Does anyone have any idea where this scene was filmed?  Presumably, it is not on the backlot, but somewhere in the Hollywood / Culver City vicinity.

http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01a.jpg
http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01b.jpg
http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01c.jpg

I think we've seen this building before on the old board.  Concensus at the time was that it was a Park's building up at Franklin Canyon Reservoir (Myers Lake).  The script indicated it was employed as a restaurant:  Morelli's?  It might still be extant.

In this episode, you can see the "Mom's Diner" at the beginning when Andy, Peggy, Barney and Thelma Lou come walking out.

It's definitely on the 40 Acres lot, but I'm not sure where. I would guess somewhere near the "Gomer Pyle USMC" set or maybe near "Stalag 13"

I think Pierre is on the right track.  Not to be hornery with ya Briscoe, but I'm all but certain it's not on the 40 Acres backlot.   That hill, for one thing, is immediately beyond the building in the first pic, and even if it were a telephoto-induced illusion, it's not Baldwin Hills.

Off the top of my head, the only other location that I can think of that it might be, would be near where "MASH" was filmed about 10 years later.  :-/

If you do a Mapquest search for Franklin Canyon, Beverly Hills, you should come up with an option for the Franklin Canyon Reservoir.  (I just did it).

The FCReservoir is actually two 'lakes'  An upper and a lower.  The canyon roads go bascially north to south on either side of the two reservoirs.  

Switch from [Street map] to [Aerial Map] and you'll be using the satellite image and can see the building and such.

The building suspected of being the one depicted could be the building at the north end of the north (upper) lake, which was Myers Lake. Not the big one situated north to south, the one just to the north east, situated mostly west to east.  It's just south of Mulholland on Franklin Canyon Drive.

I have no confirmation that this IS the building, but it is a likely suspect and would be neat to visit if in the area.

You might want to listen to the podcast by our Principal, who has been there and has posted some pics and directions to Franklin Canyon and the reservoir.

www.mayberry.com/podcasts   You can then find the podcast entitled "Franklin Canyon Reservoir"  There is also links to the pics taken.

Although... there is a building at the dam end of the lake that is more likely...   We need to send up the Tarheels to reconoiter.

Here is a broader (taller) view of the mystery location, along with lake scenes from the same episode..."Andy's Rich Girlfriend."   This really doesn't look like the Franklin Canyon location, but I could be wrong.


http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01d.jpg

http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01e.jpg

http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01f.jpg

http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01g.jpg

http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01h.jpg

http://www.retroweb.com/bb/andy_mystery_location_01i.jpg

Boy, oh boy, That doesn't look like the berm built around part of the perimeter of the 40lot, so that's out.  Could be Baldwin hills, but.. I still think it could be Franklin Canyon, but I cannot say for sure.  It surely does not look like a props department made body of water like on Gilligan's Island.

Remember the building is of wood frame construction and is at least 50 years old.  It may not still be standing,  but if well maintained it could still be standing, but in a different form, possibly added onto.

It might also be the set used in A Feud is a Feud, where Andy has the feudees switch shot guns and step-off 10 paces, which they didn't do, of course.

The third picture from the bottom puts me in mind of the outside long shot of where Andy went to shot crows in 'A Perfect Female' but that could just be old age talking. Have to check the DVD later. ;D

"Watch the crayfish Barn!"

One contact has suggested that this looks like the Lake Sherwood area, just south of Thousand Oaks in Los Angeles County.    A few images on Flickr titled "Filming at Lake Sherwood" show ground-level views that support this.   Anyone here from the L.A. area or who otherwise might be familiar with Lake Sherwood?

Some of those hills look like the ones where the reality show, "Biggest Loser" is filmed.  But, then again, once you've seen one hill you've seen 'em all... right?

Lake Sherwood is an interesting possibility, although I'm not aware that TAGS used it during filming of the series. Lake Sherwood (now the ultra-expensive Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks) was a very popular filming location, especially during Hollywood's golden age. The first few seasons of The Dukes of Hazzard were filmed there just before it was sold for golf course development. Here's a link to present day Lake Sherwood: http://www.sherwoodcc.com/ as well as a photo of the lake: http://www.sherwoodcountryclub.com/default.aspx?p=.NETCEEditorPFSTC&NoNav=1&ID=278956

My original thinking was that it looked like it "could" be at "Robin Hood Lake" but I'm just throwing that out there.   I can't really tell where it was, Retro.

