221B

I got my first introduction and was super excited about a detective story in school, and if I can recollect, it must have been 4th grade. I retraced my memory and the pieces of stories from that—it was Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of the Three Students by Arthur Conan Doyle.

221B Baker Street is the London address of detective Sherlock Holmes. In the United Kingdom, postal addresses with a number followed by a letter may indicate a separate address within a larger, often residential building. Baker Street was a high-class residential district in the late 19th century, and Holmes’s apartment would probably have been part of a Georgian terrace.

The residence was first introduced in A Study in Scarlet (1887). When the Holmes stories were published, Baker Street addresses were not as high as 221. Baker Street was extended later, and in 1932, the Abbey National Building Society moved into premises at 219–229 Baker Street.

We met the next day as he had arranged and inspected the rooms at No. 221B, Baker Street, which he had spoken about at our meeting. They consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms and a large, airy sitting room, cheerfully furnished and illuminated by two broad windows.

— Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887

Film Adaptations

There have been countless film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, and more are expected. Some recent noteworthy ones are Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows by Guy Ritchie. The television series Sherlock by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss is one of the best modern adaptations.

Copyright

Sherlock Holmes entered the public domain last year, allowing anyone to republish, remix, or remake works without the rights holder’s permission.