The Victorian house on Kenwood Parkway that once stood in for Mary Richards' Minneapolis apartment building is no longer just a photo stop for passing fans — it's now a bookable event space and vacation rental. The eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom home, spread across four floors, is opening its doors to overnight guests and couples looking for a micro-wedding venue, according to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
The home never actually housed Mary Tyler Moore, despite decades of assumption by tourists snapping photos outside. In The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary Richards' apartment address was given as 119 North Weatherly Avenue, Unit D — a fictional street invented for the series, even though the exterior shots were filmed at the real 2104 Kenwood Parkway address, according to Realtor.com. Interior scenes, meanwhile, were shot on a studio set in California rather than inside the Minneapolis house itself.
A House Built Decades Before Television Made It Famous
Long before it became a sitcom backdrop, the Queen Anne Victorian was built in 1892 for original owner S.E. Davis. It was designed by architect Edward Somerby Stebbins, who also served as the official architect for the Minneapolis Board of Education, per the church history maintained by Gethsemane Episcopal Church. The show, which aired from 1970 to 1977, only used the home's exterior, according to a description from event site the moore house on Eventective. The space behind the now-famous third-floor triple window was an unfinished attic during production.
Fame brought unwelcome attention decades ago. One homeowner in the 1970s, tired of daily tour buses and camera crews trying to film updated exterior shots, posted an “Impeach Nixon” sign under the attic window in 1973. Mary Richards moved to a new apartment at the beginning of season six, according to Wikipedia's entry on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
From Real Estate Listing to Event Venue
The property's real estate history reflects its rocky path to market. Hennepin County property records show the 9,500-square-foot residence sold for $1.45 million in September 2017, a steep drop from asking prices as high as $2.895 million back in 2012, according to listing data from Coldwell Banker. Now the home leans into its television legacy rather than downplaying it, with 1960s and 1970s design touches, including shag carpet, per 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
Event management firm Bigger Picture Solutions, run by Jessica Barrett and Kastina Morrison, now oversees the venue's operations, with the home available for events, according to Bigger Picture Solutions. Morris told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that sharing the home with other people is exciting and described its 1960s and 1970s touches and shag carpet.
Honoring Moore's Legacy Beyond the Screen
Moore died in 2017, and the home's new operators have built a charitable component into its commercial reinvention: a percentage of profits from bookings will be donated to Mary Tyler Moore's nonprofit foundation, Morrison said, according to the same report. That tribute joins other pieces of the actress's legacy scattered around Minneapolis, including an image of Moore tossing her hat at Nicollet Mall.
The fictional address has also inspired creative homages far from the small screen. A Minneapolis-based online gallery called “119 North Weatherly,” founded by local artist Amanda Wirig, took its name directly from Mary Richards' fictional apartment building, according to the gallery's own site, 119 North Weatherly.
What Renting the Home Actually Requires
Turning a residential Victorian into a short-term event venue marks a new chapter for a home that spent decades fending off camera crews and curious tourists — one where fans no longer have to settle for snapping photos from the sidewalk.
