A relaxing day, visited a farmers market, swap meet, and then a visit to Pioneer Town.
Actor
Dick Curtis started up the town in 1946 as an 1880s themed live-in
Old West living, breathing motion-picture set. The town was designed to provide a place for production companies to enjoy while also using their businesses and homes in movies. Hundreds of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including
The Cisco Kid and
Edgar Buchanan's
Judge Roy Bean.
Dick Curtis,
Roy Rogers and
Russell Hayden were some of the original developers and investors, and
Gene Autry filmed every episode of
his show at the six-lane Pioneer Bowl bowling alley. The Pioneer Bowl's construction was credited to Tommy Thompson in 1947 and Rogers himself rolled out the first ball in 1949. School-age children were hired as
pinsetters until the installation of automatic
pinsetting equipment in the 1950s. According to the Morongo Basin Historical Society, the bowling alley is one of the oldest in continuous use in California still using the first Brunswick pinsetters and is open seasonally during the summer.
As of 2019, Pioneertown had a population of 420.
[1][2]
In July 2006, parts of Pioneertown were burned in the
Sawtooth Complex fire, which also burned into
Yucca Valley and
Morongo Valley.
[3] Firefighters managed to save the historic movie-set buildings, but much of the surrounding desert habitat was damaged.
[4] Among the buildings saved was
Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace, a longtime local club and landmark built within the town's original and only gas station, which counts among its regular patrons notable musicians, including
Eric Burdon and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame.
Mane Street in downtown Pioneertown is open to the public.
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| a view of the main street |
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| The buildings were all built to 3/4 scale but adjustments were made in the movies to make them look full size |
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| Even the cactus wear sun glasses here |
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| inside the museum, with a Roy Rogers movie playing |
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| This angora goat was having a rest in front of a shop that sold goat soap etc plus woven angora products |
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| The dance hall |
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| Lunch at Pappy and Harriets |
3 comments:
Looks like a fun place to find. I like the cacti dressed for sunny days!
The museum & lunch places look like 'full scale' buildings. Is it only the movie set that is a 3/4 build? Did they/do they use the interiors?
amazing looking place, i like it.
Hi Lera
I think the museum was 3/4 as well but I agree Pappy and Harrietts was most likely full scale. When you went inside the 3/4 scale buildings you didn't notice it except that they were small.
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