"If you walked into Pioneertown, the tiny town in California's high desert that's just about one square mile, and you didn't know anything about the place, you might think that you've time-traveled. Or, if you haven't exactly transported yourself back to the past, you've managed to somehow step into a real, honest-to-goodness Western film. The unpaved Mane Street that runs through the center of town is lined with buildings that look like they date back to the Gold Rush, and there are as many hoofprints in the street's dirt as there are footprints."
"On some days, cowboys and outlaws are strolling the street. Get really lucky, and you might even witness a robbery of the incoming Pony Express delivery. It all feels very real, and yet, all of it is an act: Pioneertown was built in the 1940s as a movie set. But unlike Paramount Ranch and its ilk, the movie set wasn't just a filming location; it was created by Western movie stars as a permanent town."
Pioneertown occupies about one square mile in California's high desert. Its unpaved Mane Street is lined with 19th-century–style buildings, with hoofprints in the dirt alongside footprints. On some days, cowboys and outlaws stroll the street and staged Pony Express robberies occur. The town was built in the 1940s as a movie set and was created by Western movie stars as a permanent town to attract productions. The original idea was to establish an 1880s-themed community that could be used without additional set construction. Productions helped sustain the town economically, but the community required residents and daily life to remain viable and alive.
Read at SFGATE
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