Rosewood

Rosewood is the fictional town in the book and TV series. Rosewood is located in Pennsylvania, somewhere outside Philadelphia. It is the setting and the hometown of the Liars in the series. Rosewood may be a small town, but it has its own daily newspaper associated with it: The Rosewood Observer. Rosewood is also home to the local community college, Hollis College. Most of the residents seem to be of middle to upper class income range.

Population: 7988

Places in Rosewood

 * Anne Sullivan's Office
 * The Church
 * Ezra's Office
 * The Greenhouse
 * The Haunted House
 * Hollis College
 * The Kissing Rock
 * Rosewood Cemetery
 * Rosewood Community Hospital
 * Rosewood Country Club
 * Rosewood High School
 * Rosewood Mall
 * Rosewood Motor Court
 * Rosewood Movie Theater
 * Rosewood Police Department
 * Speed Demon Express
 * Stockbridge Trail
 * Wright's Playground

Private Residences

 * Aria's House
 * Emily's House
 * Ezra's Apartment
 * Hanna's House
 * Jason's House (was previously home to Alison and Maya, respectively)
 * Spencer's House and the Barn
 * Toby and Jenna's house (home to Chloe Roland in "Twisted")

Eating Establishments

 * "Apple Rose Grille"
 * " COFFEA Espresso Shop "
 * "Hollis Bar & Grill" ("Snookers" in the book)
 * "Lucky Leon's Cupcakes"
 * "Rive Gauche"

Rosewood's Layout

 * It is clear from "The New Normal" and specifically Spencer's phone conversation with Aria that Spencer's house is fairly close to Aria's house, because when Spencer hears a fire siren outside her window, she wants to know why she does not hear it on Aria's end as well.
 * Spencer and Jason are also neighbors (on Bridgewater Terrace ), as Spencer walks next door to the old DiLaurentis house to give Jason cookies, welcoming him back to Rosewood.
 * The PLL's reveal in "Never Letting Go" that "The Kissing Rock" is two miles away from Alison DiLaurentis' house (which means it is also two miles away from Spencer's house).
 * Emily and Toby are next door neighbors (on Serenity Lane ). In "Je Suis une Amie," Spencer watches Toby open his mailbox from the view in Emily's room window.
 * Aria and Hanna live across the street from each other, as mentioned in "The Perfect Storm."
 * Garrett's parents live across the street from the Cavanaugh house (and catty-corner from Emily's house, also on Serenity Lane ).
 * The church and the hospital are only a few blocks away from each other, based on what Spencer says in "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
 * From "A's" locker message to Hanna, it is clear that "Lucky Leon's Cupcakes" is on Main Street in Rosewood. "Apple Rose Grille" is probably situated nearby.

Book Series
While the TV show tends to play down the social class of the residents, the books make it clear that Rosewood is an extremely wealthy town. As a Main Line town, it has a long history of prestige associated with the railroad industry of the 1800s. The majority of the residents are in the upper class and many families, such as the Hastings, have had significant wealth dating back to the 1800s.

Another big difference from the show is the town's atmosphere. In the novels, Rosewood is essentially a 'country-glam' suburb. It has everything from farms, picturesque cornfields, and pastures to barns converted into apartments and other types of buildings. In fact, many of the mansions were converted from large farms. Many homes are close to woodsy areas. Emily's backyard is bordered by the woods, Spencer and Ali's neighborhood is essentially surrounded by a small forest, and the Kahns' vast property is also bordered by a forest.

Though it is strongly leaning towards the rural end, Rosewood appears to be a fairly large town. It has a shopping center called King James Mall and the girls all appear to live in very different sections of the suburb.

Trivia

 * Spencer Hastings, Alison DiLaurentis, Toby and Jenna Cavanaugh, and Mona Vanderwaal live on the same street. The DiLaurentis home, a Victorian mansion, is located on the cul-de-sac. The Hastings' vast stone estate is on one side of the mansion while the Cavanaughs' home is on the other. The Vanderwaals' home has a five-six car garage. It is implied that this is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Rosewood. There is no mention of other residents on the street.
 * Emily's house is located in a "modest" middle-class neighborhood with old (but not decrepit) homes. She's one of the few characters who is clearly labeled as a middle-class resident.
 * Hanna is not as wealthy as Spencer, but both of her parents earn high paychecks. The brunette also lives in a rich neighborhood and her home has a long, winding driveway that is difficult for others to navigate.
 * Aria's family has lived in different parts of Rosewood. They originally lived in a quirky yet artsy neighborhood in Old Hollis, then they later moved to a home which Aria describes as "a postmodern angry brown box with only one square window." Her family is also middle class.
 * Old Hollis is a subsection of Rosewood that is quite different from the rest of the town. Hollis College is located here, and so the culture/atmosphere is a bit more eclectic. Aria notes that "near the college there was a series of rambling, cobblestone streets lined with falling-to-pieces Victorian houses" painted in bright colors like purple and pink. She also notes that these houses are often split into apartments and rented out to Hollis students. There's also a few shabby bars around, where it's not too difficult for a minor to get into.
 * Hollis College is a liberal arts school. The small college appears to be known for the more creative fields such as literature and studio art.
 * Ian Thomas only lived one block away from Ali and Spencer's neighborhood; the woods border his neighborhood as well. Aria's father Byron and his partner Meredith later purchase a home on Ian's street.
 * Sean Ackard lives in a historical home with his father and stepmother. His stepmom regularly allows the local historical tour company to take tourists through her home, so she always makes a point to keep everything neat and picturesque.
 * Noel Kahn's family appears to be one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, families in Rosewood. His family home is a red-brick mansion with a half-mile long driveway, a vast field, a horse farm, and a duck pond. A large woodsy area also surrounds the Kahn's extensive property; over the years, plenty of high school students have had sex there during the Kahns' infamous parties, leading to the apt nickname "Manhood Woods."
 * Courtney and Spencer often went through the woods between their homes in the middle of the night to talk to each other. By the book's description, the woods surrounding their neighborhood appear to be quite large. It is situated on a very hilly terrain and contains an old well that Courtney loved to visit.
 * Besides its public school, Rosewood has several private institutions as well, one of which is of course Rosewood Day. There's an elementary-middle school branch along with a separate school for secondary education. The high school appears to be very close to the middle school since the prologue of Wicked described the large gathering of younger and older students discussing the announcement of the Time Capsule Flag.