The Simpsons house
 | This article describes a fictional building or structure in a primarily in-universe style. (March 2014) |
| 742 Evergreen Terrace | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Location | Springfield |
742 Evergreen Terrace is the fictional street address in Springfield of the Simpson family home in the animated sitcom, The Simpsons and in the feature film The Simpsons Movie. In the series, the house is owned by Homer and Marge Simpson who live with their three children Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The street name is a reference to The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, creator Matt Groening's alma mater.
To the left of the Simpsons' house (as seen from the street) is Ned Flanders' house, at 744 Evergreen Terrace.[1][2] The house on the right has been occupied by numerous owners, including Ruth and Laura Powers, Sideshow Bob, and the extended Flanders family (Ted Flanders and his daughters Connie and Bonnie).
In 1997, a real-life replica of the house was constructed at 712 Red Bark Lane in Henderson, Nevada, and given away as the grand prize in a contest.[3]
Design
The Simpsons house is a light pink (later in the series, the house becomes light brown) two-story detached house with an attached garage, basement, and loft. A suburban tract house,[3] the building is at least 50 feet (15 m) wide.[4] The arched front door leads directly into the foyer where an arch to the left leads to the sitting room, and one to the right leads into the dining room. There is also a small cupboard and stairs to the second floor. The sitting room and the dining room both feature bay windows. At the back of the house is the living room and the kitchen. Towards the house's rear are stairs to the basement, which are replaced by a closet in some episodes. Though rarely seen, there is also a hallway off the kitchen leading to a recreation room.[5]
The second story of the house features the bedrooms, including Marge and Homer's bedroom (with an ensuite bathroom), Bart's bedroom, Lisa's bedroom, and Maggie's bedroom. There is also a bathroom, often shown in inconsistent places in different episodes.[citation needed] On the landing, there is a hatch that leads to the attic. The episode "Lisa's Wedding", set fifteen years in the future, shows a wooden addition to the second floor, built (rather poorly) by Homer, which functions as a guest bedroom, but Homer warns Lisa and her fiancé that, "If the building inspector asks, it's not a room. It's a window box".
The back yard of the house is surrounded by a wooden picket fence and a low box hedge. It features a patio and Bart's treehouse, from which The Simpsons annual "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween specials take their name. Occasionally, there is a hammock tied to two trees near the fence that borders Ned Flanders's backyard.
Features and furniture
The basement always includes a washing machine, a clothes dryer, and, after the episode "Blood Feud", a large Olmec statue of a head which was a present from Mr. Burns given to Bart in that episode. The appearance of other features such as a furnace, ping-pong table, air hockey set, and water softener varies from episode to episode.[citation needed] The basement is often used as a "secret lair", where Homer hides after faking the kidnapping of Mr. Burns's son in "Burns, Baby Burns", brews alcohol to beat prohibition in "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment", hides his superhero operation as Pie Man in "Simple Simpson", and where Marge hides during a spell of agoraphobia in "Strong Arms of the Ma". Bart hints in one episode that the basement has a problem with radon gas, then lets a homeless man sleep there in "The Day the Violence Died". It is revealed in the episode "Father Knows Worst" that there is a sauna behind the water heater that was covered up by paint and dust, but which Marge accidentally found. So far, only Marge and Homer have been shown to know its location.
The house has two similar red sofas: the one in the sitting room is not seen in as many scenes as the well-known one in front of the TV in the living room. The current living room sofa is a replacement of the old one, which was destroyed in season 3. A simple painting of a boat hangs on the wall above this couch. Marge says she painted it for Homer in "The Trouble with Trillions", though in the episode "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife", she reads a plaque saying that the painting was based on a scene from Moby Dick. Also, in the Season 27 episode "Barthood", there is a scene in the beginning where young Lisa is seen drawing the sail boat painting. In the episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", Homer destroys the painting over the couch and Marge retrieves a replica out of a closet. Behind the painting there is a combination safe. A tank full of fish is sometimes seen in the sitting room.
