2 min readThe Kennedys have once again captured America’s attention, this time through FX’s American Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. The limited series from writer, producer, and director Ryan Murphy chronicles the high-profile couple’s lives, careers, and relationship in the years leading up to their tragic deaths.
Released weekly, the show has only grown in popularity since its three-episode premiere. Though the season is still unfolding, it has already earned an impressive 80 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and sparked widespread buzz across social media, where viewers are reveling in all the ’90s nostalgia.
At House Beautiful, we know you can learn a lot about someone from the way they style their home. As we await the final episodes of the series, we’re taking a closer look at the couple’s real-life residence—and what the show’s set design got completely wrong about it.
Where Did JFK Jr. Live in New York City?
The sage-green, cast-iron door of 20 North Moore Street brings a sense of quiet calm to the rich red brick façade of the nine-story loft building. Set along the cobblestone streets of New York’s upscale Tribeca neighborhood, the structure appears unassuming at first glance—but in the 1990s, it was something of an icon.
Home to New York City socialite royalty, the top-floor loft offered a refuge from fame and the chaos of the city for John F. Kennedy Jr. and, later, his wife, Carolyn Bessette.
Now the building is getting a second brush with fame. Used as a primary filming location for the FX series, the production team chose not to recreate the well-known façade—often splashed across tabloid covers—but to film there directly. That’s right: all exterior shots were captured on location, on the very stoop where the beloved couple argued, dodged paparazzi, and found moments of solace.
Was the Interior Truly This… Plain?
Interior scenes, however, were filmed on a set designed to replicate the couple’s ninth-floor apartment. Little is known about JFK Jr.’s bachelor pad-turned-marital home. Photographs and details of the apartment’s design, both before and after Bessette moved in, are hard to come by, so the show’s production designers were tasked with reimagining the couple’s open-concept, 2,600-square-foot space, based on their personal style, the context of the era, and previous listings from the building.
As evidenced by the rare interior shot shown above, the space was surprisingly humble in its decor. The fictionalized FX show, on the other hand, depicts the apartment as having a lofted living room and bedroom, a massive Room & Board dining table, a linen globe lamp, and three wood-framed sofas. The interior scenes are framed by painted exposed brick walls and soaring ceilings. But one of the biggest diversions from the real deal is that American Love Story gutted the famous couple’s all-white kitchen in favor of stainless steel appliances and zero cabinetry.
Perhaps the Ryan Murphy-helmed series needed to dial up the visual drama in the interiors to better match the on-screen action!
