True Blood Filming Locations

Southern California Locations - Louisiana Locations - Clickable Map of All Locations


             

The location: The Victorian House.
Q. What is it supposed to be on the show?

    A. A Victorian house.


Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

    A. In Bon Temps, Louisiana.


Q. When did we see it on the show?

    A. This old Victorian house is briefly glimpsed in the opening credits of every episode.

Warning: this video contains somewhat disturbing images.

       It's about 12 or 13 seconds into the credits,
       right before we see the two white houses
       and Lucky Liquor.

    ( You can see the opening credits for yourself by clicking on the YouTube video to the upper right. If your connection is a fast one, try watching the High Density version.)



Q. What is it actually, in real life?

    A. A Victorian house - just not in Bon Temps.


Q. Where can I find it in real life?

    A. This is a real house, and it can be found at 728 Austin Place, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

    It is on the west/southwest side of Austin Place, at Austin & Wood St, a half block south of Oakland Cemetery, three blocks southeast of the two white houses, and five blocks southeast of Lucky Liquor.

    It is known as "The Florentine", a 7,800-square-foot historic home dating to 1896; it is being reportedly converted into either a bed & breakfast or a restaurant/bar. Built in 1896, it was originally known as the Ogilvie-Wiener House, since it was built for a grocer named Ogilvie, but was later the family home of a noted pair of architects named Wiener.

     Here is an aerial photo of the area, with the house marked. And here is a map link.

( Warning: Since I haven't been to Shreveport, I can't say whether this is in a
safe or unsafe part of town. So if you visit, exercise reasonable caution. )



The night time photo below was shot by Jen Bark in 2009. (Thanks, Jen!)



Here is the Google StreetView panorama, of the home (left-click on the image to pan around):



Compare it to this screenshot from the show's opening credits:



[Follow-up: I received an email from a fan, Etta, who lived most of her life in Shreveport,
and knows the town well. She suggested I add this warning about the area:

"The locations for the Lucky Liquor, Victorian House, and the Two White Houses in the credits are in the
downtown Shreveport area vicinity.  I would not advise people to go there alone, especially after dark.
  Most of the locations in Shreveport were shot in the poorer parts of town.  I'm sure this was to capture
more of the small town vibe of Bon Temps.  Unfortunately, this meant that most of the places where
they shot were not safe.  In fact, Sprague Street (the White Houses location) is infamous for
its history of drug and prostitution activity."

And this comment came from Stafford, another lifelong Shreveport resident:

"It is an extremely dangerous part of town and True Blood fans should
never go there at night and use extreme caution during the day."


Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

    A. I knew that they had filmed in Shreveport, and fortunately, the house number (728) is visible on the brief shot of the house - if you freeze-frame it (see the photo above).

    Since I had already found Lucky Liquor, I started looking at the 728's in that area, and found the home rather quickly, matching the Google StreetView to the screenshot.





    True Blood Filming Locations

Southern California Locations - Louisiana Locations - Clickable Map of All Locations

The True Blood screenshots from the show & all related characters & elements are trademarks of and © HBO.
All other photos & text are Copyright © 2009-Gary Wayne and may not be used without written permission.


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