
“Pariah”

Q. What is it supposed to be on the show?
A. A wild Mexican town where anything goes.
Q. When do we see it?
A. In
Episode 5, when Logan leads William & Dolores into the city,
promising that it is the ultimate adventure at Westworld... It's in
Pariah that the trio end up at the orgy (although that was a completel different filming location).
Q. What is it in real life?
A. A well-known standing set, on the back lot of a major motion picture studio.
Q. Where can I find it in real life?
A. If
you live in L.A. or have ever visited Hollywood as a tourist, you may
well have already been to Pariah without even realizing it.
Have you ever been to Universal Studios Hollywood?
Have you taken the famous tram tour there? If so, then chances are very
good that you drove right through the heart of Pariah.
Because Pariah is actually just the well-known "Mexican Street", a permanent outdoor set on the studio's famous back lot.
Granted, they fancied it up a lot, with the addition of statues,
crypts, and other ornaments. And they also used CGI to add a lot
of additional buildings "behind" Mexican Street, when we first see the
town from a distance. And oh yes, they also added some towering
Utah buttes in the background (and a Utah view as they were approaching the city).
But all of that is simply decoration for the heart of Pariah, which is Universal's Mexican Street.
Here is a photo of that back lot set, without the added decor and crowds:
Compare that set photo above with the screencap of Pariah below:
Ignore the fake buildings added in the background, and the crowd and clutter
in the square; just look at the church and that building on the left, and you'll see it.
Granted, they "aged" the church a bit, but it's clearly Universal's Mexican Street.
You'll find Universal Studios Hollywood at 100 Universal City Plaza, in Universal City, CA. And you'll find Mexican Street on the studio's tram tour. ( It's located just northwest of the Jaws shark lake. )
Here is a Google Earth aerial view of the Mexican Street set at Universal.
And here is a map link to the studio.
Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?
A. I
knew I had seen this Spanish-style church before, and I was pretty sure
that it was a back-lot set.
I only know of two Spanish-style church
sets. One of them had already been used on the show for the
earlier Las Mudas scenes, so I could tell that it wasn't that same one.
I've
taken
the Universal Studios tram tour multiple times, and have shot photos of
most of the sets. So I assumed the church was from their Mexican
Street set. I double-checked the photos, and sure enough, it matched perfectly.

The Westword screenshots from the show & all related characters &
elements are trademarks of and © HBO.
All other photos & text are Copyright © 2019-Gary Wayne
and may not be used without written permission.

Return to the Seeing-Stars
website
Looking
for something in particular? Search the Seeing-Stars website!
|
|