Fodor's Expert Review Pioneertown
In 1946, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, the Sons of the Pioneers (the music group for which the town is named), Russ Hayden, and various other entertainers invested in Dick Curtis' dream of building a "living breathing movie set." The result was Pioneertown, an 1880s-style Wild West town on 32,000 acres, surrounded by mesas and rock formations. Its main street featured a mix of false-front buildings (jail, bathhouse, etc.) and fully functioning businesses including a bowling alley, motel, saloon, and post office. More than 50 films/shows including Cisco Kid were made there in the 1940s and '50s.
Although some photo shoots and productions still happen there, most folks roll into town as tourists to grab drinks at the reopened bar; look at the movie memorabilia in the small museum; catch a concert at Pappy + Harriet's; meet the mayor (which is usually a goat, horse, or dog); or shop for pottery, vintage duds, and skin-care products in the shops that now fill many of the wood-and-adobe... READ MORE
In 1946, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, the Sons of the Pioneers (the music group for which the town is named), Russ Hayden, and various other entertainers invested in Dick Curtis' dream of building a "living breathing movie set." The result was Pioneertown, an 1880s-style Wild West town on 32,000 acres, surrounded by mesas and rock formations. Its main street featured a mix of false-front buildings (jail, bathhouse, etc.) and fully functioning businesses including a bowling alley, motel, saloon, and post office. More than 50 films/shows including Cisco Kid were made there in the 1940s and '50s.
Although some photo shoots and productions still happen there, most folks roll into town as tourists to grab drinks at the reopened bar; look at the movie memorabilia in the small museum; catch a concert at Pappy + Harriet's; meet the mayor (which is usually a goat, horse, or dog); or shop for pottery, vintage duds, and skin-care products in the shops that now fill many of the wood-and-adobe structures on the pedestrian-only lane. Weekends are especially bustling, with staged gunfights, drive-in movies, food carts, and comedy shows.
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