All In The Family was a groundbreaking sitcom that blended real world politics and comedy. It starred Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, a hard-headed bigot, and Jean Stapleton as his simple-minded wife Edith. It also featured Sally Struthers as his daughter Gloria and Rob Reiner as her husband Mike, who’s liberal views often clashed with Archie. The series ran for nine seasons between 1971 and 1979. The series then continued for four more seasons under the title “Archie Bunker’s Place”.
The Bunker House
Establishing shots of the Bunker house were filmed in Queens. The production chose a semi-detached home located at 89-70 Cooper Avenue. The house appeared in the opening and closing credits throughout the series.
As many viewers have noted over the years, the set used for filming featured a porch on the front of the house. However this house in Queens doesn’t have a porch on it. This is likely because the house was chosen and the shots of it were filmed at the very start of the series. Once they started building the set in Hollywood, they decided to add a porch so the characters could have scenes out front of the house. The fact that it didn’t match the house wasn’t a big concern.
The Smithsonian
Due to the significant cultural impact that All In The Family had, Archie and Edith’s chairs are preserved and on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. It was believed that the 8th season would be the end of All In The Family, so Normal Lear donated the two chairs to the museum. However shortly after, the show was renewed for a 9th season. Due to the museum’s policy of not returning donated items, the show needed to created replica chairs for the 9th season.
The chairs are part of the Pop Culture exhibit in the museum. Other highlights include the Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, the original Kermit The Frog, and R2D2 and C3PO. The exhibit also features many other props, costumes, and memorabilia that rotate being on display.
Hollywood Studios
The first five seasons of All In The Family were filmed at CBS Television City in Hollywood. This facility has housed a lot of major productions over the years. These including The Price Is Right and The Late Late Show.
For seasons six to nine, the show was filmed at Metromedia Square. This facility was located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue. It was torn down in 2003 and the last was sold to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The land is now home to Helen Bernstein High School, which was used for exterior shots on the show Glee.
When the show was spun-off to Archie Bunker’s Place, the show returned to Television City for those four seasons.
