Original Sets?


Does anyone know how much of the "Paradise" set is still standing? I know they filmed at Golden Oak Ranch, and I'm almost certain that I spotted the Paradise schoolhouse in one of the new Michael Landon, Jr. movies based on Janette Oke's books. ("Love's Unending Legacy," I believe is the title.) I've spotted the set in other shows and movies over the years, but I've never been able to spot Amelia's house, the hotel, the church, or until recently, the schoolhouse. Is Ethan's cabin still standing, and does it look the same?

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Sadly, a lot of the Golden Oak ranch town seems to be disappearing. The town was first built for Roots II: The Second Generation. It looks awesome in that. Some changes and additions were made to it for Paradise. (You can see the town from a road that goes past the ranch. I have some photos of the town that I took during the time Paradise was using it.) More recently, it was used some for Wild West Tech on the History Channel, and some of the Love Comes Softly Hallmark Channel films, as you noted. It can also be seen in two Kevin Sorbo Westerns, Avenging Angel (Hallmark) and Prairie Fever (ION Channel). It was apparent to me in watching Prairie Fever, the most recent one, that some of the buildings seemed to have been removed. Recently, I had occasion to drive by the ranch and it looked like the church, hotel facade, possibly Amelia's house, the firehouse and some other structures had been removed. I was especially sad to see that the beautiful hotel was gone. The schoolhouse building in the Love Comes movies is still there. In some of the Hallmark movies and the movies with Kevin Sorbo, they have used both the town at Golden Oak and the town at Paramount Ranch that was the home to Dr. Quinn and sometimes mix shots of the two, which I always find odd, since the towns each have their own distict look and character and it is obvious that it is two different places. When the Hallmark movies use Paramount Ranch, they have to go over to Golden Oak for the schoolhouse because there isn't one (or a church) at Paramount Ranch anymore.

As for Ethan's cabin, I don't know if it is still there, as it was never in view of the road. You might check out the two Kevin Sorbo movies I mentioned above, as I seem to remember some cabin's in those. Not sure if any of them were the Ethan Cord cabin.

It's such a shame that little by little, what few Western sets are left in Southern California are being lost. At least the one at Melody Ranch (The Magnificent Seven, Deadwood) will likely be around as it gets used quite a bit. And, Paramount Ranch is a National Park, so it will be preserved. (I do historical research and documentation work related to Paramount Ranch.)

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Thanks so much for the info!! I always imagined that Amelia's house was probably built specifically for "Paradise" since it was a Victorian style and the show was set in 1890. I'll have to take a look at "Roots 2."

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You're welcome! I can't remember if Amelia's house was in Roots II, but, I kind of think it was. It may have been in a different spot. I have noticed over the years that they shifted buildings or facades around some on the street. Of course, it probably had some decorative modifications to it for Paradise. The hotel facade was the mansion of the rich guy who ran the town in Roots II. It was modified in appearance for Paradise. It was a really beautiful set in both. It was subsequently changed again before they removed it. I sure wish they'd put Paradise on DVD. I'd love to see it again! I once saw Lee Horsly in person when he was filming Matt Houston near where I lived at the time and I watched them film.

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Thanks again! It's great to get some really old questions answered!

BTW, if you're interested, there are nice unofficial dvd sets available here http://www.ioffer.com/i/PARADISE-GUNS-OF-PARADISE-COMPLETE-SERIES-31-D VD-SET-55713651

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If you like watching "Quantum Leap", the town is shown exclusively in the episode "The Last Gunfighter(November 28, 1957)". It's about the 1950's TV revival in Westerns - and maybe what Paradise would be like 67 years later - if someone kept renovating it! :)

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thanks!

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