Old TV and Movie Sets in California

Although Hollywood is known for its TV and movie sets, the reality is that over the years, filming has taken place all over California, from the Niles district in Fremont, where Charlie Chaplin filmed several movies, including The Tramp, to Bodega Bay, where Alfred Hitchcock gave us the chilling The Birds movie, to San Francisco, Sacramento, and numerous other locations in the state.

So when filming ends, what happens to the old sets? Let's take a look at the fate of some of them.

Paramount Ranch

In 1927, Paramount Studios, (photo above) purchased land in the Santa Monica Mountains to create a movie set that later became known as Paramount Ranch. Numerous sets were built on the ranch, including a European village and a replica of San Francisco. Some of the earliest movies filmed there were Wells Fargo, Tom Sawyer, and Song of Bernadette.

In 1953, the ranch was sold to William Hertz, who proceeded to build a Western town, which was subsequently used for a great many movies and TV shows, including Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, and The Rifleman.

The Woosley Fire of 2018 destroyed most of this western town, with only two structures remaining: the train depot from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and the chapel from HBO's Westworld.

Now a part of the National Park Service, filming does still take place there, but the area is open for visitors.

M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H was a comedy/drama that focused on the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. Starring Alan Alda as "Hawkeye," Wayne Rogers as "Trapper John" and Loretta Swit as "Hot Lips" Houlihan, the show ran for 11 seasons and brought home 14 Emmys.

The series was set in South Korea, although it was actually filmed in California in a location that is now Malibu Creek State Park. The good news for fans is that they can visit the park and see remnants of the set, as some props were left behind when the series ended.

Old Kernville (aka Whiskey Flat)

Originally named Whiskey Flat, the 1860 town was renamed Kernville in 1864. It was built as a mining town and is now known as Old Kernville. So what does this have to do with movies and TV?

In the 1920s, the town became a very popular filming location for Westerns, starting with silent movies like Branded a Bandit in 1924 and Wild Horse Canyon in 1925. It became so sought after that a movie street was created for filming. A Hollywood who's who flocked to the location to film, including Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Autry, and Yvonne De Carlo.

In 1944, a decision was made to construct a dam in Kern County. Unfortunately for Old Kernville, it had to be destroyed so the land could be filled in with water. What's left of the town now sits under Lake Isabella.

Bonanza

A true western classic, the TV show Bonanza ran for 14 seasons from 1959 to 1973. The show followed the adventures of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Green) and his three sons: Adam (Pernell Roberts), "Hoss" (Dan Blocker), and Little Joe (Michael Landon.)

Bill and Debbie Anderson were such fans of the show that they built the Ponderosa Theme Park in the Lake Tahoe area (just over the border in Nevada), which opened in 1967. It was a place where fans of the show could experience what life was like for the Cartwrights.

Guests could visit the Cartwright's Ranch House, stroll down a replica of Virginia City, get something cold to drink at one of the saloons, pan for gold, and even witness gunfights on the street.

The theme park was so well done that 15 episodes of Bonanza were actually shot there, as well as three TV movies: Bonanza: The Next Generation, Bonanza: The Return, and Bonanza: Under Attack.

In 2004, the park was sold to billionaire David Duffield for 38 million dollars. Upon acquiring the theme park, he shut it down. Today, almost nothing remains of the Ponderosa Ranch. Most everything has been torn down.

Columbia State Historic Park

The town of Columbia in California began as a Gold Rush town. Even when the Gold Rush ended, the town survived and, in time, became a popular filming location. Over the years, some of the TV shows and movies that have been filmed there include High Noon, Death Valley Days, Little House on the Prairie, Pale Rider, and Behind the Mask of Zorro.

Today, the historic town is a popular tourist destination with about 30 of the original buildings still standing. Guests can get a feel for the old west days and try their hand at gold panning, watch a blacksmith demonstration or take a stagecoach ride down its historic streets.

Pioneertown

Pioneertown, located in San Bernardino County, was originally established in 1946 with the idea of creating an 1880s western movie set. Some of the original investors included Dick Curtis, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Bud Abbott, and Gene Autry.

When the town was built as a film set, it included functioning businesses, including a manually operated bowling alley (a favorite of Gene Autry's), as well as restaurants, saloons, a newspaper, and even a hotel. Although the days of old western movies have faded, the town has become a popular tourist attraction, and the sets can still be rented for filming.

There have been more than 200 film productions shot here—not to mention commercials and music videos—including Riders of the Sky, The Cisco Kid, Cody of the Pony Express, The Gene Autry Show, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, and The Gambler.

The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille

In 1923, Cecil B. DeMille (yesteryear's Steven Spielberg) began work on a massive movie set in the sand dunes near Guadalupe in Santa Barbara County. That movie was the 1923 silent version of The Ten Commandments. (DeMille would reboot The Ten Commandments in 1956 for a Technicolor audience.)

At the time it was built, it was the largest and most expensive set ever erected. Nicknamed "The City of the Pharaohs," the set consisted of walls over 120 feet high, four 35 feet tall statues of Ramses, as well as 21 five ton sphinxes.

Over 2,500 people worked on the movie, and filming lasted for three months. When filming DeMille simply buried the set in the sand dunes, and it became long forgotten until filmmaker Peter Brosnan discovered the set in 1983 after reading a clue about it in DeMille's autobiography.

Dubbed "The Lost City of DeMille," the site has since been classified as an archeological site by the state of California.

If you could go back in time, which one of the above film sites would you most like to visit?

Sources:

https://visitpioneertown.com/the-story

https://conejo.com/things-to-do/paramount-ranch

https://moviesites.org/kernville.htm

https://dunescenter.org/visit-the-dunes/dunes-center/exhibits-and-activities-research/the-lost-city-of-demille/#:~:text=DeMille%20bui

https://www.wisetour.com/what-is-the-ponderosa-ranch.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bclAv3xqrRQ