Courthouse interior set information

[GentlemanJim]

Does anybody know of a site that has done any kind of analysis on changes made to the interior set of the Courthouse over the years?

I understand that most of the exterior shots in Mayberry proper were filmed at the "40 Acres" studio backlot in Culver City CA, while most of the interior sets were located in nearby Desilu studios.

I recall that during season 1 inside the courthouse, immediately to the left from the perspective of entering from outside, was a walkway leading to a door, presumably to a closet. The closet being located between the front wall of the courthouse, and jail cell #1

In later years the closet was gone, and a free standing heater was located roughly in it's place.

During the "closet era", a bulletin board was mounted to the inside of the front wall of the courthouse between the entry doors and the closet, such that it would be blocking the window that is visible from the outside, backing many of the scenes depicting people sitting on the bench out front.
Further, during the closet era, steam radiators are located in a couple places along walls in the court house,

During the "free standing furnace" era, the steam radiators disappeared, as did the bulletin board that covered the above mentioned window.

As a related curio, the christmas episode where they have a family in the jail for christmas, it appears there are a few mistakes made while filming the family in cell #1 where people actually extend beyond the confines of the cell , and are partially in back of the closet door.....suggesting of course that an easy escape from that cell through the door would be possible.

Anybody know of a site where these peculiarities (and others) have been examined in detail? thanks in advance

[GentlemanJim]

One additional question about the courthouse interior. Those boxes located at the bottoms of the window blinds (an inverted cornice of sorts).

Has anybody ever seen such a detail in real life, at the bottoms of the windows?
I never have.

[GentlemanJim]

Not many "rivet counters" here on this message board I guess?

One other unique aspect I just noticed in relation to the inverted cornices at the bottom of the courthouse windows. They are not in place during season two....so they were added later. Suggesting that something happened to create a need for them.

My best guess is that although the courthouse exterior was part of the Culver City backlot, used for the street scenes. The courthouse interior was completely a separate set in the studio. And transparencies of the Mayberry "skyline" were placed over the courthouse window exteriors, with backlighting to create a realistic view through the windows. My bet is that these oddball inverted cornices were in place to control excess backlighting from bleeding in around the bottom perimeter of the window blinds .

This studio set also had a rudimentary courthouse exterior built outside for "sitting on the bench" scenes, and it was only this artificial set that featured the alley/walkway between the courthouse and Floyd's barbershop (remember the scene with Ben Weaver standing on a box in this walkway so that he could peer into the jailcell window).

In the actual exterior set located on the backlot, the courthouse and the barbershop abut one another, with no walkway between them.

[stevea]

I don't know a site but I think I remember a couple of wall lamps on the same wall as the double door entrance, and those lamps disappeared early on.

[GentlemanJim]

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to keep an eye out for them, now that TVLand has started back at season 1 again

One other courthouse trivia I just noticed. In the late season 5 episode that featured Don Rickles as a con man/salesman. The courthouse has a central furnace with a wall register right beneath the bulletin board. Rickles floods the courthouse with smoke and soot trying to clean the furnace.
Now they never would have had a wall vent back in the day that the courthouse had steam radiators (the "closet" era mentioned earlier). Nor does it seem likely to have a wall register with the courthouse having a free standing furnace that sits between cell #1 and the window.

So, I'm wondering now if that register was just a one episode prop? I'll be looking to see when that wall register makes it's first appearance as well.

[GentlemanJim]

Other set related minutia that I've noticed, in the color era, the back door out of the kitchen at the Taylor residence has moved 90 degrees around the corner from it's original location, now it is located where the china cabinet once stood.

[GentlemanJim]

Well, for anybody who is interested, I found the following site that contains alleged maps of the city and county of Mayberry, as well as a tentative floor plan of the courthouse. Here:

https://www.imayberry.com/tagsrwc/wb...berry_maps.htm

As you can see, the location and orientation of the closet door I mentioned earlier does pose problems to a "secure" environment for the adjacent cell.

But I think I have figured out that this was by design as opposed to being an oversight. I believe the closet "deadspace" was intentional, to give the production crew a place to set up lights and camera for intimate "inside cell" script opportunities. For example when Barney and Gentleman Dan Caldwell are playing cards inside the cell.

Shown on the floorplan is another curio, which is why the cell bars and door on one cell are canted at an angle from the cell next to it. The real cell is just this way, but I can't see any architectural benefit to this lay out, other than perhaps accommodate scripts that require multiple prisoners in a cell in conjunction with limited studio space.

