City Decides That Sesame Street Is In... Manhattan

Sesame Street on screen does...not look like 63rd Street and Broadway?

For 50 years, the quintessential children's show Sesame Street has kept people wondering how you get to this mythical place. Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch & Co's adventures take place in New York, of course. But where? As the New York Public Library notes, there's no IRL subway stop on the MTA map where the Sesame Stop—located off the A, B, 1, and 2 trains—could be. Many of the local environs depicted in the show, particularly the stoop, look like they could be located in Brooklyn or Queens.

But it seems like Sesame Street is in... Manhattan? Back in 2009, then-Mayor Bloomberg temporarily named 64th Street and Broadway "Sesame Street" in a ceremony honoring the show's 40th's anniversary. (At the time, Oscar the Grouch told WNYC: "I like my trash can and the rent is cheap.") And today, the southeast corner of West 63rd Street and Broadway was officially named "Sesame Street" by New York City, in a celebration tied to the show's 50th anniversary. The location is adjacent to 1900 Broadway, the place that's been the non-profit Sesame Workshop’s headquarters for the last 50 years, according to a press release for the event.

While this might make sense logistically, it seems at odds with the show spiritually—I never imagined Sesame Street to be right by a Starbucks, or a stone's throw from the Lincoln Center. But hey, I don't make the rules!

Anyway, this morning's ceremony featured beloved Sesame Street residents such as Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Count von Count, who led the crowd in a rendition of "Sunny Days." Check out a video of the unveiling below.