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RKO Forty Acres AI simulator
(@RKO Forty Acres_simulator)
Hub AI
RKO Forty Acres AI simulator
(@RKO Forty Acres_simulator)
RKO Forty Acres
RKO Forty Acres was a film studio backlot in Culver City, California. Its owners included RKO Pictures, Desilu Productions, and Paramount Pictures. Best known as Forty Acres and "the back forty", it was also called "Desilu Culver", the "RKO backlot", and "Pathé 40 Acre Ranch", depending on which studio owned the property at the time. For nearly 50 years it was known for its outdoor full-scale sets, such as Western Street, Atlanta Street, and Main Street and was used in many films (including King Kong (1933) and Gone with the Wind (1939)) and television series (such as Bonanza and Star Trek).
The property was never actually forty acres in size. It was a triangular parcel of 28.5 acres (11.5 ha), a few blocks from RKO-Pathé (later Selznick, Desilu-Culver, now "The Culver Studios") which was situated to the west. It was bounded by Higuera Street to the north, West Jefferson Boulevard, Ballona Creek and Culver City Park to the south, and Lucerne Avenue to the west. In 1976, it was razed for redevelopment. Today it is known as the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract. A number of the buildings in the industrial park have been converted to television studios. One of the shows produced at the park is Hell's Kitchen.
On 22 March 1926, Cecil B. DeMille leased the 28 1/2 acre property, on which the backlot was located, from Achille Casserini, a Swiss immigrant, for his production of the film The King of Kings (1927). On it he constructed historical Jerusalem, which remained for the RKO production of King Kong (1933). By then it was known as Forty Acres and owned by RKO Pictures.[citation needed]
In 1935, David O. Selznick leased the property from RKO for his new studio, Selznick International Pictures. For his production of Gone with the Wind (1939), the plantation Tara, the Atlanta Depot (based on Atlanta's 1853 Union Station), and other Atlanta buildings were constructed there.[citation needed]
The depot and many of the Atlanta buildings became permanent fixtures on the property until its final days, while the set of Tara was sold in 1959 to investors who planned to open a theme park in the Atlanta area (see Tara (plantation)).
From 1943 to 1958, a separate part of the 28.5 acres (11.5 ha) known as the African jungle set, located on the opposite side of Ballona Creek, was used extensively for the Tarzan series by RKO, and later for The Adventures of Jim Bowie television series by Desilu.
Following years of turnover by several owners, including Howard Hughes, the backlot was practically deserted and cinematic productions declined. It was purchased in 1957 by Desilu with the intention of filming for the burgeoning television industry.
Forty Acres is best remembered for providing the backdrop for the fictional town of Mayberry on the television series The Andy Griffith Show. Many of the street scenes and buildings on the backlot were seen regularly on television screens across America and became quite familiar to viewers. The original Town of Atlanta set, comprising a New York style street, a town square and a residential area to the east, was situated in the center of the property and used on shows like Adventures of Superman, Ozzie and Harriet, Batman, The Green Hornet, and Mission: Impossible. The town square was also used on Star Trek in three episodes titled "Miri", "Return of the Archons" and "City on the Edge of Forever", while another area of the lot, the "Arab village", was used in "Errand of Mercy" and the first pilot, "The Cage". Sharp-eyed television viewers could note many visual cues that crossed over from one series to the next, including the structures themselves or signs on doors and windows. For example, in Star Trek's "The City on the Edge of Forever", a crossover from The Andy Griffith Show can be seen by a sign for "Floyd's Barber Shop".
RKO Forty Acres
RKO Forty Acres was a film studio backlot in Culver City, California. Its owners included RKO Pictures, Desilu Productions, and Paramount Pictures. Best known as Forty Acres and "the back forty", it was also called "Desilu Culver", the "RKO backlot", and "Pathé 40 Acre Ranch", depending on which studio owned the property at the time. For nearly 50 years it was known for its outdoor full-scale sets, such as Western Street, Atlanta Street, and Main Street and was used in many films (including King Kong (1933) and Gone with the Wind (1939)) and television series (such as Bonanza and Star Trek).
The property was never actually forty acres in size. It was a triangular parcel of 28.5 acres (11.5 ha), a few blocks from RKO-Pathé (later Selznick, Desilu-Culver, now "The Culver Studios") which was situated to the west. It was bounded by Higuera Street to the north, West Jefferson Boulevard, Ballona Creek and Culver City Park to the south, and Lucerne Avenue to the west. In 1976, it was razed for redevelopment. Today it is known as the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract. A number of the buildings in the industrial park have been converted to television studios. One of the shows produced at the park is Hell's Kitchen.
On 22 March 1926, Cecil B. DeMille leased the 28 1/2 acre property, on which the backlot was located, from Achille Casserini, a Swiss immigrant, for his production of the film The King of Kings (1927). On it he constructed historical Jerusalem, which remained for the RKO production of King Kong (1933). By then it was known as Forty Acres and owned by RKO Pictures.[citation needed]
In 1935, David O. Selznick leased the property from RKO for his new studio, Selznick International Pictures. For his production of Gone with the Wind (1939), the plantation Tara, the Atlanta Depot (based on Atlanta's 1853 Union Station), and other Atlanta buildings were constructed there.[citation needed]
The depot and many of the Atlanta buildings became permanent fixtures on the property until its final days, while the set of Tara was sold in 1959 to investors who planned to open a theme park in the Atlanta area (see Tara (plantation)).
From 1943 to 1958, a separate part of the 28.5 acres (11.5 ha) known as the African jungle set, located on the opposite side of Ballona Creek, was used extensively for the Tarzan series by RKO, and later for The Adventures of Jim Bowie television series by Desilu.
Following years of turnover by several owners, including Howard Hughes, the backlot was practically deserted and cinematic productions declined. It was purchased in 1957 by Desilu with the intention of filming for the burgeoning television industry.
Forty Acres is best remembered for providing the backdrop for the fictional town of Mayberry on the television series The Andy Griffith Show. Many of the street scenes and buildings on the backlot were seen regularly on television screens across America and became quite familiar to viewers. The original Town of Atlanta set, comprising a New York style street, a town square and a residential area to the east, was situated in the center of the property and used on shows like Adventures of Superman, Ozzie and Harriet, Batman, The Green Hornet, and Mission: Impossible. The town square was also used on Star Trek in three episodes titled "Miri", "Return of the Archons" and "City on the Edge of Forever", while another area of the lot, the "Arab village", was used in "Errand of Mercy" and the first pilot, "The Cage". Sharp-eyed television viewers could note many visual cues that crossed over from one series to the next, including the structures themselves or signs on doors and windows. For example, in Star Trek's "The City on the Edge of Forever", a crossover from The Andy Griffith Show can be seen by a sign for "Floyd's Barber Shop".