A good production designer can take an ordinary landscape and transform it into something magical. Uli Hanisch had his work cut out for him with “The Queen’s Gambit,” the limited Netflix series which debuted to much fanfare in October. Based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name, the 1960s-set show follows orphan chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) as she comes of age traveling the world performing in tournaments.
Based in Kentucky, Beth ventures to such far off locales as Paris, Las Vegas, and Moscow throughout the seven-episode series. Incredibly, Uli and the rest of the production team found everything they were looking for to re-create mid-century versions of each city in one place – Berlin. As he explained to Architectural Digest, “Because of the history of Berlin being separated by west and east, we have a lot of this kind of Western-world-orientated architecture from the ’60s where West Berlin was trying to show off to be part of the Western world, while East Berlin was looking straight to Moscow.”
Along with a stellar soundtrack, jaw-dropping costumes (which give those featured on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” a serious run for their money!), and dynamic set-dressing, the locations provide a vivid backdrop for Beth’s captivating story to play out.
One spot the team had to look far outside of Germany to find? The two-story home belonging to Beth’s adoptive parents, Allston (Patrick Kennedy) and Alma Wheatley (Marielle Heller). Said to be located in Lexington, Kentucky, the perfectly traditional Anywhere, U.S.A.-style residence can actually be found in Canada, ironically enough.
Situated on a picturesque tree-lined street in Cambridge, Ontario, the three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath, 2044-square-foot property hit the market with Royal LePage Crown Realty Services Brokerage on July 21st, 2020 for $799,000, but was subsequently removed just seven days later. Brief as the listing was, it did provide us with a glimpse at the home’s actual interior, which is markedly different from what appeared onscreen in “The Queen’s Gambit.”
To see what Beth’s house looks like in real life, click over to the gallery.