Kenwood Parkway that supplied the exterior shot for Mary Richards’ sitcom home was constructed for local entrepreneur Spencer E. Davis in 1892. Davis, a Civil War veteran, moved west from New York after the war and began producing farm implements in Wisconsin. In 1891, he moved his Monitor Manufacturing Company to the new manufacturing suburb of St. Louis Park, where it became one of the city’s chief enterprises.

Davis must have known early success, because he set out to build a grand house just one year after he arrived in town. One of the earliest houses erected on Kenwood Parkway, it may also have been the most expensive yet built on the street. The estimated cost of construction was $15,000. For the job, Davis enlisted local architect Edward S. Stebbins. Stebbins had moved west to Minnesota in the 1870s by way of MIT’s architecture program. Stebbins’ designs can be found in residences and buildings throughout the Twin Cities. He even spent 14 years as official architect for the Minneapolis Public Schools. The University of Minnesota’s Northwest Architectural Archives maintains his papers documenting a prolific career.

Over the years, Stebbins’ most famous work–the house at 2104 Kenwood Parkway–has gone through many changes. A porch was added in 1923 and that was when the lot survey pictured here was commissioned. The home became a duplex in 1971, around the time the fictional Mary Richards “lived” there. Once again a single-family home, the house most recently sold in 2017 for $1.45 million dollars." - Hennepin County Library

Building Inspection Record!

Building inspection record from 1892-1931