Wisteria Lane is a fictional street at the center of U.S. television drama series Desperate Housewives.
The set for Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually named Colonial Street, an area that has been used for many motion pictures and television shows.
[1] Other film and television productions in which Colonial Street has featured include the original Leave It to Beaver series, Gremlins, The 'Burbs, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Now the majority of the buildings and facades in this part of the street were 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,[4] and of the so-called Colonial Mansion, which was replaced by a park.
Colonial Street – including Circle Drive – has sixteen main buildings, with three of them located outside the Desperate Housewives filming area.
The house for 4351 was strictly avoided by the Desperate Housewives filming crew during season one.
Following the decision to introduce the Applewhites, and having them living in the Munster home, the house was completely remodeled.
The two remain in the house until season two, when Paul is arrested for the apparent murder of Felicia Tilman, and Zach inherits his grandfather's fortune.
All other inside shots(kitchen, family room and second floor) are filmed on a soundstage in the studio.
At the end of season four, Julie moved out to go to college, and Susan gave birth to Maynard James Delfino.
In the end of season seven, Mike, Susan and MJ all move back into 4353, when Paul Young is arrested for murder.
Susan decides to sell her house at the end of the series to a couple named Jennifer and Steve, who are hiding a secret.
All other interior shots (living room and second floor) are filmed on a soundstage in the studio.
Gloria Hodge, Orson's mother also moves in, a few episodes later and remains until she is kicked out by Bree.
Three years after the series end, Bree and her former lawyer/new husband, Trip Weston, move off the lane to Kentucky.
By the end of season seven, Lynette and Tom decide to separate and divorce after a long fight between the two.
They move out four weeks later to New York City where they live in a penthouse overlooking Central Park.
At the beginning of season seven, the house was rented by Renee Perry, a college friend of Lynette's.
For unknown reasons, in episodes "Sorry Grateful" and "Finishing the Hat" the numbers on the door of Renee's house were changed to 4359.
Note that no residents 4348 (Drew House) and 4360 Wisteria Lane have been mentioned, although an unnamed woman, played by an uncredited actress, is seen living in no.
Also, in Season 3, Mrs McCluskey is seen reporting a man washing his pet Pig on the lawn of 4360.
In season 1 Susan Mayer burns down Edie Britt's house and there are changes to the kitchen and exterior.
In addition to this, the former residence of Mary Alice Young has been painted green and the archway and the beginning of the house has been removed.
The official website of Universal Studios Hollywood presents a map of Colonial Street, as it looked between 1989 and 1996.
[3] Besides the changes made during the first year of Desperate Housewives, the main difference between this map and the current look of the street is that the houses known in Desperate Housewives as 4352 Wisteria Lane and 4354 Wisteria Lane (Mary Alice's and Bree's houses) replaced two older buildings in 1996.
[1][a] In episode two of Desperate Housewives, "Ah, But Underneath", a map of the street and details about its residents is seen in one of Mike's lockers.
There are some differences between Mike's map and the established version: In addition, although the camera briefly passes by 4358 Wisteria Lane - the house that (starting with episode 14, "Love Is in the Air") would be known as Karen McCluskey's home - it turns away before any names are shown.
A map of Wisteria Lane is also included in the official season one companion book, Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors, published in 2005.
The exceptions are the three buildings beyond Karen McCluskey's house, which were not added to the shows filming location until season two.