Los AngelesABC · 2009–2020
Three houses, one family and a stair nobody fixed. Press a step to cut to a talking head.
Photographs taken during the show’s run, 2010–2019: iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0; Toglenn, CC BY-SA 4.0; Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The tree
Everything starts with Jay. Two of his children have households of their own, so there are three front doors. All three are real houses in West Los Angeles, and people live in them.
A root and three buds. Grow a branch.
Los Angeles
Live marketplace results for tours that pass the show’s Los Angeles locations. Check each itinerary; the family houses are private and seen from the street only.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursThe stairs
Phil runs up the stairs, catches his foot on the same loose step and promises himself he will fix it. Ty Burrell made that up on the spot; the writers kept it. Climb. Every step is a real place.
At the bottom of the Dunphy stairs. Eleven steps, eleven places. Mind the fourth.
Nobody on the stairs yet.
Where the stairs really were
Trip on the loose step to see where the stairs really stood.
Pasadena · Thursday 22 October and 19 November 2026, 10.30am
Volunteer docents walk Alex’s campus, setting off from the Athenaeum’s entrance at 551 South Hill Avenue. Reserve ahead. Not about the show.
See tour datesThe holidays
Jay pays, everybody comes. Four of those trips were shot where they were set, and the crew went too. Turn the postcards over.
Season one · 2010
Season three · 2011
Season three · 2012
Season five · 2014
Four postcards, picture side up.
Moose, Wyoming · Week-long stays · 2027 rates to come
The dude ranch from the season-three premiere: all-inclusive weeks for up to 60 guests, between Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest. 2027 rates are not out yet; there is a waitlist.
See the ranchHayman Island, Queensland
The island resort where part of the Australian episodes was filmed, reopened in 2019 after a $135 million refurbishment. Reached by boat, helicopter or seaplane.
Plan a stayThe picture
A family photo never happens first time. Step each of them in, then take it.
An empty sofa. Call them in.
The real one, 2010 · the Peabody Awards, New York
Ed O’Neill has a star on Hollywood Boulevard, outside a shoe shop. At the ceremony in August 2011 Sofía Vergara said she never expected to grow up and marry Al Bundy.
11 places to visit, from a studio gate on Pico Boulevard to an island in the Whitsundays. The three family houses stay off the map.
11 places you can visit: five in Los Angeles, three on the American holidays and three in Australia. The Dunphy, Pritchett and Mitchell and Cam houses are named on this page and pinned nowhere.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working studio with no public tour. See the gate and the stage roofs from Pico Boulevard.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Look at the 1925 frontage from Fair Oaks Avenue. It is no longer a cinema.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Student housing now. Look from the pavement on 27th Street and let the residents be.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. An open campus: walk in, keep to the paths, and leave labs and student houses alone.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Sunrise to sunset. Westward Beach Road is closed, so the lower car park is shut; the beach is open and the few free spaces on top go fast.
10201 W Pico Blvd, Century City
The show filmed on Stage 5 at Fox Studios, with some scenes elsewhere on the lot, including the Hall of Music; its production offices were in building 226.
A working studio with no public tour. See the gate and the stage roofs from Pico Boulevard.
1023 Fair Oaks Ave, South Pasadena
In March 2015 a “demolition notice” on the box office sent a local campaigner running to Fair Oaks Avenue; he found a Modern Family crew, who had brought in fake debris and sprayed graffiti so the theatre looked more run-down.
Look at the 1925 frontage from Fair Oaks Avenue. It is no longer a cinema.
West 27th Street, University Park
The Victorian house is the outside of Phil’s Halloween open house in “Open House of Horrors”, in season four.
Student housing now. Look from the pavement on 27th Street and let the residents be.
1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena
Caltech says scenes from “Do Not Push”, in season six, were shot on campus in August 2014.
An open campus: walk in, keep to the paths, and leave labs and student houses alone.
Westward Beach Road, Malibu
Point Dume and Westward Beach are on The Cinemaholic’s list of the show’s filming locations, with no episode given.
Sunrise to sunset. Westward Beach Road is closed, so the lower car park is shut; the beach is open and the few free spaces on top go fast.
Stay
The dude ranch from the season-three premiere, and the island resort from the Australian episodes.
Moose, Wyoming · Week-long stays · 2027 rates to come
The dude ranch from the season-three premiere: all-inclusive weeks for up to 60 guests, between Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest. 2027 rates are not out yet; there is a waitlist.
See the ranchHayman Island, Queensland
The island resort where part of the Australian episodes was filmed, reopened in 2019 after a $135 million refurbishment. Reached by boat, helicopter or seaplane.
Plan a stayGo round
Volunteers walk Alex’s campus; marketplace tours pass the Los Angeles locations. The houses are seen from the street only.
Pasadena · Thursday 22 October and 19 November 2026, 10.30am
Volunteer docents walk Alex’s campus, setting off from the Athenaeum’s entrance at 551 South Hill Avenue. Reserve ahead. Not about the show.
See tour datesLos Angeles
Live marketplace results for tours that pass the show’s Los Angeles locations. Check each itinerary; the family houses are private and seen from the street only.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Halloween and the holidays at the park the family visited. Not about the show.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
Marc Freeman’s oral history of the show, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s cookbook.
Marc Freeman
Marc Freeman’s oral history of the show, published by St. Martin’s Press in May 2020.
Find the bookJesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Tanous
A cookbook by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell, and Julie Tanous.
Find the bookDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
14 of 14 places · 15 of 15 Moments
10201 W Pico Blvd, Century City
The family’s three homes are built as sets on the Fox lot.
The cast cry after the final scene is taped; Julie Bowen asks for the bird paintings from the Dunphy hallway set.
1023 Fair Oaks Ave, South Pasadena
The crew dress a closed theatre to look worse than it is.
West 27th Street, University Park
A Victorian house becomes Phil’s Halloween open house.
1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena
Scenes for Alex’s college are shot on campus.
Westward Beach Road, Malibu
The headland and Westward Beach turn up in the show.
1313 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim
A crew films in the park over three days; Mr. Lincoln gets his moment.
Moose, Wyoming
The family go to a Wyoming dude ranch for the season-three premiere.
3900 Wailea Alanui Dr, Wailea, Maui
The family gatecrash Jay’s birthday trip; the resort is hotel and set.
Bondi, Sydney
The family holiday reaches Bondi.
Manly Beach, Sydney
Filming moves to Manly.
Whitsunday Islands, Queensland
The men and the children fly north for a short shoot.
Cheviot Hills
A Cheviot Hills house plays the outside of the Dunphy home.
Brentwood
A Brentwood house plays Jay and Gloria’s.
Century City
A Century City street plays Mitchell and Cam’s.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
,_Bondi_Beach_--_2019_--_2354.jpg){kind=link}
