by Chuck & Diane Brady

n the high desert, about 30 miles north of Palm Springs, California, is the hamlet of Pioneertown. But its not just an ordinary small town. It was built in 1946 as a place to shoot western movies, including the movies and television shows of Gene Autry (America’s Favorite Singing Cowboy), Roy Rogers (King of the Cowboys), the Cisco Kid, Annie Oakley, and many other staples of Saturday movie matinees and early television.

Walking down Mane St. (yep, that’s how it’s spelled) is reminiscent of the old wild west …

Walking down Mane St. (yep, that’s how it’s spelled) is reminiscent of the old wild west, and feels like walking on a western movie set, but the buildings aren’t just flats. Most are houses, built to house the actors and film crews, and are now private residences. There is even a sound stage for filming interior scenes — it looks like an old barn.
The street was made extra wide, to accommodate camera dollies and the many crew members needed to do the filming.

The town may be small, but it certainly isn’t sleepy. We recently spent a Sunday there, staying at the Pioneertown Motel. The accommodations are pretty basic, but this is the wild west, you know.

On Saturdays and Sundays from April through October there are gunfighter shows at 2:30 on Mane St. If you are traveling with kids, they will love it. The ‘gunfighters’ talk to the kids (and grown-ups) about the safe handling of guns, and demonstrate the dangers of shooting blanks — they are very dangerous at close range. In fact, in a recent episode of one of the CSI television programs, a blank cartridge was used to commit a murder.

Pioneertown Motel: Built of railroad ties chinked with mortar, the motel is really a long log cabin. The movie and TV stars and crew stayed here while filming. There are 17 rooms, each with a different western/movie motif. Gene Autry and others would gather in room nine to play cards — it became known as Club Nine — and you can stay in it now. The motel even has horse stalls, for those who arrive with horses.

Pioneer Bowl: Roy Rogers didn’t like to play cards, but he did like to bowl. So he built a bowling alley. He rolled the first ball, in cowboy boots (he owned the place, so he could do whatever he wanted), and it is reported that it was a strike. It’s open Saturdays and Sundays from April through October.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace: A very popular roadhouse-style restaurant and bar, with a dance floor, and live entertainment Thursday through Sunday, mostly country and rockabilly. Usually pretty crowded, and as with most current bands, very loud.

Red Dog Saloon: Currently undergoing restoration, with a hoped for re-opening later this year. It is being restored to the way it looked before a fire (of suspicious origin, because a nearby restaurant also burned two days later) destroyed it in 1966, and will feature live bands performing old country and western music. There will be lots of historical memorabilia, and movies filmed in Pioneertown will be shown.

Pioneertown Motel: tel. 888/365-4879; www.pioneertownmotel.com.
Pappy & Harriet’s: 760/365-5956; www.pappyandharriets.com.
Red Dog Saloon: 760/964-6549; www.thereddogsaloon.com.
Pioneertown: www.pioneertown.com.

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