Grouchland USA Grouchland USA , " the land of a thousand stenches " , is the hometown of Oscar the Grouch in the 1999 film " The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland " . In a 1989 episode of " Sesame Street " , Bob visited " Grouchytown " , a neighborhood which was the opposite of Sesame Street . In the film , however , the only known way to get to Grouchland , despite apparently being in America , is through a swirling door portal in Oscar ' s trash can . Visitors are then deposited , through a pipe , onto a pile of trash bags , the gateway to Grouchland . Grouchland is ostensibly run by a Grouch Mayor . Grouch Architecture . Grouchland is a teeming metropolis , populated solely by Grouches , littered with trash , ranging from small , messy piles to huge mounds . Trash is not just on the streets as trash , however . A living embodiment of the saying " one man ' s trash is another man ' s treasure , " Grouchland incorporates trash of all kinds into the very fabric of the city ' s architecture and economy . Trash is prized as better than " good " stuff . The buildings are tall but lopsided , resembling stylized versions of the worst urban tenements . Though many Grouches still appear to live in cans , many of the buildings also serve as homes , sporting tilted jigsaw - like windows , crooked doors , and a teetering floor placed on top of another . The entire city skyline is angular and juts in odd directions . Cars and garbage trucks drive to and fro , adding to the smog , and the occasional Grouch dog wanders the street ( while a Grouch parrot is on display in the marketplace ) . Oscar also nostalgically mentions the old septic tank . Grouch Commerce . Grouchland ' s business district is a thriving marketplace of shops and services , most of them centered around trash or general Grouch surliness . Storefronts include the Book Dumpster , the Wilting Rose florists , the Car Mess , the Tone Deaf music shop , Bad Humor Man ' s ice cream cart , and a restaurant called The Rotten Egg . Patrons can buy a quart of muck or a glass of Icky Yuckee at the Inconvenience Store . The bank of Grouchland is the First Savings and Leave Us Alone , while female grouches can receive a make - over at the Ugly Parlor . For entertainment , the local cinema plays such movies as " Basically It Stinks " starring the Grouch celebrity Sharon Groan . Most of the Sesame Street visitors find accommodation at the Grouchland Jail due to the fact that it is illegal to ask a police officer for help in Grouchland . Outside of the city itself , surrounding environs include a forest teeming with rather grouchy animals and such locales as the steep Mount Pickanose , Huxley ' s castle , and Da Dump , the domain of the Queen of Trash and a kingdom all to itself . Oscar has referenced the Rusty Bucket , a grouch jazz club . " Can ' t wait for the sound of 12 broken trombones playing different tunes at the same time ! " Behind the Scenes . Grouchland , like many other Muppet sets , relies heavily on forced perspective , creating an enormous landscape , vast in relation to the Grouches and other Muppets , but still able to accommodate human visitors . Wide camera angles and other techniques made the space seem more open . Alan Cassie served as production designer , and Val Strazovec as conceptual designer . Strazovec , who was largely responsible for the essential design and look of Grouchland , discussed his approach in the film ' s production notes : " At first , they thought I had gone too far with Grouchland . They envisioned a real town with the trash being the trash , but I said ' no , no , no , this is such an opportunity to show something that isn ' t tradition . The whole thing should be as grouchy as those who live there . ' Grouchland is about crankiness and fun . I thought , let ' s make it look silly , make it look funny . Almost like a child would draw , with crazy angles . It was crooked . The foundations were real but we twisted them . " In addition to specially fabricated Grouch houses and props , actual trash was a vital ingredient . The props department visited flea markets and other places , collecting 10 truckloads of suitable trash .