Colonial Street

Colonial Street is one of the backlot street sets at Universal Studios Hollywood. The street set has a long history, spanning over 60 years of movies and television. Currently, it is in use for the ongoing filming of the Desperate Housewives television series, where the street is known as Wisteria Lane.

History

Colonial Street has its origins in 1946 when a few homes were built at Stage 12 at Universal Studios for the motion-picture So Goes My Love. After the movie, the sets were placed in storage. In 1950, the homes along with other sets built from stock units were moved outdoors to the north edge of the backlot (formerly River Road), and was named Colonial Street after "Colonial Mansion" (demolished in 2005 for the second season of Desperate Housewives), the first home on the street. The year 1964 saw the opening of Universal Studios Hollywood and Colonial Street (along with the Psycho house) was a popular attraction. In 1981, Colonial Street was moved to its current location at the other side of the backlot. Not all of the buildings were moved to the new Colonial Street, with some of them becoming part of Industrial Street, now known as Elm Street.

In 1988, Colonial street was overhauled for Tom Hanks comedy The 'Burbs. The old Leave It to Beaver home was removed, as large homes were required for the movie (see a 1988 map here). Following the movie, the homes were rearranged again so Circle Drive was connected once again (see a 1989-1996 map here). In 1996, a new Leave it to Beaver house is built for the 1997 movie (called the Morrison Home), replacing homes that were built for The 'Burbs movie. Also during this time, the Providence home was built (called the Klopeck House Building). Colonial Street remained unchanged until 2004, when Desperate Housewives used the street for its series production, giving it the name Wisteria Lane. The homes were freshly painted with bright pastel colours and refurbished.

The house where the Desperate Housewives character Betty Applewhite lived during the second season was strictly avoided by the Desperate Housewives film crew during season one. This was due to the fact that it was considered to be too recognizable as the main setting of The Munsters. Following the decision to introduce the Applewhites, and having them live in the Munster home, the house was completely remodeled.^[1]

In 2005, for the second season of Desperate Housewives, the street went through some heavy changes. During the first season only one part of the street had been seen on the show — the cul-de-sac at the end of the street, known as 'Circle Drive' among film crews,^[2] had been left out. Now, the majority of the buildings and facades in this part of the street was either heavily remodeled or removed. Among the most noticeable changes were the removals of a church facade, seen on Murder She Wrote, in order to make room for Edie's house,^[3] and of the so-called Colonial Mansion, which was replaced by a park.^[4]

Wisteria Lane

Wisteria Lane is a fictional street, appearing in the American television series Desperate Housewives. The street is located in the city of Fairview, in the fictional Eagle State.^[5] Its appearance reflects the stereotypical view of American suburbia: perfectly manicured lawns, rows of comfortable houses and white picket fences. It is the main setting of the show, and it includes the homes of its five leading women - Bree, Gabrielle, Susan, Lynette and Katherine - as well as most of the show's other main characters. As of the sixth season, the residents of eleven houses on Wisteria Lane have been established in the show.

