Ryan Murphy is nothing if not fastidious. Say what you will about the prolific writer/director/producer – and many have with The Independent dubbing him the “$300m king of phoning it in” and Los Angeles magazine claiming he’s been “overrated for decades” – but there’s no denying that his attention to aesthetic detail is like no other! The set design, costumes and makeup for his many historical anthology series, which include “Halston,” “Feud: Bette and Joan” and “American Crime Story,” are a vibrant testimony to that fact. The latest season of the latter, titled “Impeachment,” is no different. Chronicling the illicit affair between President Bill Clinton (Clive Owen) and 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein), as well as the national fallout that resulted from it, the show, which wrapped up its 10-episode run this week, is set against a painstakingly recreated 1990s-era Washington, D.C.
As realistic as the retro East Coast backdrop seems, in truth filming took place in California, with Los Angeles and its environs standing in for the nation’s capital. Production designer Jamie Walker McCall (who also styled Murphy’s “Prom”) and her team were tasked with bringing the setting to life – a project they took great lengths to execute. As McCall told House Beautiful, “It was important to make the sets feel real and authentic to this moment in history.”
The group had a rather serendipitous stroke of luck with one particular locale – the home belonging to Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson), the chain-smoking whistleblower who brought the Clinton/Lewinsky affair to light, ultimately becoming one of the most controversial figures ever to tangle in American politics. As the location team discovered, nestled in the heart of Eagle Rock at 2154 Hill Dr., about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, is a residence that bears a striking resemblance to the house Tripp actually called home during the scandal, where she notoriously recorded some 22 hours of phone conversations with her Pentagon co-worker Lewinsky. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
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Image Credit: Google Originally built in 1940, the charming Colonial just screams East Coast traditionalism! Standing behind a white picket fence on a grassy 0.36-acre corner lot, the pad features four bedrooms and three bathrooms spread throughout a spacious 2,719 square feet with amenities including a formal dining room, a kitchen with double ovens, a den, two fireplaces and a pool.
Unfortunately, because the dwelling last sold in 1992, real estate imagery is nil, although a few interior photos can be seen here. While the place garnered just under $400,000 when it changed hands three decades ago, Zillow “zestimates” its current worth at a considerably higher $1.8 million.
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Image Credit: Redfin The pad proved priceless to the “Impeachment” production team, though, thanks to its layout, design and general aesthetic, all of which match Tripp’s real former Columbia, Maryland home (pictured above) precisely, right down to the large grassy setback, trio of dormer windows, and front door and window placement. The location managers truly hit the nail on the proverbial head with the find!
Linda’s residence became something of an area landmark in the late ‘90s, with reporters descending upon it as soon as her role in the presidential scandal came to light. One enterprising journalist even went so far as to attempt to “infiltrate the neighborhood Super Bowl party” to gain information about Tripp, according to a 2000 Baltimore Sun article. The attention became so unrelenting, she “had to cover her windows with sheets to escape camera lenses she later described as ‘medium-sized tree limbs.’” Tripp soon vacated the property and retreated to a more private 100-acre horse farm in Marshall, Virginia, ultimately selling the Maryland pad in 2002 for $275,000. She spent the remainder of her years in Virginia, where she remarried and opened a holiday store known as The Christmas Sleigh before passing away from pancreatic cancer in April 2020, 17 months before “Impeachment” hit the small screen.
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Image Credit: 20th Century Fox -
Image Credit: Google The Eagle Rock abode popped up repeatedly as the Tripp residence throughout the series, most notably in the episode titled “Do You Hear What I Hear?” in which Linda throws a large holiday party for friends and co-workers.
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Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Only the exterior of the property appeared in “Impeachment.” The busy wallpapered interior of Linda’s residence was an elaborate set created by McCall and set decorator Kimberly Wannop on a soundstage at the Fox Studio Lot in Century City. The duo utilized rich patterns, a smattering of Blue Danube china and traditional furnishings to bring Tripp’s classic, Laura Ashley-esque surroundings to life. Though certainly dated with its 1990s detailing, their creation is also timeless and familiar, not to mention cozy, inviting and warm. The scenery provided a truly dichotomous backdrop for the melancholy character who called it home.
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Image Credit: Redfin Interestingly, the real inside of Linda’s former Maryland house (pictured above) is much less formal and far more bland than what was depicted on “Impeachment.” It is no wonder that McCall and her team kicked up Tripp’s décor for the show being that dull and flat interiors don’t exactly play well onscreen.
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Image Credit: Cannon Film The Eagle Rock property boasts a couple of additional credits to its name. It also portrayed the residence of high schooler/Robby’s Ribs ‘N’ Chicken server Julie Winston (Courteney Cox) in the 1987 fantasy adventure film “Masters of the Universe.”
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Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures And, per the Patch, it was featured in interior scenes involving Tony Mendez’s (Ben Affleck) estranged wife, Christine (Taylor Schilling), and son, Ian (Aidan Sussman), in the 2012 Best Picture Academy Award winner “Argo.” Very little of the dwelling can be seen in the film, though, as most scenes shot on the premises wound up on the cutting room floor.