A Character Built of Brick and Mortar
To say the Arconia is merely the setting for Hulu’s hit series “Only Murders in the Building” is a grand understatement. It’s a cliché to call a location a character, but the show’s creative team, led by co-creator John Hoffman, intentionally leaned into
that challenge. The building is the narrative engine: its stately walls house the secrets, its elevators trap the suspects, and its vastness ensures that even next-door neighbors remain perfect strangers, ripe for a true-crime podcast investigation. The Arconia is the entire world for Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, a vertical neighborhood where community is forged through suspicion and shared obsession. It feels knowable because the show makes every inch of it matter.
The Real-World Inspiration: The Belnord
The grand, gated exterior that has become synonymous with the Arconia belongs to a real New York City landmark: The Belnord. Located at 86th and Broadway on the Upper West Side, this 1908 Beaux-Arts beauty provides the series with its instant sense of history and grandeur. The show frequently films its exterior shots and scenes in the building's massive, iconic courtyard. Designed by the architectural firm Hiss and Weekes, The Belnord spans an entire city block and boasts one of the largest private courtyards in New York. Its imposing gates and Italian Renaissance-inspired architecture give the Arconia a tangible presence that a soundstage alone could never replicate. Hoffman has said he was “obsessed” with the building, knowing it could provide the elevated, history-rich backdrop the story demanded.
The Magic of the Soundstage
While The Belnord gives the Arconia its face, its soul is crafted on a soundstage. Every apartment you see—from Charles’s tastefully modern space to Oliver’s theatrical den—is a meticulously designed set. The show’s first production designer, Curt Beech, and his successor, Patrick Howe, were tasked with building a world that felt both authentic to the characters and architecturally consistent. They studied the floor plans of classic pre-war buildings like The Belnord to inform the layout of the fictional apartments, even though they were built on a stage. This allows for creative liberties, like the secret passageways revealed in season two, which add another layer to the building's mythology and become crucial to the plot.
Designing Personalities Through Decor
The reason viewers feel they know the Arconia so intimately is because every apartment is a masterclass in environmental storytelling. The production design team works to communicate who each resident is through their space. Charles-Haden Savage’s (Steve Martin) apartment is a mix of mid-century modern furniture and valuable art, reflecting a man with money and taste, but one who is somewhat isolated and stuck in his past glory. In stark contrast, Oliver Putnam’s (Martin Short) apartment is a chaotic, theatrical explosion of playbills, props, and jewel tones—the home of a flamboyant Broadway director whose passion outweighs his financial stability. And Mabel Mora's (Selena Gomez) apartment began as a work-in-progress, a raw, undecorated space that perfectly mirrored her own journey of self-discovery and renovation. These interiors aren't just decorated; they are curated biographies, making the characters and their home feel utterly believable.
