Friends Apartment Building, New York

The Friends Apartment Building is situated in Greenwich Village. People from around the world continue to visit the Friends building, despite the show first airing in 1994. The show remains very popular, and crowds of tourists can often be seen taking photos in front of the building at all hours.

The building itself is fairly ordinary in appearance. It is a six-story tan brick structure built between 1898 and 1899. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission records describe it as an ‘old law’ or dumbbell tenement, named for its cut-out air shaft, which provided ventilation and made the building resemble a dumbbell from above. The only notable features are the round-arched windows on the third and sixth floors. The building appeared in a brief shot in the first episode of Friends and remained a key location throughout the series.

Friends continues to be popular for several reasons. The show generates around $1 billion a year in revenue for Warner Brothers and has captured the hearts of a new generation of young adults. The timeless relatability of the show and its characters, along with the nostalgia for the simpler times of the 90s, contribute to its lasting appeal. The characters' portrayal of young adulthood, with its directionlessness and aimlessness, resonates with many viewers today.