July 10, 2017November 5, 20181960s, Movie Sets (Exterior), Movie Sets (Interior), Simulated Places, Themed Environments Planet of the Apes (1968) Set Design Depicting a harsh and dystopian world (at least for the humans), “Planet of the Apes” has become an unlikely film franchise spanning […]
July 8, 2017July 8, 20171950s, Simulated Places, Themed Environments Tiki Torch: See How This Icon of Mid-Century Polynesian Pop Culture Started The Tiki Torch is both older and newer than you might think. It’s newer in the sense that the tiki torch–or let’s […]
May 19, 2017February 22, 2020Movie Sets (Interior), Simulated Places, Themed Environments Hogan’s Heroes Set at 40 Acres Backlot: Then and Now Sure, the Cuningham Group of Culver City, CA-based architects may try to blow smoke in our direction with such slogans as “We […]
May 1, 2017February 9, 2022ApexUSA, Movie Sets (Interior), Themed Environments Mountain in the Middle of L.A.: Paramount Studios’ Western Street and Its Fake Mountain Once there was a mountain in the middle of Los Angeles. Most movie studios, in their backlots or in movie ranches in […]
March 10, 2017October 29, 20211960s, ApexUSA, Fantastic Living, Themed Environments Monsanto House of the Future: When Our Future Was Made of Plastics Built in Disneyland in 1957 as a joint project between Disneyland, Monsanto, and MIT, the House of the Future was constructed of […]
March 1, 2017July 8, 2017Simulated Places, Themed Environments Fake Nazi Training “Village” at Camp Hood, Texas (1940s) In the 1940s, Camp Hood in Killeen, TX built a fake Nazi training village for hand to hand combat. These stills from […]
June 22, 2009July 14, 20171960s, Invisible Places, Themed Environments, Themeparks, Things You've Never Heard Of Disneyland Matterhorn: Is There a Secret Basketball Court Inside? Legend has it that there is a secret basketball court located inside that most famous fake mountain located in the Los Angeles […]
June 21, 2009February 26, 2020Simulated Places, Themed Environments, Themeparks Building the Matterhorn – Disneyland June 14, 1959 Let’s say right off the bat that it’s not the “Matterhorn.” Official term for it was “Matterhorn Bobsleds, because the included roller […]