The “Golden Age” of Hollywood’s film industry saw a rise in the use of off-site filming locations in the more secluded areas of the surrounding suburban communities where filmmakers could film outdoors substantially decreasing the risk of noise pollution or having the public stumble onto the set. A majority of these locations, some the size of small towns, were built by the studios but were abandoned after most of the filming started being done in indoor stages. What is left of these locations are strange yet familiar artificial ghost towns in places you wouldn’t expect to find one. I grew up watching movies filmed at these locations. Having an innate ability to identify details of most people overlook gave me interest in finding and exploring the sets used in those films. After exploring and researching the film towns, I found that their histories ranged from being the backdrop of some of the most memorable films and TV shows to being a hide out for the Manson Family. After decades of desertion, these places still nearly look as they did in their heyday. Yet, without any signs of people, being at the locations felt a lot different then watching them in a movie.