I can't find images of the area that are big/wide angle enough to see if that's even a possible guess.  The tie in was that I know that Tarzan was filmed at both 40 Acres and at "Robin Hood Lake".  Google Books has a good book on the area and some of the shots seem to have the same type mountains in them.

WoW ! those pictures take you all the way there , but make you really want to drive over there and see it with your own two eyes ! i thought visiting mount airy was great , this will be just as much, if not more , fun. Road trip anyone?

I tried to take a trip using GoogleEarth, to get a driver's eye view of Franklin Canyon.  The driver's eye view stops abbruptly at both entrances to the canyon.  Can't figure out why, unless it's a security thing.  

Principal wrote on Feb 27^th, 2009 at 3:50pm:

My original thinking was that it looked like it "could" be at "Robin Hood Lake" but I'm just throwing that out there.   I can't really tell where it was, Retro. I can't find images of the area that are big/wide angle enough to see if that's even a possible guess.  The tie in was that I know that Tarzan was filmed at both 40 Acres and at "Robin Hood Lake".  Google Books has a good book on the area and some of the shots seem to have the same type mountains in them.

I have recently been pointed to Malibu Creek State Park as the possible shooting location, but while the location has the right "feel" to it based on several photos (including dozens and dozens on Flickr), I haven't yet found the magic one in which the background mountains match the view in the TAGS episode.

retro wrote on Mar 20^th, 2009 at 9:51am:

Principal wrote on Feb 27th, 2009 at 3:50pm: My original thinking was that it looked like it "could" be at "Robin Hood Lake" but I'm just throwing that out there.   I can't really tell where it was, Retro. I can't find images of the area that are big/wide angle enough to see if that's even a possible guess.  The tie in was that I know that Tarzan was filmed at both 40 Acres and at "Robin Hood Lake".  Google Books has a good book on the area and some of the shots seem to have the same type mountains in them.   I have recently been pointed to Malibu Creek State Park as the possible shooting location, but while the location has the right "feel" to it based on several photos (including dozens and dozens on Flickr), I haven't yet found the magic one in which the background mountains match the view in the TAGS episode.

Before you posted this, I had thought that Malibu Creek State Park would be the place where Andy, Barney, Peg, and Thelma Lou played in the water.  I love MASH, and I have most of the seasons collected, and I could swear that there was a scene that was shot in this same area!  I know in one scene, the school bus that was a large ambulance, rode next to a very large body of water that looked similar to the pond/lake where Andy and Co. skipped rocks.   I'll have to think which episode it was in.  :-/

Briscoe Darling wrote on Mar 27^th, 2009 at 2:06pm:

I have recently been pointed to Malibu Creek State Park as the possible shooting location, but while the location has the right "feel" to it based on several photos (including dozens and dozens on Flickr), I haven't yet found the magic one in which the background mountains match the view in the TAGS episode. Before you posted this, I had thought that Malibu Creek State Park would be the place where Andy, Barney, Peg, and Thelma Lou played in the water.  I love MASH, and I have most of the seasons collected, and I could swear that there was a scene that was shot in this same area!  I know in one scene, the school bus that was a large ambulance, rode next to a very large body of water that looked similar to the pond/lake where Andy and Co. skipped rocks.   I'll have to think which episode it was in.  :-/

Coincidentally, I had a phone conversation today about 40 Acres in which the other party claimed to have a way of getting questions to Andy Griffith, so I included this one among a few I gave him.  We'll see if this pans out.  (My other questions were about 40 Acres, except for one other, which is one I understand he may have heard before:  "Who played Mr. Schwamp?")

He claims to not remember.  Maybe he doesn't.  But someone does.  It's too coincidental that he'd be referred to as Mr. Schwamp, each and every time he showed up on camera.  He was no ordinary 'extra.' Each and every time he said not a word.  Sometimes, like the time he was sitting on the bench in front of the CH, he was posted there for no other purpose by to be there.  Not your normal extra Andy would tip his hat to (If he had one on), say howdy, then move on.  In the CH bench scene, he was more in the way than anything.

That's my conspiracy theory. :-/