For a show about nothing, Seinfeldâs sets were certainly something. The NBC sitcom, which premiered in July 1989, boasted 1,380 sets over the course of nine seasons, taking viewers on a delightfully neurotic tour of New York Cityâfrom an overcrowded Chinese restaurant to a movie theater bathroom that sparks a toilet paper debate.
âWe shot sets, struck sets, you couldnât move in here there were so many sets,â Seinfeldâs production designer, Thomas Azzari, shared in an HBO bonus feature. âWe had so many sets that the stage wasnât big enoughâwe had to move to the biggest stage on the lot,â Larry David, the showâs cocreator, added.
There were, of course, the two classics that remained a steadfast staple at CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles, where the show was filmedâJerry Seinfeldâs Upper West Side apartment, with its well-worn navy blue couch and white-and-blue door, which needed to be replaced three times due to the sheer force of Kramerâs entrances; and Monkâs Café, a quintessential old-school New York City diner complete with comfy brown booths, perfect for kvetching about low-talking girlfriends and coma etiquette.
In celebration of the seriesâ 35th anniversary, read on for some little-known tidbits about the sets and locations of Seinfeld.
Seinfeldâs iconic parking garage had to be faked
The beloved Seinfeld episode involving the gangâthe titular character played by the comedian of the same name and his three pals, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards)âlocked in a multilevel parking garage made for a serious production conundrum. There were conversations about filming on-location, but sound and lighting made the process too tricky, so the crew wound up building a garage right on the soundstage, disassembling Jerryâs apartment and Monkâs Café for the occasionâan unprecedented move for sitcoms at the time.
