Locations In The Simpsons That We'd Want To Visit In Real Life
For more than three decades, "The Simpsons" has defined pop culture's most enduring image of the satirically typical American town. The animated show takes place in the fictional city of Springfield, with the main cast of characters also occasionally venturing out of Springfield to visit other towns and countries.
Due to the popularity and longevity of the show, "The Simpsons" has given us a staggering array of characters, main and recurring, and a plethora of zany locations to place them in. Those locations have themselves become a part of pop culture history, even if the actual location of Springfield on the US map is still up for debate.
While fans often express a desire to meet their favorite "The Simpsons" characters in real life, there are also those who would love to visit the town of Springfield itself to take in the major locations that have witnessed so many of the shenanigans involving Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, and the rest. Here are a number of such locations that would be a blast to visit for real.
742 Evergreen Terrace
Much like 221B Baker Street became a famous part of the "Sherlock Holmes" mythology, "742 Evergreen Terrace" is the most iconic address in "The Simpsons" because that is the house where Homer and his family live. The instantly-recognizable double-story house has been at the center of most of the family's escapades, enduring many explosions, crashes, multiple mob attacks, and large amounts of toxic waste sludge.
How the building has not been utterly demolished by this point, and that it still remains somehow inhabitable, is one of the show's biggest mysteries. Designated at one point as a bomb shelter, its walls are covered with lead paint that would no doubt be considered a major health hazard by any half-decent inspector. Also the roof leaks, and the space between the floorboards is filled with miscellaneous asbestos, pirate treasure, and the occasional family pet trying desperately to get out.
Still, despite its many shortcomings and straight-up life-threatening health code violations, 742 Evergreen Terrace represents an oasis of calm for the crazy family that lives there. No matter how many fresh scrapes Homer and his kin get into, much like so many real-life families, they can hit the reset button by gathering together in their living room to watch TV and forget their troubles for a while.
The Kwik-E-Mart
On the face of it, Springfield's premier convenience store, "The Kwik-E-Mart," is remarkable for its un-remarkableness. It looks like any other convenience store across America, with the rows of bland products awaiting customers, and the polite store owner Apu making overtures of friendly obsequiousness while keeping a watchful eye on any customer who might try to slip a granola bar in their pocket when no one's looking.
Over the years, The Kwik-E-Mart has been at the center of some of the show's most compelling storylines. Like in "Much Apu About Nothing" (Season 7, Episode 23) when Apu was faced with the prospect of closing down the store and going back to his native land of India unless he became an American citizen. Or the many, many times Snake the jailbird has held up the store and the people inside it for some quick cash.
Ironically, after years of serving as a parody of the real-life 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores, The Kwik-E-Mart was brought to life when 7-Eleven converted 11 of its stores in the United States and another one in Canada into Kwik-E-Marts as part of the promotions for "The Simpsons Movie." Talk about life imitating art, hopefully without the accusations of racism that have been increasingly associated with the character of Apu in recent years.
The Springfield Mystery Spot
The Springfield Mystery Spot that showed up in "Old Money" (Season 2, Episode 17) is, you guessed it, the most mysterious spot in all of Springfield. At first glance, the location looks like an ordinary wooden shack with nothing else around it. But there is more going on beneath the surface. On "The Simpsons," visitors to the shack have reported all manners of strange phenomena over the years.
The motto of the Mystery Spot is "Where logic takes a holiday and all laws of nature are meaningless." In keeping with that, when Ozzie Smith entered the shack out of curiosity, he was immediately sent into a mysterious and seemingly never-ending free fall through empty space. Ever more sinister was the manner in which the owner of the shack merely chuckled when he heard Smith screaming as he fell.
Like so many other locations on the show, The Springfield Mystery Spot is a parody of the real-life Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, California. But while the unusual phenomena experienced at the real-life Mystery Spot can be explained as a visual illusion created by its tilted architecture, the Springfield Mystery Spot is implied to be an actual meeting ground of otherworldly forces beyond human understanding.
Springfield Elementary School
If their house is where Homer rules the roost with his idiotic shenanigans, Springfield Elementary is the place where his son Bart gets to let loose his full prankster energy, to the detriment of the teachers, students, and the school's long-suffering groundskeeper Willie. Little wonder that Springfield Elementary has been at the center of so many hijinks on "The Simpsons."
On the outside, the school looks like any other middle-income place of learning in America that doesn't get enough funds yet still tries to make do for the sake of its students. But over the years many surprising secrets have been uncovered at Springfield Elementary, like the secret classroom filled with mannequins of children that was revealed in "500 Keys" (Season 22, Episode 21). Or the cafeteria food being made from unusual animal parts along with blatantly non-edible items.
Of course, if visiting Springfield Elementary was actually possible, most fans would likely want to get a selfie in the classroom where Bart starts the intro before every episode of the show, writing some humorous line again and again on the blackboard before taking off on his skateboard. Their second choice would probably be the band room where Lisa gets dismissed in every intro for following the symphony in her heart instead of what's on the music sheets.
