Roger Peterson's Mayberry Courthouse

Bill Webb posted:

Thanks Mark.

 

Pingman I have not read that the building was based on the Wilmington courthouse. It would certainly be possible given the North Carolina connections. Mount Airy might differ as I imagine they will want to claim all things Mayberry for themselves.

 

The next time that we are in Manteo, I will look at the courthouse there to rule that one out. Have not been in that building since the 1980's.

 

Andrew B the actual interior seems to be open to some debate. I have seen two floor plans and we had to modify them a bit however the jail cells are taken from photos on the Internet. My memory is like yours, not so ornate and pretty.

 

 

One thing that we found out when adding interior, there was not much room for large cells  and the first floor plan left access to various parts of the building a mystery.

 

i will e-mail you some of the photos that we found. There are many on the Internet under Mayberry courthouse.

The inside of the court house was a stage set and the coura house out side was just a prop it didnt have a inside it was open on the back side of the court house heres a site to check out if ya never been there before www.restroweb.com or type 40 acres back lot you'll find it vary intresting on what other shows and movies were shot there back then 

Andrew B. posted:

Originally Posted by Bill Webb:

 

 

Andrew B the actual interior seems to be open to some debate. I have seen two floor plans and we had to modify them a bit however the jail cells are taken from photos on the Internet. My memory is like yours, not so ornate and pretty.

 

 

One thing that we found out when adding interior, there was not much room for large cells  and the first floor plan left access to various parts of the building a mystery.

 

i will e-mail you some of the photos that we found. There are many on the Internet under Mayberry courthouse.

I watch it like every night on Netflix, I'm positive of what I am saying. Looking from Andy's desk, Barney's desk is directly to the right with the gun case above it against a wall. to the left of Barney's desk is a door that goes to a back room with a cot. To the left of that doorway is a radiator heater, then to the left against another wall is a glassed-in bookcase of some sort. In front of Andy's desk is the cells, with a short thigh-height wall located between. In the left corner by the cells in early episodes is another door, and later a brick wall with a radio.

 

There's a replica online that isn't accurate to the show at all.

 

This provides a good view of the wall thing I am describing.

Here you can see the switch to brick and a radio in that corner.

 

There's a step up to the door as well.

 

 

This is a pretty accurate drawing, though the angle on cell one and on the door to the back room are both a bit exaggerated.

 

The "wall" between the cells and his desk in the above image is the one that is thigh-high.

That wasnt a radio it was a gas heater 

Where the gas heater is- on some of the very first episodes it was another exterior door- which didn't exist on the exterior set, as it would have lead straight into the Barbershop wall. I like finding little nuances...

Wow! That is impressive work!!! Very nice and a cool story. 

Is there a hole in the floor where Barney's gun went off?

You guys are still having fun with this. Things were certainly a lot more simple then. I believe that I prefer simple to today.

Interesting.  I rarely watched the show, so have no clue, but suspect all was a movie set and subject to change, moving, and errors in reassembly.  However, an accurate depiction of what many remember is an attention getter, as all the comments, and mentions of others doing similar models demonstrate.

Andrew B. posted:

Originally Posted by Bill Webb:

 Although his work is ok it is not to scale, and looks nothing LIKE  the courthouse on the show. But now I will have to make one in 1/9 scale

 

Andrew B the actual interior seems to be open to some debate. I have seen two floor plans and we had to modify them a bit however the jail cells are taken from photos on the Internet. My memory is like yours, not so ornate and pretty.

 

 

One thing that we found out when adding interior, there was not much room for large cells  and the first floor plan left access to various parts of the building a mystery.

 

i will e-mail you some of the photos that we found. There are many on the Internet under Mayberry courthouse.

I watch it like every night on Netflix, I'm positive of what I am saying. Looking from Andy's desk, Barney's desk is directly to the right with the gun case above it against a wall. to the left of Barney's desk is a door that goes to a back room with a cot. To the left of that doorway is a radiator heater, then to the left against another wall is a glassed-in bookcase of some sort. In front of Andy's desk is the cells, with a short thigh-height wall located between. In the left corner by the cells in early episodes is another door, and later a brick wall with a radio.

 

There's a replica online that isn't accurate to the show at all.

 

This provides a good view of the wall thing I am describing.

Here you can see the switch to brick and a radio in that corner.

 

There's a step up to the door as well.

 

 

This is a pretty accurate drawing, though the angle on cell one and on the door to the back room are both a bit exaggerated.

 

The "wall" between the cells and his desk in the above image is the one that is thigh-high.

I think it is important to keep in mind that the exterior set was in a different location than the interior set, and actually, later in the show they reconstructed portions of the exterior set inside a sound stage.

The interior set as shown in the show would never fit inside the walls of the exterior set, ever. So, just like in life we sometimes need to apply some artistic license to projects, and a fake building with a fake interior in a fake town is a good example of this.
Look at the overhead photo where Andy is standing next to the jail, notice the door in the top left hand corner. That door would have walked directly into the Barbershop, and was replaced mid-way through season 2 with an oil furnace.

The above drawing "blueprint" is an artists rendition. It is how the interior would have looked if crammed inside the exterior set. 

Why doesnt it look like the courthouse on the show, and nothing is to scale. I am a stickler on detail, and even though the outside looks like it, the inside does not. here is a sample of my work

 

 

 

 

Bill Webb posted:

Roger designed his Mayberry Courthouse kit based on the Andy Griffith show mockup. We completed it and added an interior and significant lighting. The jail cells, etc were interesting. Plans are for the structure to be a couple of feet from the edge of the layout.

 

We usually complete the interior where it is visible thru the windows and build the structure so that there is interior access. Pictures show how this is done with tabs to lock in interior walls which are not glued.

 

Lighting is from Evan Desigbs (all lights except first story fluorescents and outside front) and the fluorescents are Miller Engineering. Most furniture is from Westport (they do a great job) with some items from Builders in Scale, Berkshire Valley, and Crow River. People are Model Power from Nassau Hobbies and Artista.

 

Our buildings are lit with three choices... off, daylight use, night.

 

My wife and her family knew Andy, her uncle lived across the street from him in Manteo, and often various members of the cast visited. Many are recreated here including Andy, Aunt Bee, Helen, Goober, and of course Barney. All are visible thru the windows. Opie will be outside sitting on a bench when the diorama is complete.

 

Thanks to Roger for coming up with this and the companion Floyd's Barber Shop.

 

 

Nice work Jesse-

but again, the interior as seen on the show was not inside the building we see on the show. They were a few blocks away. If you want  one of my kits, you can build the interior anyway you would like, as when I offered, it was only an exterior shell. I appreciate just seeing my creation on someone else's layout in a place of pride.

Awesome!!!!!!!!

Aah yes, the question about tv vs will it fit/is it accurate. It doesn't fit and it isn't the same as on tv. Heck, from what we saw, the tv changed at times. It was fun to try and fit the plan into the building.

We love Andy; he was a friend of my wife's family who knew him in Manteo/Nags Head, NC thus our desire to have the building on the layout. Paula can remember him coming into their store and hanging out, etc when she was younger... a lot younger.

Jesse it is a fun building to build. When you get it done, please send us some pictures.