“A Neighborhood to Identify With”: Sesame Street, the City, and the Contradictions of Fuzzy Liberalism

In the midst of the urban crisis, the creators of Sesame Street rejected the suburban and orderly classroom set designs of other children’s programs and chose instead a New York City street. When asked why they chose a city set, producers explained that an urban setting would appeal to their target audience: children living in impoverished, urban communities. But producers chose an urban setting because they believed the city could be saved and their show could be its savior. Off-screen, producers set up regional offices in cities across the U.S., distributed education materials door-to-door, and created viewing centers in order to provide as many children as possible with access to Sesame Street. On-screen, producers crafted a vision for cities, not as they existed, but for how they could be. Sesame Street’s set was not reflective of their target demographic’s environment. Instead, it was an amalgamation of urban idealism, colorblindness, and nostalgia. By 1979, nine million children in suburban and city neighborhoods watched Sesame Street on a daily basis. While children living in cities saw a distorted image of the world they knew, children living in the suburbs came to know the city for the first time through the show. Drawing on close readings of the set design, oral histories, production documents, viewer mail, and parodies, this paper deconstructs the layers of meaning behind the brownstone stoop of 123 Sesame Street. It places special attention on the tensions and contradictions embedded in Sesame Street’s urbanity. In reconstructing the discourse between set designers, the city street they built, and their audience, this paper shows how Sesame Street revitalized the city, both on and off-screen.