Burns Manor
One of the most grand buildings in Springfield is Burns Manor, ancestral home to C. Montgomery Burns, the richest and most evil man in town. The extent of Burns' wrongdoings is vast, from stashing toxic waste in playgrounds to sending those who displease him through a floor chute in his office to their doom.
Naturally, such a despicable man has a despicable home, no matter how good it looks from the outside. There is an army of bloodthirsty hounds ready to tear apart interlopers at their master's command. At various points, we have seen that the mansion has rows of priceless paintings, a slept-in bed that gets destroyed and replaced by a new freshly-made bed every morning, a "controversial" installment of a Nancy Drew novel, and the mythical sword Excalibur.
We imagine visiting Burns Manor would be akin to going into one of those trap-infested ancient relic sites that Indiana Jones was so fond of frequenting. Sure, there might be innumerable traps set in place by the owner to visit a grisly death on unwanted visitors, but you also just might stumble across some priceless treasure that could set you up for life.
Comic Book Guy's shop
"The Simpsons" was often praised for its ability to predict future trends with almost uncanny prescience. In that vein, the show gave us the typical internet nerd/troll/toxic fan years before social media was a thing, in the form of "Comic Book Guy." His name is Jeffrey "Jeff" Albertson, and he runs Springfield's premier comic book store, The Android's Dungeon.
Visiting the store is unlikely to be a pleasant experience, since its owner looks down on anyone who is not related to the world of comic books, feels competitive with anyone who knows about comic books as much as him, and feels jealous of anyone who has a greater connection to comic book culture than him. There's no pleasing the guy, in other words.
But the visit would be worth it just to stand in the presence of Comic Book Guy himself, who has come to define an entire generation of entitled pop culture nerds with condescending attitudes and zero social skills. Who knows, playing your cards right during a visit to The Android's Dungeon might even get Comic Book Guy to utter a version of his most famous catchphrase, "Worst customer interaction ever!"
Moe's Tavern
If you enjoy going to pubs, but dislike basic hygiene, quality alcohol, cheerful customers, or a helpful barkeep, than "Moe's Tavern" is the place for you. The pub, run by the titular Moe Szyslak, is one of the most enduring parts of "The Simpsons" mythology, and one of the most depressing.
Moe alternates between being a legitimate psychopath, who'll draw a gun on you at a moment's notice, to coming across as a wounded man-child suffering from crippling self-esteem issues. The few times Moe's Tavern became an actual success with a thriving clientele the pressure proved too much, and Moe soon reverted back to his dingy bar filled with his small group of regulars including Homer, Barney, Lenny, and Carl.
Venturing any further into the bar than the main area, you might see things you can never unsee again. Like the backroom used to illegally store exotic panda bears. Or the nameless person (implied to be Hans Moleman) trapped under the floorboards, whose presence Moe seems fully aware of.
Billionaire Camp
There are plenty of camps across Springfield, but the one that showed up in "The Burns and the Bees" (Season 20, Episode 8) is the only one that boasts of members who can individually buy up the entire town and most of America. Simply called "Billionaire Camp," it's the place where the fabulously rich gather to enjoy nature and the prospect of rubbing their wealth in the faces of their peers.
Apart from Mr. Burns, the camp counts among its members The Rich Texan, Mark Zuckerberg, Ted Turner, Richard Branson, and Mark Cuban. Camp activities include food fights, learning archery using famous paintings for targets, playing poker using actual people in place of currency, and telling horror stories about businesses going under. Another popular pastime is making fun of the neighboring "Millionaire's Club" for being feckless losers who can't even manage to get past the $1 billion mark.
On the face of it, attending "Billionaire's Camp" might seem like a bad way to pass the time if you don't enjoy hearing members constantly tell you all about how rich they are. But consider the fact that getting into the camp is only possible if you are yourself a billionaire — being a member would automatically place you in the top 1% of the top 1% of the top 1% of the world's population in terms of wealth. You can't put a price on that experience (actually you can — it's upwards of $1 billion).
The Leftorium
"The Leftorium" is a shop in Springfield Mall that is run by Homer's neighbor, sometime arch-enemy, and long-suffering friend Ned Flanders. As the name suggests, the Leftorium is dedicated to providing products for people of the left-handed persuasion. The shop was a dream project for Flanders, who had to quit his job as a pharmaceutical company clerk to start the business.
Unlike the vast majority of other shops and businesses in Springfield that are actively trying to rip off their customers, the mere fact that Flanders — the town's most righteous man — owns the Leftorium guarantees that you will never get anything less than the best-quality deals at his store. Still, despite the sincerity of its owner, the Leftorium has seen a lot of ups and downs.
