Finding the Columns of Tara

Posted on by Phantom of the Backlot

A rare postcard I own showing the filming of Gone With the Wind. Notice the Main Lot studio water tower is seen peeking through the trees.

All that remains of the famous Backlots in Culver City are dirt, a few trees which bordered these backlots which escaped demolition and a fossil footprint which can be seen looking down from Baldwin Hills or Google Maps.

50 years later, I still walk these areas each morning with my dog Thora. My morning walk takes me down through the Studio Estates housing complex, formerly MGM Backlot #2; then down Ince Blvd to the Warehouses which were built over the 40-acre backlots.

I have a passion for Motion Picture Archeology, and I’ve always wondered “How much of these backlot sets are still buried underground? Was it easier to bury some of it than haul it away?

There are a number of pictures from 1976 which show the 40-acres backlot completely demolished and leveled out other than a pile of bricks and concrete. What sets would actually use real bricks, since most of these sets were never built to last?

The answer to this is simple. Wilbur Kurtz, who was hired on as an Artist and Historian during the production of Gone With the Wind states: The majority of Tara was built with composition board “the kind you find at Sears”. Only the brick columns and floor of the front porch were actually brick and mortar. Bingo!

You’ll see in the pictures of this post that the brick and concrete moldings, which I covered on a prior GWTW post, match up perfectly with the columns of Tara. Now, what I’d like to find out is… are the columns still buried there?

I’ve narrowed down the current location of the columns using before and after pictures, and call me crazy, but I for one, would love to rent an Excavator and dig up a section of the parking lot to see if they’re still there!  Is anyone down for a dig?

Story written and lived by Donnie Norden

A 1939 Publicity still showing the real brick columns

Desi Arnez Life magazine, 1959. Tara is nearly see-through from decay in the background.

Here’s a great shot of the Tara brick columns in rubble taken in 1976. Notice the moulding is a match.

Another shot of the Tara columns with the Studio in the background. Same studio water tower in the 1st picture of this post.

An aerial shot of the backlot showing Tara (yellow arrow) and the A-frame house (red arrow) to line it up

That same A-frame house can be seen here in 1976 and today. The yellow arrow is our estimated Dig Point!

Vivien Leigh on the porch of Tara in 1939 and below her, the same angle in 1959 in decay.

Another angle of the Tara columns (B&W) taken toward Baldwin Hills, and the Tara location today.

David O. Selznick in deep thought wondering…. Should Donnie go there late at night and dig it up?

Ingrid Bergman in 1943 posing in front of Tara. Tara can be seen later in many movies and television shows.

David O. Selznick standing inside the Atlanta Depot. The majority of the sets he built on the 40-acre backlot remained in use for nearly 30 years.

Thanks for reading! For more backlot adventures, check out my newly released book on Amazon. Phantom of the Backlots Presents: Uninvited Visitor https://a.co/d/eRTFLsy

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Published by Phantom of the Backlot

They called me the "phantom of the backlot." Join me on my adventures through the historic and celebrated MGM studios, in Culver City, during the height of its glory.

7 thoughts on “Finding the Columns of Tara”

    1. Hi Brother Greg, I have the historic thing used in GWTW. The 100 year old make-up trailer. Built for Marion Davies, then she had a fancier one built and this original was stationed behind Tara and would be used by Scarlett O’Hara. In 1933, Fay Wray did her makeup inside.
      the coolest item in Hollywood History.
      I can’t believe I found in a backyard of a house that was a compound for movie stars.
      Go to my YouTube Phantomofbacklots
      This belongs in Smithsonian
      I wouldn’t sell it for a million dollars
      we belong together.
      the best thing ever
      still exists…
      I have spent countless hours researching every clue of this items history-pictures helped me, I was very lucky to discover those, and was able to tie all this together.
      Hogan’s Heroes set was built where Tara was-and the last actors inside this room were from that series.
      The mirrors in this room have seen everything. I get goosebumps it’s so cool/ Thanks Donnie

    2. Much appreciated, the farther back we go -the more fun it becomes. I lived these backlots before I knew all the history I was experiencing. No computers or books even so it was me, the sets and that’s where we start. The lots have been gone so long, but thanks to reruns-I still learn stuff I did not know.
      cheers Greg

  2. In 2014, I visited the Margaret Mitchell Museum in Atlanta and they had on display the original door from the set of Tara. It has been auctioned off since. Also there was a guy down there who had the entire set in a barn and had been looking for funding to put it together but ended up auctioning off about the same time. It’s too bad the house couldn’t have been reassembled somewhere as Selznick had the whole damn thing taken apart piece by piece and sent to a lady in Atlanta in 1959. What a thing to see.

    Darryl

    Sent from my iPad
    DMHaase

  3. In 1959 Desilu dismantled Tara to make way for Stalag 13. They took the windows, doors and side porches and even the front porch overhang. They also took the shingle roof of the side doorway. The “brick walls” were piled up and burned on set.

    It was purchased by an Atlanta attorney with a group of investors prepared to build a museum in Atlanta. But according to his family the deal went south when the Mitchell Estate demanded 51% of the project.

    Betty Talmadge bought it in 1980. I came in to build brand and give tours to create interest so a museum would buy it. I personally reassembled the tall window in the scene with Scarlett and Twins and the side porch where Melly fed the soldiers. The front door was restored by Talmadge and loaned to Atlanta History Center. It was auction off by Profiles in History in July 2019.

    Peter Bonner savingtara.com Facebook savingtara

    1. The Plumb is the Make Up trailer.Behind Tara plantation. This room felt the heat thrown off ion the fire. It is part of the set. Gotta have make up. Atlanta is the story line but RKO was the place. 40 Acres…Mayberry also has a museum in Carolina with the Mayberry followers, all this history belongs here, where it was filmed-Culver City.Thank you Peter, I love your reply!

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