In the "Treehouse of Horror IV" episode, the famous Dogs Playing Poker painting appears above the sofa. In "Treehouse of Horror VI", there is a portal behind the bookcase in the sitting room that leads to the third dimension, a reference to The Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost".[citation needed] However, Treehouse of Horror episodes are not canonical.
Condition
The house is often shown as dilapidated. For example, the walls are painted with lead paint, the roof leaks, and in "All's Fair in Oven War", the kitchen is so badly damaged that it needs to be rebuilt. One running gag shows the interior of the walls and floors filled with dangerous or unusual items when the camera pans between floors or rooms. Some of these unusual items include: asbestos, toxic waste, hidden treasure, recording devices, baby dinosaurs, and dancing mice. Even the family cat, Snowball II, is seen between the walls from time to time. However, the lived-in spaces are usually kept neat by Marge. In one episode Moe Szyslak observes that it contains no silverfish.
Many episodes in which Springfield is hit by extreme heatwaves indicate that the air-conditioning system in the Simpson home is either broken or nonexistent. In a flashback episode, Homer steals Ned Flanders's air conditioner and installs it in his own house—a window unit, indicating that neither the Simpson nor Flanders residence has central air (although Ned can afford window units).
The house is shown to have a gas furnace, as well as gas for the stove, water heater, and dryer. In one episode, Homer reroutes the gas line to turn a totem pole into a fire-breathing "God," filling the whole house with gas in the process.
In The Simpsons Movie, the house and all of the family's possessions are completely destroyed by a sinkhole in Maggie's sandbox, which expands after the Simpsons escape through it and the police shoot bullets into it. At the end of the film, the townsfolk and the family themselves rebuild the house in exactly the same manner as it was before, restoring the "status quo". The opening sequence and the couch gag of "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" shows the house still under construction, along with the whole town rebuilding after the events of the movie.
Address and phone number
The house's address was inconsistent in earlier seasons, with various house numbers on Evergreen Terrace including 1094, 1092, 59, 94, 430, 723, and 1024, as well as one address on a different street (430 Spalding Way).[6] In "Homer's Triple Bypass", "742 Evergreen Terrace" was assigned to a completely different house, where Snake hides from the police and Rev. Lovejoy lives next door.
The phone number is inconsistent between episodes, though always starting with 555. According to "A Tale of Two Springfields," the area code was 636 before the events of that episode and 939 thereafter.
Real-life version
| The Simpsons House | |
|---|---|
 The house in 2007, after having been remodeled to remove details relating to the television series | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | 712 Red Bark Lane, Henderson, Clark County, Nevada 89011 |
| Country | United States |
| Construction started | May–June 1997 |
| Completed | July 1997 |
| Client | Barbara Howard (Contest Winner) |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 2,200 square feet |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Michael Woodley, Manny Gonzalez |
A replica of the house at 742 Evergreen Terrace, known as "The Simpsons House", was constructed in 1997 by California-based Kaufman and Broad homebuilders at 712 Red Bark Lane in Henderson, Nevada.[3][7] The house was designed to closely mimic the design of the house in the series.[3]
The $120,000 house was constructed for use as the grand prize in a contest known as "The Simpsons House Give Away",[8] sponsored by Pepsi, Fox, and the homebuilder.[7] The contest was announced on July 10, 1997.[8] The rules of the contest stipulated that the winner either accept the house or a $75,000 cash payment. In addition, the winner of the house, if they chose to occupy it, was contractually obligated to repaint the exterior in accordance with local homeowner's association rules.[9] Contest entries were included on various Pepsi products and 15 million were submitted nationally.[3] The winner was Barbara Howard from Richmond, Kentucky.[10] Howard chose not to accept the house, instead taking a cash payment per the contest rules.[10] In 2001, after most of the details relating to the television series were removed, the house was sold by the builder to another owner.[3]
