Around the Corner

"Around the Corner" art work by Joe Mathieu from Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

"Around the Corner" as seen in Sesame Street Stays Up Late

Around the Corner depicted in the Letters CD-ROM game.

Beginning with Season 25 in 1993, Sesame Street's set expanded Around the Corner to feature a whole new block of locations. The new set first appeared in the season premiere, when Big Bird and his friends first visited the Park.

According to Sonia Manzano, "By expanding the street and going around the corner, we will have other places to hang out beyond the stoop of 123 Sesame Street, and we will be able to explore family issues which we think are so important to kids today."

After Season 29, the Around the Corner sets and most of the new characters were dropped from the show. The Around the Corner locations made their final appearance in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

According to Martin P. Robinson:

“In Season 25, we opened up the whole "Around the Corner" set filled with new humans and dozens of new puppets. Remember the Furry Arms Hotel? It was a great cast and the plot lines were hilarious, but research discovered that kids couldn't keep track of all these people and puppets, making the shows visually exciting and entertaining for adults, but confusing for kids.”

Locations

• 456 Sesame Street, a brownstone that houses the Day Care Center, operated by Angela.

• The Furry Arms Hotel, a Muppet hotel owned by Sherry Netherland, with her employees Humphrey, Ingrid, Benny Rabbit, Otis the Elephant Elevator Operator, and a Dinger.

• The Birdland jazz club, which featured live music hosted by Hoots the Owl.

• 10 Sesame Street, a two-story building. The lower floor is occupied by Finders Keepers, a thrift shop full of objects from fairy tales and nursery rhymes, owned by Ruthie. The top floor contains a dance studio owned by dance teacher Celina.

• A Subway Station.

• The Park, which has a jungle gym and a pond. The Squirrelles live in a tree there.

• A newsstand, run by Oscar.

• Clock Tower.

• An Electronics Store (seen only in Sesame Street Stays Up Late as a part of the 456 building)

Merchandise

A storybook, Around the Corner on Sesame Street, was published in 1994 to showcase the new locations and characters. Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book, from 1996, served a similar purpose.

Around the Corner on Sesame Street
1994

Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book
1996

Before and after expansion

Episode 0725

Before the set expansion in 1993, the street that would become "Around the Corner" was often just a painted backdrop if it was seen in shots at all. A city bus would frequently come from this direction to stop on the corner as seen in Episode 1396, among others. The apartment complex where David's mother lived could be reached from this street in Episode 0725.

After 1998, the Around the Corner area has been shortened into a dead-end alley way, usually where various wooden crates and metal oil barrels are kept. From time to time, Oscar's Sloppy Jalopy can be seen parked there (such as Episode 3921).

In Episode 4109, Abby Cadabby tells Big Bird that her home is "around the corner," although she doesn't specify which corner.

after Season 29

Episode 4206