Flanders has had to shut down his store on multiple occasions due to a lack of customers, and once, following a hurricane that hit Springfield, it was even looted by a mob. He also abandoned the original store and reopened it as a kiosk to save costs. The entry of online shopping websites sounded the final death knell, forcing Flanders to close down the Leftorium once and for all.
The Old Lemon Tree
Springfield is a pretty chaotic town, and there aren't a lot of places in it that can be called "idyllic." A rare exception is the town's evocative "Lemon Tree" landmark that showed up in "Lemon of Troy" (Season 6, Episode 24). The Lemon Tree also happens to be one of the few town locations that Bart actually seems to show love and affection towards.
The tree came into existence over 100 years ago, and was planted during the founding of the town by Jebediah Springfield. Over the next century, the Lemon Tree became an enduring symbol of peace for the town, as we see it being used by the citizens as a spot to relax, romp around, and make lemon juice.
One of the rare instances of the whole town of Springfield coming together as one was when the Lemon Tree got stolen by the despicable, cousin-marrying residents of their sister city Shelbyville. Eventually, the tree was located and brought back in triumph to its rightful place in Springfield, where it continued to provide a place of rest and calm for the children and adults of the town.
Springfield Town Hall
"The Simpsons" has a vast array of supporting characters, many of whom are interesting and popular enough to easily carry their own series. All those distinct personalities are rarely featured together on the show, but you do get to see them butting heads in the Springfield Town Hall whenever a new crisis rears its head that threatens the whole town.
The way it usually goes is that Mayor Quimby takes the stage at the town hall to lay out the matter in need of resolution. Then the residents of Springfield in the audience make their personal feelings known about the issue. This has presented us with many major moments, like the entire town deciding to kick Homer and his family out of Springfield in "At Long Last Leave" (Season 23, Episode 14).
The delightful thing about attending a meeting at the town hall is that there are literally no ideas stupid enough to not be considered seriously by the residents — as when Mayor Quimby boldly suggested after a particularly money-draining series of events in Season 5, Episode 10, "I propose that I use what's left of the town treasury to move to a more prosperous town and run for mayor."
Channel 6 Studios
Springfield has its own media landscape separate from mainstream television. This industry is dominated by two personalities, Krusty the Clown and news reporter Kent Brockman. Both celebrities record their shows near each other. Kent films episodes of his news show in the Channel 6 studios, which also eventually bought out Krusty's nearby private studio where he filmed "The Krusty the Clown Show."
Naturally, a visit to Channel 6 studios would be fraught with interest, especially with the possibility of getting a selfie with Krusty or Kent. As with most other public places in Springfield, you also risk potential danger to your life if you happen to visit the studio at a time when Sideshow Bob is hatching a plot to try to eliminate his old nemesis Krusty in the middle of a show.
Then again, if you get to be as lucky as Bart in "Bart Gets Famous" (Season 5, Episode 12), you might even find yourself in front of the camera or working behind the scenes with Krusty and the other creatives who keep the studio in business.
Cypress Creek
So far we have stuck to places inside Springfield, but there are a lot of cool places to explore outside the main city. One such place is the company town Cypress Creek, which Homer and his family relocated to in "You Only Move Twice" (Season 8, Episode 2) after getting a suspiciously promising job offer from Globex Corporation chief Hank Scorpio.
Cypress Creek turns out to be the planned community of Homer's dreams. Nestled amidst mountains and thick forests of redwood trees, the cutting-edge city features such amenities as automatic utilities and machines that take care of all the menial work at home. There are no homeless people on the streets, and anything you could possibly wish to buy is available at the Cypress Creek Promenade shopping center.
Granted, there is the pesky little detail of Hank Scorpio being a legitimate supervillain who wants to hold the entire world hostage, with Cypress Creek being a front to hide his plans of ruling the planet. But Scorpio himself is such a good boss to Homer and his other employees that you almost feel like disregarding all the "James Bond" villain stuff. And honestly, modern multi-nationals are hardly any less dodgy than whatever Globex Corporation was up to.
Itchy and Scratchy Land
"Itchy and Scratchy Land" (Season 6, Episode 4) tells the story of the Simpsons going to a parody version of, you guessed it, Disneyland, named after the immensely popular Itchy and Scratchy characters from "The Krusty the Clown Show." Through the episode, the show gets in some good jabs at theme parks in general and the "Happiest Place on Earth" in particular.
In keeping with the uber-violent theme of the show it is based on, Itchy and Scratchy Land features such rides as The Head Basher, Blood Bath, Mangler, The Nauseator, and Itchy's Mine Field. There is also a section for parents called "Parents' Island" where they can drink alcohol, take a nap, or attend a disco party.
All in all, Itchy and Scratchy land would be a pretty epic theme park to spend a day in, even if it has been known to feature animatronic robots that are liable to go rogue at any moment and embark on a murderous rampage. It does have a slightly higher danger level than regular theme parks, but that's the price you pay for being a guest at the "violent-est place on earth."