Hindsight being 20/20, I really should have studied architecture in college. Expertise in that area would have served me well, not only in my hunts for various locations, but in writing about them, as well. I can’t tell you how many times a day I scour the internet and/or pester my friend/guest poster extraordinaire Michael, who does have a background in the subject, for help in identifying design terminology. (I remember “crenelated” being a particularly tough find while writing this post.) Needless to say, I’ve still got a lot to learn. Case in point – up until just recently I would have considered the property above to be Victorian in style. But it’s actually American Foursquare, which, per Curbed, is defined by a rectangular base, wide front porch, and lack of exterior and interior ornamentation. The latter characteristic is a “direct response to the heavy woodwork of the Victorian era,” so that shows you what I know! Style misidentification aside, I was thrilled to learn about the residence, which fellow stalker Brad recently identified as the office where Dr. Jill Brock (Kathy Baker) treated the zany townspeople of Rome, Wisconsin on fave show Picket Fences. Known as the Tillapaugh House in real life, it has quite an interesting history!
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Built in 1906 for New York transplant Gilbert Tillapaugh and his wife, Elizabeth, the stately property originally stood a couple blocks northwest of its current location at 129 South Primrose Avenue in Monrovia. It was moved – yes, picked up and moved! – in 1978 to make way for a new apartment complex. In looking at the photos of the home at its initial Primrose Ave. location here and here, namely the large drainage grates in the sidewalk visible on either side of it, as compared to current Street View imagery, I believe the dwelling was formerly situated in the spot where the white box is below.
In 1951, the Tillapaugh House wound up in the hands of the American Red Cross, who utilized it as the headquarters of their Monrovia chapter. It was amidst the group’s long tenure there that the property was relocated to 200 East Lime Avenue. You can check out some photos of it in the process of being set up at its new location here and here.
After more than four decades of occupation, the Red Cross moved out in 1995. Four years later, the Tillapaugh House was acquired by the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency and continued to be used as offices. The historic residence was then, sadly – and almost unbelievably – relegated to storage space when the State of California suspended such agencies in 2012. Without a proper use for it, the city eventually put the property on the market in 2016. At the time, it lacked a shower or bathtub and only featured a single half-bath on the lower level. Talk about a fixer-upper!
Some buyers with foresight snatched the place up and did a complete revamp, transforming it back to its original state as a single-family home. Today, the sightly pad, which is a City of Monrovia Historic Landmark, boasts 3 bedrooms, 3 baths (2 with standalone tubs!), a den, 2,331 square feet of living space, countless original details, a tiled fireplace, hardwood flooring throughout, chair and rail moldings, a 0.18-acre lot, and a detached 1-car garage.
You can check out some interior photos of it here.
The exterior of the Tillapaugh House appeared regularly on Picket Fences.
Despite a major change in color scheme and the addition of some foliage, the property still looks much the same today as it did on television screens in the mid-90s (minus the snow, of course).
Not only was the home utilized in establishing shots of Jill’s office on the series, but some on-location filming took place there as well, in episodes such as “Rights of Passage” . . .
. . . and “Sugar & Spice.”
Only the exterior of the Tillapaugh House was featured on Picket Fences. Beginning with the pilot episode, all interior scenes involving Jill’s quaint and homey office were shot on a studio-built set.
Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Brad for finding this location! 
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Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The Tillapaugh House, aka Jill’s office from Picket Fences, is located at 200 East Lime Avenue in Monrovia. The Brock residence from the show is just about a mile away at 211 Highland Place.
