Historic Newspaper Archives

Red Dog featured image

Land Of Make-Believe

A setting for many motion pictures and television features, Pioneertown has been created expressly to provide an authentic-appearing Western town. While some of its buildings are only false fronts, others are real and contain shops, restaurants and the like to serve the needs of visitors.

Mar. 23. 1957 featured image

Pioneertown’s Mane Street No Place For Visitors–It’s Hoss Opera Heaven

Some of Hollywood's most famous actors slept here, sometimes through their vast scenes. The Cisco Kid series was made in Pioneertown and Gene Autry live here from 1948 to 1950 while making Annie Oakley. For the Judge Roy BeAn television series the village was altered to look like Langtry, Tex. All told, the front face of pioneer town has appeared in some 200 films, In its salad days 3000 visitors flooded the town on weekends, filtering in and out of the saloons and restaurants along Mane street.

Mar. 24, 1957 featured image

Phony Face of Pioneertown Has Looked Out at Hoss Opera Fans From Some 200 Films

Should anyone know of a boulevardier without a boulevard, the local main street is for hire at $25 a day. In this home of the hoss opera, however, it is called Mane St. There is a big sign as you drive in from the desert hills and it says, “Please Do Not Drive on Mane St.” This is a sort of one-yak town.