She’s perhaps one of the most beloved figures of American history and the culinary world at large, with countless books, articles, and specials dedicated to her incredible life and times. And now, HBO Max has released its own take on famed cookbook author and television personality Julia Child, an eight-episode fictionalization starring British actress Sarah Lancashire in the leading role and “Frasier’s” David Hyde Pierce as her loving husband, Paul. Titled “Julia,” the series chronicles the period following the publication of Child’s game-changing 1961 cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” as the jovial gourmet takes on the small screen by way of her revolutionary demonstrational culinary program “The French Chef.”
Executive producer Kimberly Carver (who is also behind the Food Network’s “The Julia Child Challenge”) was inspired to create the show in large part thanks to the 2009 dramedy “Julie & Julia.” She explained to host Kerry Diamond on the “Dishing on Julia” podcast, “I love ‘Julie & Julia.’ Meryl Streep, just every time she was on camera portraying Julia Child, I just loved it. And I realized that you know, the story needed to continue. It ended really with her getting her cookbook. I really wanted to tell a story about a woman who really found her purpose in the second half of her life and how she became the most celebrated television food personality.”
The series is certainly a fresh take on Child, showcasing her pioneering spirit, dogged determination and eternal positivity as she forges her own path in the male-dominated world of 1960s public broadcasting to create one of the very first cooking shows. And it is a pure delight to watch!
Though some blatant liberties were taken with the narrative, the production team kept the setting truthful by shooting in Boston, Mass. and its environs, where Julia resided for the better part of her later years. A few Beantown spots showcased include Adams Shore Super Market in the suburb of Quincy, Union Oyster House in downtown Boston (one of America’s oldest operating restaurants and a favorite haunt of the Childs in real life), Wilson’s Diner in Waltham, the picturesque Public Garden, the Denholm Building in Worcester and a charming house in Dedham that stands in for Paul and Julia’s residence.
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Image Credit: Brian Doherty/YouTube While the Childs called Cambridge home in real life, their small-screen dwelling can be found about ten miles south of the college town. Fronted by a picturesque clapboard façade, the two-story property stands on an extremely leafy lot at 9 Marsh St. in Dedham’s highly desirable Precinct One neighborhood. As described by local broker/“Boston & The ‘Burbs” host Karen O’Brien, the area “is known as the beautiful large home section of Dedham – breathtaking pieces of land clearly from a bygone era. They’re presently well-kept and nurtured by the owners.”
Situated in the southeast portion of the Precinct, the traditional Dutch Colonial features five bedrooms and four baths in an impressive 3,661 square feet. And it is certainly “well-kept!” Originally built in 1895, the handsome structure was thoroughly reimagined by architect Stephen Magliocco at some point before it last hit the market in 2015. Repped by Hope McDermott, it sold for $1.15 million that February and Zillow estimates its current worth at about $1.7 million today.
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Image Credit: Brian Doherty/YouTube Tastefully updated, the interior is awash with thick moldings, arched windows, hardwood flooring and a quartet of mantled fireplaces dotted throughout attractive living spaces that include a formal entry hall, a dining room, a living room and a den.
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Image Credit: Brian Doherty/YouTube Prior to the most recent sale, the property last changed hands in 2002, with the listing advising potential buyers that the place was in need of a new kitchen. (Rather ironic considering its future television role!) But Magliocco and his team expertly amended that issue! Today, the remodeled space is bright, open and modernized with a slew of amenities that Julia would undoubtedly approve of, including stainless appliances, a professional range, a center island, a breakfast nook overlooking the backyard, an ingenious pet food station and built-in wine racks and cookbook shelving.
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Image Credit: Brian Doherty/YouTube Upstairs, the spacious owners’ suite is outfitted with a gas fireplace, cushioned window seating, built-in bookshelves and a dressing room/walk-in closet. The 2015 listing information details that the ensuite bath is European in style (again, Julia would approve!) with dual sinks, a soaking tub and a walk-in shower.
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Image Credit: Brian Doherty/YouTube Measuring 0.28 acres, the surrounding lot is shrouded in greenery and boasts a mahogany deck with stairs leading down to a grassy expanse, a front yard teeming with mature foliage and an idyllic porch, where Child and her best friend Avis DeVoto (Bebe Neuwirth) spend quite a bit of time on “Julia.”
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Image Credit: Brian Doherty/YouTube Production designers Steve Cooper and Patrizia von Brandenstein gave the abode a bit of an overhaul for the shoot, coating its exterior in cerulean blue paint. The revamped hue only added to the property’s charm and overall affluent look, making it the perfect stand-in for the Childs’ residence.
The dwelling is showcased frequently throughout the series, with Julia variously pictured washing her car in the driveway, checking her mailbox and meandering down the central pathway and onto the tree-lined street beyond.
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Image Credit: HBO Max Only the exterior of the residence appears on “Julia.” For interior filming, von Brandenstein and Cooper created a set very closely based upon the Childs’ former Cambridge home, the look, layout and design of which are well-documented in files that Paul and Julia donated to Harvard’s Schlesinger Library. As Patrizia told the Gold Derby website, “They left their papers including their plans for the kitchen . . . the original renovation of the house, photographs . . . and detailed descriptions.” The result of the production designers’ efforts is a very faithful re-creation of the couple’s former homestead.
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Image Credit: Google The Childs orignally purchased their Cambridge residence, a spacious five-bedroom, five-bath, 6,000-square-foot clapboard classic at 103 Irving St., in 1961 following Paul’s retirement from the U.S. Foreign Service. Julia remained on the premises after her husband’s passing in 1994, ultimately staging three of her cooking shows, beginning with “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs,” at the three-story pad.
When the celebrated epicurean relocated to her home state of California at the age of 89 in 2001, she gifted the residence to Smith College, her alma mater, and the proceeds of its subsequent sale went towards building a 60,000-square-foot, $23-million campus center. However, the home’s most famous room was not included in the transaction. Julia’s teal-hued kitchen, which was custom-designed by Paul with raised countertops to accommodate her 6’2” frame, was instead donated in its entirety (all cooking ephemera included!) to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Today, it can be viewed as part of the facility’s FOOD: Transforming the American Table exhibition – a little piece of the world’s most beloved celebrity chef forever preserved for generations to come.
(Please remember, the dwellings mentioned in this post are private homes. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the properties in any way.)