Texas Hollywood

Texas Hollywood/Fort Bravo is a Western-styled theme park in the province of Almería in Spain. Built in the early 1970s,[1] it lies a few kilometres to the north of the N-340 road highway (468 km mark), near the town of Tabernas.[2][3]

History

Around 1977, Rafa Molina, a stuntman, bought the set for US$6,000 to improve his job opportunities if the set was to be used for filming. In the early 1980s, he started charging visitors money to tour the set. Mock shoot-outs and barroom brawls were later added, and one of the buildings was converted into a full saloon to sell beer.[4] It is now known as Fort Bravo.

Style

The building architecture in Texas Hollywood is of two different styles built back to back split between two different areas.[5] The Western set features a blacksmith, jail, hotel, gallows and clapboard buildings from the American Old West era.[4][6] The Spanish set consists of a town square, a church,[5] and houses found in a typical Mexican pueblo.[4] Texas Hollywood remains an active film set.[4]

Media

The television series Queen of Swords was filmed May 3, 2000 to December 12, 2000,[7] principally in the Spanish buildings and the surrounding Tabernas Desert. The Western buildings were also used for the series with the Western jail serving as the Spanish jail and one of the large Western buildings was converted into a sound stage containing the living quarters of both Senorita Alvarado and Col. Montoya.[8]

The Doctor Who episode "A Town Called Mercy" was filmed here and at Oasys/Mini Hollywood in 2012.[9]

Photos
  • Fort at the entrance to Fort Bravo/Texas Hollywood
  • Spanish pueblo in Texas Hollywood
  • Street view of the Western town in Texas Hollywood
  • Bank used in "A Town Called Mercy"

See also

References
  1. Hughes, Howard (2004). "Sundowner: An Introduction to European Westerns". Once Upon a Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide to Spaghetti Westerns. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. p. xviii. ISBN 1-85043-430-1.
  2. Kennedy, Jeffrey (2006) [2004]. "Around Andalucía—Granada & Almería Provinces". Andalucia & Costa Del Sol. DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4053-0270-8.
  3. Noble, John; Forsyth, Susan; Maric, Vesna (January 2007). "North of Almería". Andalucía (5th ed.). London, United Kingdom: Lonely Planet. p. 407. ISBN 978-1-74059-973-3.
  4. McCarthy, Andrew (April 2007). "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly". National Geographic Traveler. New York, United States: National Geographic: 80. ISSN 0747-0932. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  5. Longis, Anthony De (January 21, 2001). "The Queen of Swords—The Town". Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  6. Campbell, Neil (2008). "Welcome to Westworld". The Rhizomatic West: Representing the American West in a Transnational, Global, Media Age. Postwestern Horizon. Nebraska, United States: University of Nebraska Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-8032-1539-9.
  7. https://www.webcitation.org/5xHST4soe
  8. On the set at Santa Helena
  9. Spanish link for Fort Bravo/Texas Hollywood Retrieved 12 september 2012

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