Of course the stairway in the back is purely speculative, since we never see it in the show, but we do know the mayor's office is above, so there has got to be a stairway somewhere

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

Not many "rivet counters" here on this message board I guess?

One other unique aspect I just noticed in relation to the inverted cornices at the bottom of the courthouse windows. They are not in place during season two....so they were added later. Suggesting that something happened to create a need for them.

My best guess is that although the courthouse exterior was part of the Culver City backlot, used for the street scenes. The courthouse interior was completely a separate set in the studio. And transparencies of the Mayberry "skyline" were placed over the courthouse window exteriors, with backlighting to create a realistic view through the windows. My bet is that these oddball inverted cornices were in place to control excess backlighting from bleeding in around the bottom perimeter of the window blinds .

This studio set also had a rudimentary courthouse exterior built outside for "sitting on the bench" scenes, and it was only this artificial set that featured the alley/walkway between the courthouse and Floyd's barbershop (remember the scene with Ben Weaver standing on a box in this walkway so that he could peer into the jailcell window).

In the actual exterior set located on the backlot, the courthouse and the barbershop abut one another, with no walkway between them.

Being an old man, and having watched the show getting close to sixty years now, and with a growing fascination with 40 Acres, I find myself watching these things you mention often more than the actors, although some performances command repeated attention.

That wall with Floyd's Barber Shop on the other side, constantly curious... there just can't be an alley like Ben Weaver could be seen in... I figure that there must be a small courtyard area behind Floyd that the jail cell windows look out to?

Didn't Floyd once mention having a garden back there, also?

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

Well, for anybody who is interested, I found the following site that contains alleged maps of the city and county of Mayberry, as well as a tentative floor plan of the courthouse. Here:

https://www.imayberry.com/tagsrwc/wb...berry_maps.htm

As you can see, the location and orientation of the closet door I mentioned earlier does pose problems to a "secure" environment for the adjacent cell.

But I think I have figured out that this was by design as opposed to being an oversight. I believe the closet "deadspace" was intentional, to give the production crew a place to set up lights and camera for intimate "inside cell" script opportunities. For example when Barney and Gentleman Dan Caldwell are playing cards inside the cell.

Shown on the floorplan is another curio, which is why the cell bars and door on one cell are canted at an angle from the cell next to it. The real cell is just this way, but I can't see any architectural benefit to this lay out, other than perhaps accommodate scripts that require multiple prisoners in a cell in conjunction with limited studio space.

Of course the stairway in the back is purely speculative, since we never see it in the show, but we do know the mayor's office is above, so there has got to be a stairway somewhere

I've wondered if there might be a parking lot and stairs to the Mayor's office behind the Courthouse, and (unless it was explained otherwise in a color episode) those rooms seen above Floyd, the TV repair and grocery store are where Howard, the nurse, et al have their offices?

[SarahBellum]

Also related to the Taylor residence, it doesn't look like there was a bathroom on the first floor.

[GentlemanJim]

Also, in the color era, the way the color schemes seem to move around. The Courthouse goes through a gray era, a beige and tan era, as well as a green era.

And the same colors cycle their way through the Taylor homestead. Are we to believe that the high sheriff re-appropriates taxpayer owned paint for use in his personal residence?

[stevea]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

Also, in the color era, the way the color schemes seem to move around. The Courthouse goes through a gray era, a beige and tan era, as well as a green era.

And the same colors cycle their way through the Taylor homestead. Are we to believe that the high sheriff re-appropriates taxpayer owned paint for use in his personal residence?

I think that's more a function of old films with inconsistent color rendering; also, maybe different brands of film used. Possibly even a different lighting setup episode to episode or season to season. I see the same thing on the My Three Sons' living room set.

[vitoscotti]

I've always noticed the tan, and green interior/exterior courthouse color changing too. Wonder if the metv specific episode color is actually ever different than the DVD, streaming versions? If the color is different in the same season ever? Then yeah, the green is seen all over the Taylor home. Down the road I'll be viewing the whole series again. Something I'll be looking for.

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by stevea

I think that's more a function of old films with inconsistent color rendering; also, maybe different brands of film used. Possibly even a different lighting setup episode to episode or season to season. I see the same thing on the My Three Sons' living room set.

You very well may have nailed it....

But now you have inspired the "rivet counter" lurking inside me. Now I'm gonna be looking for any one single episode where the green scheme is in place in one location, with the beige/tan in the other....

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

You very well may have nailed it....

But now you have inspired the "rivet counter" lurking inside me. Now I'm gonna be looking for any one single episode where the green scheme is in place in one location, with the beige/tan in the other....

I look forward to reading the results although I don't have the patience to do this myself.