Buildings

Colonial Street
Building Number	Image	Name	Lifespan	Productions
				Non Desperate Housewives	Desperate Housewives
				Non Desperate Housewives	Address	Families
BLDG #1		Delta House^[6]	1955–present	The Desperate Hours^[6] (1955) Lucas Tanner^[6] (1974–75) Delta House^[6] (1979)	4347 Wisteria Lane^[7]	Ida Greenberg (?–2008) Mitzi Kinsky (2009–present))
BLDG #2		Allison Home^[8]	1946–present	So Goes My Love^[8] (1946) Harvey^[8] (1950) The Ghost and Mr. Chicken^[8] (1966) Delta House^[8] (1979)	4349 Wisteria Lane	Gabrielle Solis (2003–present)) Carlos Solis (2003–2006 and 2008–present)
BLDG #3		Munster Home^[1] (originally Maxim house)^[1]	1946–present	So Goes My Love^[1] (1946) The Munsters^[1] (1964–1966)	4351 Wisteria Lane^[9]	Mullin family (?-2005)
						Betty Applewhite (2005–2006)
						Alma Hodge (2007)
						Hunter/McDermott (2007–present)
BLDG #4	File:Susan.JPG	Johnson Home^[10]	1977–present	"All that heaven Allows" (1955) Ron's Barn : Rock Hudson The Hardy Boys^[10] (1977–79) The New Lassie^[10] (1989) Deep Impact^[10] (2003)	4353 Wisteria Lane	Susan Mayer (1992–present)
BLDG #5		Dana Home^[11]	1951–present	Bedtime for Bonzo^[11] (1951) The Thrill of It All^[11] (1963)	4355 Wisteria Lane	Scavo family (1998–present)
BLDG #6		unnamed	at least 1954-2007 ^[12]	[ Desperate House Wives - Destroyed by tornado] unnamed	4358 Wisteria Lane^[13]	Karen McCluskey (1964–present)
BLDG #7		Walter's House	Around 1987–present	* The Burbs (1987)	4356 Wisteria Lane	Lilian Simms (?–2004) Katherine Davis (1994–1995)
						Mike Delfino (2004–2007)
						Carlos Solis (2006–2007)
						Katherine Mayfair (2007–2009)
BLDG #8		The Klopeck House Building^[14]	around 1999–present	Providence^[14] (1999–2002)	4354 Wisteria Lane	Van de Kamp/Hodge family (1994–present) (house modified since the Burbs)
BLDG #9		Morrison Home^[15]	1996–present	Leave it to Beaver^[15] (1997)	4352 Wisteria Lane	Young family (1990–2006)
						Shepherd family (2006)
						Bolen family (2009)
BLDG #10		Cromwell Home or Pink Palace, Dragnet House		* One Desire (1955) Cromwell House - home of Anne Baxter as Tacey Cromwell Dragnet TV Series Adam 12 TV series The Car (1977)	4350 Wisteria Lane	Martha Huber (2004)
						Felicia Tilman (2004–06)
						Adams Family (seasons 4 & 5)
						Alex Cominis (since mid season 5) & Andrew Van de Kamp (since mid season 5)
BLDG #11		Drew House	1977–present	The Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977–78) The 'Burbs (1988)	4348 Wisteria Lane	Rose Kemper on 5.20
BLDG #12		Corner House	1936–present	Three Smart Girls (1936) The Chase (1966) 100 Men and a Girl (1937) Matlock (1986–1995)	Not occupied (but repainted), used as a security house to prevent unauthorised access to the street.
BLDG #13		Seven Gables	1940–present	The House of the Seven Gables (1940)	Not occupied (but repainted)
BLDG #14		Psycho house	1960-82	Psycho (1960)	Gone by the time the series started
BLDG #14		Chicken Ranch	1982–present	Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) Father's Day (1997) The Visitor (1997) House of 1000 Corpses (2000) The Ghost Whisperer (2005)	Never has been seen or used
Circle Drive (the end of Colonial Street with the cul-de-sac)
BLDG #1		Colonial Mansion	1927–2005	Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927) Written on the Wind (1956) Casper (1995)	Area was not seen until season two (2005) when the house was already gone for the show's expansion
BLDG #1		Park	2005–present	Wasn't built until season two (2005) of Desperate Housewives	none	Seen as a park since season two (2005)
BLDG #2		Church	1964–2005	The Munsters (1964) Murder, She Wrote (1984)	Area was not seen until season two (2005) when the church was already gone for the show's expansion
BLDG #2		unnamed	2005–present	Wasn't built until season two (2005) of Desperate Housewives	4362 Wisteria Lane^[5]	Edie Britt (2004–2008 and 2013–14) Renee Perry (2010-Current)
BLDGS #3, 4, 5 , 6		School (facade) (BLDG 1) Store facades (BLDGS 4, 5, 6)	unknown-2005		Area was not seen until season two (2005) when the facades were already gone for the show's expansion
BLDGS #3, 4, 5 , 6		unnamed	2005–present	Wasn't built until season two (2005) of Desperate Housewives	4360 Wisteria Lane	Not mentioned, although an unnamed woman, played by an uncredited extra, is seen living in no. 4360 in episode 4.02