The house, located in a subdivision that was permanently named "Springfield South Valley Ranch",[3] took 49 days to build and was unveiled to the public on August 1, 1997.[9][11] Construction on the house was nearly complete by July 1997,[12] and by September 1997 thousands of people were lining up to see the finished product.[13] During the time it was open to the public in August and September 1997, more than 30,000 people visited the house,[3] including The Simpsons creator Matt Groening.[14]
Design
The Simpsons House was designed by Kaufman and Broad homebuilders. The primary designer was Mike Woodley, Senior Vice President of Architecture at KB Home.[4] Manny Gonzalez was the project's supervising architect.[9] The project was first conceived when designers were working on 3D visualizations at Fox Interactive for the video game Virtual Springfield.[11]
In preparation for the project the design team viewed episodes of The Simpsons to use as a guide for the home's design.[9] Dozens of episodes were viewed so that the design was drawn directly from the animation.[4] Early on it became clear that the cartoon house was not structurally sound; in the show the home has no load bearing walls.[12] The finished replica, however, met all building codes.[12] The architects focused their efforts on Bart's bedroom and the television room, making sure those rooms were as close to the reality of the series as possible. One of the challenges architects faced was the constantly changing nature of the onscreen house. For instance, the bay window has changed shape through the years.[9]
When it was constructed the four-bedroom, two-story house was painted bright yellow and baby blue on its exterior, to resemble the exterior of 742 Evergreen Terrace.[3] The house included exterior details from The Simpsons such as Bart's treehouse, a swing set, and a back yard barbecue.[3] The 2,200-square-foot (200 m2) house also has two bathrooms, and two front bay windows, again mimicking the cartoon house.[10] The supervising architect characterized the house as "90 percent normal".[10] For example, the first floor was concrete and the upstairs floor was sanded-down plywood that had been painted.[10] The lot size necessitated the house be just 40 feet (12 m) wide, compared to the cartoon house, which is at least 50 feet (15 m) wide.[4]
Before it was altered, the interior rooms were designed to mirror those in the series. The television room included Homer's favorite spot: the large sofa. The living room had brightly painted walls, matching those in the series, and a two-tone orange fireplace. The kitchen kept up the motif, featuring a checkered linoleum floor.[3] The house included 1,500 Simpsons-themed props, such as Duff Beer cans and the corn cob curtains in the kitchen.[9] Some of the paint colors used on the interior included "Power Orange," "Generator Green," and "Pink Flamingo".[9]
References
- ^ BBC - Cult - The Simpsons: Season Nine Episode Guide - Realty Bites
- ^ The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Realty Bites" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Moreno, Rich. "TV’s Simpson’s family lives in Henderson![dead link]", Lahona Valley News, November 8, 2008, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Staff. The Sixth Simpson", Las Vegas Sun, September 16, 1997, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ "Three Men and a Comic Book", "Lady Bouvier's Lover", "Brother from the Same Planet", and "White Christmas Blues"
- ^ Bekman, Stas (February 20, 2009). "11 What is the Simpsons' home address?". Stason.org. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ a b Alberti, John. Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture, (Google Books), Wayne State University Press, 2003, p. 43, (ISBN 0-8143-2849-0).
- ^ a b "Fox, Pepsi-Cola and Kaufman and Broad Partner to Produce the Largest Promotion In Fox History: 'THE SIMPSONS House Giveaway'", Press release, Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation, via PRnewswire, July 10, 1997, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ricapito, Maria. "Keeping up with The Simpsons", Metropolis, December 1997-January 1998, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Rogers, Patricia Dane. "Doh! She Won the Simpson House, but It's Too Far From Home", Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1998, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ a b Jackson, Wendy. "Springfield, Nevada", Animation World, October 1, 1997, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c Carter, Geoff. "Homer comes home to Henderson", Las Vegas Sun, July 18, 1997, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ Dickensheets, Scott. "Thousands lining up to see 'Simpsons' house", September 8, 1997, accessed March 26, 2009.
- ^ Dickensheets, Scott. "Mr. Groening signs his dream house". Las Vegas Sun, September 17, 1997, accessed March 26, 2009.
External links
- "Extrapolated floor plans of the Simpsons house". Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
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