Why Did the Cleavers Move to a New House

[LittleRickyII]

Yes, I understand about the move to a new studio, but I'm wondering about how it was explained in the script. I'm curious, because the second house didn't seem to be bigger and better: Wally and Beaver were still having to share a bedroom.

[Zinc2]

Yes, the second house was a result of moving to Universal. The 211 Pine house was on their backlot. The upcoming move was referenced a few times in season two, especially in "Beaver Says Goodbye". "Blind Date Committee" is the first episode in season three...the Cleavers have moved but there is no mention of the new house. The episode "Beaver's Tree" (S3E8) makes the most of the move. Beaver retrieving his birthday tree from the yard of the old house is the premise.

The 485 Mapleton house was very nice for it's day. My favorite feature---the window seat. As a whole, I do think the 211 Pine house was even nicer. Ward now has a dedicated den, the dining room and living room are bigger, along with a few more amenities in the kitchen. The boys do share a bedroom again even though the number of bedrooms indicate they really don't have to. Wally and Beaver's bedroom had a significant amount of dialogue/portrayal for the show. Keeping them together extended the show's possibilities.

[CanICallYouDad]

I don't know why but I do know that the first house was really ugly. I was glad they moved.

[JudgeGarth]

Originally Posted by CanICallYouDad

I don't know why but I do know that the first house was really ugly.

I agree.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Zinc2

The 485 Mapleton house was very nice for it's day. My favorite feature---the window seat. As a whole, I do think the 211 Pine house was even nicer. Ward now has a dedicated den, the dining room and living room are bigger, along with a few more amenities in the kitchen. The boys do share a bedroom again even though the number of bedrooms indicate they really don't have to. Wally and Beaver's bedroom had a significant amount of dialogue/portrayal for the show. Keeping them together extended the show's possibilities.

I do agree there were more amenities with the new house, and I agree it was necessary from a story perspective to keep the boys in the same bedroom. I'm just looking at it from a real world perspective. I can't imagine that a family would go to the trouble of buying a bigger home without the top priority being separate rooms for the children. That's what happened when I was growing up: my parents built a bigger house and I no longer had to share space with my siblings. And like Ward, my father got his own office/den.

Originally Posted by CanICallYouDad

I don't know why but I do know that the first house was really ugly. I was glad they moved.

If you're talking about the exterior, I agree!

[CanICallYouDad]

Yep, just the outside. It looks like a spook house to me even with that white picket fence.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by CanICallYouDad

Yep, just the outside. It looks like a spook house to me even with that white picket fence.

You've got a point. It certainly doesn't look warm and inviting like the second house. And I would expect a house where a nice family like the Cleavers live to be warm and inviting.

[MMR]

I'm not sure they actually gave the purported reason for the move. I got the impression from another source that it was because Ward was more successful and could afford a bigger house. When I have a chance I'll try to watch some of these season 2-3 shows again.

If I remember right, it was unusual back then for families to move to another location right in the same town unless they were upsizing or downsizing.

Originally Posted by Zinc2

Yes, the second house was a result of moving to Universal. The 211 Pine house was on their backlot. The upcoming move was referenced a few times in season two, especially in "Beaver Says Goodbye". "Blind Date Committee" is the first episode in season three...the Cleavers have moved but there is no mention of the new house. The episode "Beaver's Tree" (S3E8) makes the most of the move. Beaver retrieving his birthday tree from the yard of the old house is the premise.

You could say the move also played a part in another early Season 3 episode, "School Bus," when Beaver was riding the school bus for the first time.

In "Beaver's Old Buddy" (Season 4), Beaver gets a weekend visit from Jackie, one of his old buddies from the old neighborhood.

Originally Posted by Zinc2

The 485 Mapleton house was very nice for it's day. My favorite feature---the window seat. As a whole, I do think the 211 Pine house was even nicer. Ward now has a dedicated den, the dining room and living room are bigger, along with a few more amenities in the kitchen. The boys do share a bedroom again even though the number of bedrooms indicate they really don't have to. Wally and Beaver's bedroom had a significant amount of dialogue/portrayal for the show. Keeping them together extended the show's possibilities.

I preferred the Pine house, too, because of the den. Nothing like Ward giving one of his lectures in the den.

[Hughsgirl]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

Yes, I understand about the move to a new studio, but I'm wondering about how it was explained in the script. I'm curious, because the second house didn't seem to be bigger and better: Wally and Beaver were still having to share a bedroom.

I can't recall the explanation as to why the family moved in the script. But I do feel IMO, that the second house was quite a bit bigger and much more attractive. Like the first house they had a third bedroom but the boys shared a room throughout the series I think to show their brotherhood. If they had separate rooms I would imagine it wouldn't have the same affect. But JMO.

[MichaelKeith]

Okay, I'll throw in my two cents......

I love the second house. To me, it's a classic style house. This particular house on the Universal lot was also used in the pre-Beaver 1956 movie "Ransom", so it existed before Beaver and wasn't built specifically for this show. It was also used post-Beaver as Marcus Welby's house (1969-1976).

I've also seen it in an Alfred Hitchcock Hour show.

I believe this second house had three bedrooms, but as others have stated, the flow of the show was better with Wally and Beav sharing a bedroom.

[JudgeGarth]

Originally Posted by MichaelKeith

I believe this second house had three bedrooms, but as others have stated, the flow of the show was better with Wally and Beav sharing a bedroom.

Plus the bedroom the boys shared had its own bathroom.

[Scrabjan1]

Didn't realize that Wally and Beaver don't have their own bathroom in the old house?

In Beaver the Athlete I could swear at the end that Ward and June come into the boys room to say that they've sold their house and will be buying one right in Mayfield on Lakeview Avenue. So when Season 3 started they were living not on Lakeview but Pine St. Also in My Most Interesting Character June is looking at houses in the paper and says they're considering two. Beaver asks if they're going to buy two houses.

[MMR]

Well, now I've had a chance to look at some of the episodes again, but I'm not much closer to an answer.

In "Beaver Says Goodbye," June mentions in the first scene that a house they're thinking of moving to would give the family more room. But it's not specifically stated that that's the reason for the move.

And in "Most Interesting Character," the last episode of season 2, after Ward and June announce that the family is definitely moving, and to which house, one of the boys remarks that they'll each have their own room (as others said, they didn't in the new house, and I agree, that was for the better, as you still had the conversations between the two boys). But again, it's not clear that this was the reason for the move.

[HarryWild]

I thinking that it the family wanted to upgrade to a better area of town. Most people are kind of taught to upgrade to a better, more upscale part of town when you have the money to trade up. I think that what "The Cleavor's family have done in the show.

[missy's pop pop]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

I do agree there were more amenities with the new house, and I agree it was necessary from a story perspective to keep the boys in the same bedroom. I'm just looking at it from a real world perspective. I can't imagine that a family would go to the trouble of buying a bigger home without the top priority being separate rooms for the children. That's what happened when I was growing up: my parents built a bigger house and I no longer had to share space with my siblings. And like Ward, my father got his own office/den.



If you're talking about the exterior, I agree!

While Ward's actual career was never really mentioned, I would like to think he'd made some smart investments so he could afford a nicer home. The switch from the Mapleton kitchen to the Pine kitchen alone was a quantum leap into the '60's (wonder if GE becoming one of "Beaver's" sponsors around 1960 had something to do with it?)!