If you’re visiting New York City and you happen to be a big fan of Friends, you may be tempted to go searching for the famous fountain featured in the opening credits. If you have been to NYC in the past, you may have even already gone looking for it. Haven’t found it yet? There’s a good reason.
Cherry Hill Fountain
Most people naturally assume that the fountain is located in New York since the show takes place there. In fact, Cherry Hill fountain in Central Park is regularly mistaken for it.
Despite a superficial resemblance, this fountain is quite literally miles away from the one you are looking for—as in close to 2,800 miles away.
As it turns out, the actual fountain used in the filming of the Friends credit sequence is located all the way across the country in Burbank, CA, in the back lot of a studio known as the Warner Bros. Ranch.
The fountain has never been located in New York City at all. It was at the studio more than two decades ago and has never moved from that spot. All this time, most Friends fans have been none the wiser.
If you have posed in front of the Cherry Hill fountain with your friends while visiting Central Park, and then uploaded a photo to social media with a caption like, “Here we are at the Friends Fountain – I’ll be there for you,” don’t get too down on yourself.
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If you search around on Instagram and Facebook, you’ll find dozens of other examples of photos taken at this and other circular fountains in the area, all of them captioned about the same way.
A lot of people have been super confident that they discovered the Friends fountain, and have gotten it completely wrong. Comparing their photos side-by-side and seeing completely different fountains in different locations, you will probably find yourself chuckling.
Once you’ve gotten over your disappointment, cheer up, because there is plenty of cool stuff to see and do in and around Central Park. Even though the Cherry Hill fountain is not the Friends fountain, it is still a beautiful and iconic landmark well worth visiting and photographing.
If you need help coming up with other ideas for destinations to visit, consider booking a Central Park pedicab tours. Our friendly drivers will be happy to show you around while sharing more fascinating trivia about Central Park!