Well folks, this here ain't got much to do with muzzleloadin', but I figur' since this forum hasn't had a post in nigh on to two years, mebbe' it'll stand. If'n any of you moderator types think it should be struck, no hard feelins one way or 'tother.
My wife and I just got back from Kaleefornee, on a trip to visit our daughter who is going to school near the Simi Valley. While there we did a bit of sightseeing, and one of our stops was the Paramount Ranch. Now a National Park, the property was used to shoot many, many western movies, and some not-so-westerns. It has also been the home of many commercials and TV shows. Once used simply for the landscape, sometime in the 1950's the Paramount storage sheds were converted into a western town.
One of the more well-known TV shows that used the town for its outdoor scenes was Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Here are some pics I took of a few buildings in the 'town'.
These last two shots are of the good Doctor's clinic, they way it appeared in the show and as it stands now. Even though the building went from wood siding to stucco, and now sports a sign saying 'Hotel Mud Bug' leftover from some shoot, it and the building next door, which also changed from stone to brick, are unmistakable. The similar angle of my pic and the old shot from the show was happy coincidence.
The site is still used for filming from time to time and user pay a fee to the national parks. While we were there a gentlemen in one o' them fancy sporty-type cars was talkin' to a nice ranger about lighting tower locations and such. I really wanted to ask what they were shootin', but figur'd they might'nt say anywho.
So, it may not be from the 1850's, but it is from the 1950's, and part of our recent history. After all, where would the world be without cowboy movies?!
Here's a link to the NP website.
Map and Site Information: Paramount Ranch - Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
Topic: Western Town (Read 191 times)