The Old Orange County Courthouse from “American Horror Story: Asylum”

It is a sad truth that many filming locations are not publicly accessible.  (I’m looking at you Fremont Place, Golden Oak Ranch, the Jack Rabbit Slim’s exterior from Pulp Fiction, pretty much all of the houses from Scream, and Venice High School!  Yes, I have toured the latter several times, but I have never been able to stalk the hallway Britney Spears shimmied down in her  “. . . Baby One More Time” music video and it remains one of my top must-see spots.)  I am very happy to report that is not the case with the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana, though.  As the Grim Cheaper and I were thrilled to discover upon visiting last March, not only is the property open every weekday, but guided tours are also offered and photographs even encouraged!  Now that’s my kind of place!  We wound up spending several hours exploring the building, learning all about its architecture, history, and, of course, onscreen portrayals, the most famous of which was as the ultra-spooky Briarcliff Manor in American Horror Story: Asylum.  So to the top of my Haunted Hollywood To-Blog List the site went!

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The handsome Richardsonian Romanesque-style property, designed by architect C. L. Strange, opened for operation on November 12, 1901, after 17 months of construction.  During its early years the 30,000-square-foot, two-and-a-half-story building served as the county courthouse, as well as housing offices for county workers including the Board of Supervisors, the sheriff, and the district attorney.

Built of Arizona red sandstone and Temecula granite, with a metal rooftop painted to look like tile, the structure, which cost $117,000 to complete, really is a sight to behold.

They just don’t build ‘em like this anymore.

We happened to arrive at the courthouse just as the sun was gracing its edifice with majestic palm tree shadows, making it even more striking.

I mean, come on!

The Old Orange County Courthouse looks a bit different today than it did when it was initially built thanks to the loss of the towering cupola that once capped its roof.  The 63-foot-tall piece, modeled after that of Trinity Church in Boston, suffered damage during the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and had to be removed.  You can see a photograph of it when it was still intact here.

Aside from the elimination of the cupola and some other minor changes made to the roof following the quake, little of the building has been altered since it was constructed 117 years ago.

The place did fall victim to a few unsightly renovations over the years, including the removal of the exquisite original tiling, the addition of carpeting, and the installation of a drop ceiling, but thankfully the courthouse was brought back to its former glory via a massive restoration project that took place from 1983 to 1992.

Though no legal proceedings have taken place on the premises since a new, larger courthouse was built in 1969, its main tribunal, Courtroom No. One, remains intact.

 

The wood-paneled venue was the site of numerous famous trials during its heyday, including that of Beulah Overell and George Gollum, who in 1947 were accused of killing Beulah’s parents by blowing up their yacht, as well as that of Henry Ford McCracken, who was charged with the slaying of ten-year-old Patty Jean Hull in what became California’s first murder trial in 1952.

Today the Old Orange County Courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also California State Landmark No. 837, operates as a county park and houses the marriage license bureau, the Orange County History Center, and the Orange County Archives.

The building also functions as a special events venue, a setting for wedding photographs, and, of course, a filming location.

 

The Old Orange County Courthouse was featured prominently throughout American Horror Story: Asylum as Briarcliff Manor, a supposed Massachusetts-area tuberculosis ward where more than 46,000 people died.  The property was shown in both present day, in which it was made to seem dilapidated and abandoned . . .

. . . and its 1960’s state, when it was still in operation as a sanitarium.

The courthouse’s façade was digitally altered for the series, which aired from October 2012 to January 2013.  As you can see below, not only was an entire floor added to the structure, but its roofline and gable windows were also adjusted slightly.

Despite the changes, the building is entirely recognizable from its many appearances on the show.

Only the exterior of the courthouse was utilized on American Horror Story: Asylum.  Briarcliff’s sprawling interior was a studio-built set.

The Old Orange County Courthouse cameoed as Briarcliff Manor once again in the 2014 episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show titled “Orphans.”

AHS is hardly the only production to have featured the property.

The exterior of the building appeared as the outside of the courthouse where the murder trial of Thelma Jordan (Barbara Stanwyck) took place in the 1950 noir The File on Thelma Jordan . . .

. . . which coincidentally starred convicted killer Paul Kelly, whom I wrote about last week.

The lobby and stairwell of the Old Orange County Courthouse also appeared in the film.

Fellow stalker Jeff let me know that in 1967 the building was used in an establishing shot of the courthouse where Aunt Bee Taylor (Frances Bavier) serves on a jury in the Season 8 episode of The Andy Griffith Show titled “Aunt Bee, the Juror.”

The trial of Clarence Earl Gideon (Henry Fonda) at the beginning of the 1980 made-for-television movie Gideon’s Trumpet took place in Courtroom No. One.

As did North’s (Elijah Wood) trial to emancipate himself from his parents in the 1994 comedy North.

The Old Orange County Courthouse was used for exteriors of the supposed Massachusetts-area tribunal where Brooke Taylor Windham (Ali Larter) went on trial for murder in the 2001 hit Legally Blonde.

The building’s central staircase also made an appearance in the film.

The actual courtroom scenes were shot elsewhere, though – I believe on a set.

Despite that fact, I still had to do my best Elle Woods while there.

Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) argued a preliminary hearing in Courtroom No. One in the 2002 biopic Catch Me If You Can.

DiCaprio returned to the site to shoot Bruno Hauptmann’s (Damon Herriman) trial scenes for 2011’s J. Edgar.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: The Old Orange County Courthouse, aka Briarcliff Manor from American Horror Story: Asylum, is located at 211 West Santa Ana Boulevard in Santa Ana.  You can visit the property’s official website here.  The building is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.