The Arconia: What Only Murders in the Building Fans Need to Know

Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron

Over the last three seasons of Only Murders in the Building, fans have come to know the Arconia, the fictional building where Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) reside, as a sort of fourth main character. And though season four of the Hulu crime-comedy caper, which premiered on August 27, will see our beloved trio of podcasters travel to Los Angeles, their NYC building will remain their home base—there’d be no show without it. Before you settle in to watch the latest season, here’s everything you need to know about the Arconia and the real-life building used as its exterior.

The Arconia and The Belnord

The fictional Arconia is a prewar entire-block apartment building on New York City’s Upper West Side, inspired by real buildings in the neighborhood like the Apthorp, the Dakota (where John Lennon was shot and where Rosemary’s Baby is set), and the Belnord, the exterior which is used as a filming location for Only Murders in the Building.

While the Arconia was designed in the show by architect Archibald Carter, the Belnord was originally constructed in 1908 by architectural firm Hiss and Weekes. The 225 West 86th Street complex initially had 175 apartments, increasing to 225 in the 1940s, with a final bump to 231 flats during its most recent redesign by Robert A.M. Stern Architects in 2018. The condos overlook an interior courtyard—which at the time of construction was the largest interior courtyard in the world and remains one of the largest in New York City today—featuring landscaped gardens and fountains. Everyone from Martha Stewart to Lee Strasberg, Marilyn Monroe’s acting coach whom she would visit there, have called the Belnord home. No doubt they would be ripe podcast subjects if OliMabel (the triptych’s group name, according to Oliver, who claims “the Charles is silent.”) had encountered the blonde bombshell or M. Diddy.

“A season-two storyline revealed the secret passageways, a passion of the fictitious architect, that gave viewers even more insight and perspective to our characters,” production designer Patrick Howe tells AD. And though we doubt any passages in the Belnord played host to the sort of shenanigans seen on the show, The Belnord’s director of sales at Douglas Elliman Maya Kadouri revealed to Thrillist that it does indeed have some.

Will we see the Arconia in season four?

The notoriously starry cast, which saw Meryl Streep join last season as Oliver’s love interest, gets the Hollywood treatment this season, as movie executives want to adapt the podcast for the screen. Producers have cast Eva Longoria as jaded millennial Mabel (“The age gap between you and the guys…was creepy”) and Zach Galifianakis—or Galifragalistic, as he’s nicknamed—as Oliver. The casting choice that makes the most sense is Eugene Levy as Charles—it’s the glasses. The high maintenance actors shadow the trio and inevitably cause more problems for them as they leave the Arconia behind to sojourn to sunny Los Angeles, where this season’s victim, Charles’s stunt double Sazz (Jane Lynch), was based before succumbing to a bullet that seems increasingly likely was meant for Charles.

But never fear, Arconiacs: The show can’t stay away from home for too long, and we inevitably have to return to the scene of the crime at Charles’s apartment in the Arconia. “Creatively, for the writing team and myself, the wealth of amenities and elevated style provides unlimited inspiration and opportunities for stories to unfold within the building,” Howe says. “The vast scale of the building provides endless source material for writers and viewers alike to continue to investigate and solve crimes together.” What additional details and new tenants will be revealed this season with cast members Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Kind, Molly Shannon and Melissa McCarthy?

With its floor-through dwellings, celebrity penthouse, secret passageways, and camaraderie (begrudging or otherwise) between residents both longtime and new, the Arconia is a world within itself.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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