What Sherlock Holmes address inspired House M.D.’s apartment number?

House M.D.’s apartment number, 221B, was inspired by Sherlock Holmes’s address at 221B Baker Street. The reference reflects the show’s deliberate connection between House and Holmes.

Both characters are exceptionally observant investigators who solve unusual cases through deduction. Their names also echo each other: “House” resembles “Holmes,” while Dr. James Wilson parallels Holmes’s friend Dr. John Watson. The series includes additional Holmes-inspired details in character relationships and story structure.

In House M.D., the apartment is located at 221B Baker Street in Princeton, New Jersey, rather than in London. That fictional setting combines the familiar Holmes reference with the show’s American medical environment.

The address is sometimes mistakenly given as 221A Baker Street. In the Holmes stories, 221B is the canonical address shared by Holmes and Watson. The apartment number therefore functions as a clear literary clue rather than a random location detail.