True Blood Filming Locations: The Riot/Orgy in Bon Temps.

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The location: Riot / Orgy in Bon Temps.

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

A. The aftermath of a night of riotous partying & debauchery in Town Square.

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

A. In downtown Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. In Episodes 10 & 11 of Season 2.

Crazy Maryann has put almost the entire population of Bon Temps under her ancient spell (black eyes and all), whipping the townspeople into a frenzy of mindless partying, sex & violence that turns the town upside down. She is determined to capture Sam Merlotte and sacrifice him to her dark god, and the brainwashed townspeople are happy to do her bidding.

We first see this location when Sookie & Jason Stackhouse return to Bon Temps (from their perilous adventure in Dallas with the FotS church).

As they drive into town in a chauffeured van (with Bill's coffin in the back), they are shocked to see their small town in shambles.

Someone has defaced the "Welcome to Bon Temps" sign with obscenities, they see a guy repeatedly banging his head against a wooden post, and then a crazy couple with black eyes deliberately throw themselves into the path of their oncoming car, shattering its windshield, before picking themselves up and cheerfully heading off to do Maryann's bidding.

We see the town again, after dark this time, when Sookie & Bill are driving back from a failed confrontation with Maryann.

Q. What is it actually, in real life?

A. An actual town square in Louisiana, but not the fictional Bon Temps, of course...

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. The riot/orgy scenes were filmed in Clinton, Louisiana, which is a small town (with a population of less than 2,000) about 20 miles north/northeast of Baton Rouge.

Here is a map link so you can see where the town is located.

Here are the exact filming locations in Clinton:

When Sookie & Jason drive back into town, the first strange thing they see
is the "Welcome to Bon Temps" sign, which has been defaced with obscenities.

When they see that sign, Sookie & Jason's van is heading west on St. Helena Street (in Clinton).

That sign is fake, if course, but it was put in front of the real "Topper's Hair Salon" at 12434 St. Helena, which is the northwest corner of St. Helena Street & Plank Road/Old S Drive.

Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the corner
(hold down the left mouse button to move around):

And this photo of Topper's was shot by Michele & Eleanor in 2009:

As Jason & Sookie continue to head into town, down the trash-strewn street,
they next pass a crazy guy who is standing there banging his head
against a wood beam or column.

That wood beam is in front of "McKnight's Department Store", at 12321 St. Helena St.
(on the south side of that street).

Here's a Google StreetView panorama of that store, with its white beams:

And this photo, shot by Eleanor & Michele, is looking east down
the south side of St.Helena Street, towards McKnight's.

Next, they watch a plump woman chasing a man across the street, starting from the barber shop.

That barber shop is "Tack's Fashion Cut", located at 12316 St. Helena St. (on the north side of the street).

Here's a Google StreetView of it:

While they are watching them run, they come to an intersection, where a crazy, black-eyed couple
throw themselves into the path of their van, causing an accident, and shattering the van's windshield.

That was filmed at the intersection of St. Helena & Liberty Street.

Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the corner, looking southeast:

The crazy couple then run northwest onto the lawn of the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse
(the big, white building with the columns), at 12305 St. Helena St.,
which is at the NW corner of Liberty & Helena.

The antebellum courthouse was built in 1840.

Here's a Google StreetView panorama of the same corner, but looking northwest:

Michele & Eleanor shot this photo of the statue in front of the courthouse:

Finally, after Bill & Sookie meet up with Maryann (and Bill is sickened after biting Maryann), there is a scene of the two of them driving away from that confrontation, with Bill still sick in the car.

That scene was shot, at night, with their car heading back east on St. Helena, near Church Street

(with the camera looking back southwest on St. Helena,
glimpsing the arches of McKnight's department store again).

Here's a Google StreetView panorama of that basic view:

After they pass through that intersection, the camera looks south down Church Street.
The water tower which is glimpsed there is next to / behind
the First Baptist church at Church Street & Jackson.

Here's a StreetView of that water tower:

Here is a map link, with the various Clinton locations marked.

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

A. This filming drew a lot of press, particularly in Louisiana. A simple Google search for "True Blood, filming" produced a range of news articles describing the filming in downtown Clinton, including this local TV coverage.

It also turned up some amateur photos that locals had shot of the town square, in the wake of the set dressing (where the Town Square had been "trashed"), before the cleanup crews moved in to restore the area to its original state.

Once I knew it had been shot in Clinton, it was just a matter of using Google StreetView to pinpoint the exact areas in town where the individual scenes had been filmed.

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The True Blood screenshots from the show & all related characters & elements are trademarks of and © HBO.
All other photos & text are Copyright © 1999-2024-Gary Wayne and may not be used without written permission.

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