Throughout the 1980s, I really wanted to live in the original “Dynasty” house … although I knew that would never happen.
Even before I settled on a career in journalism, I figured the chances of me living in a 56-room, 54,000-square-foot mansion were slim. Well, none.
But, man, the house the Carringtons lived in on “Dynasty” was something else. Is something else. And more than 30 years after the series aired its final episodes, I finally went to the house — Filoli, in Woodside, about 25 miles south of San Francisco and 6 miles west of Palo Alto.
As an obsessed “Dynasty” fan, I always made sure to watch the opening credits just to see aerial exteriors of the house. (Kids, this was back when you actually had to watch a TV show when the network aired it.) Once inside the real thing, I was drawn back to scenes of Jeff Colby (John James) and Fallon Carrington Colby (Pamela Sue Martin/Emma Samms) fighting in the hallways and the breakfast room. Blake (John Forsythe) shoving his son’s boyfriend, who died when he hit his head on a fireplace. Blake and Krystal’s (Linda Evans) first wedding. Blake and Krystal’s second wedding. Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) throwing furs off the balcony of the grand staircase as she gained temporary ownership of the estate and tossed Blake and Krystal out.
(Yes, “Dynasty” was nuts. That’s why we loved it.)
And there were umpteen scenes of Krystal descending that grand staircase — although there was something a little weird about that. The first three episodes of “Dynasty” were filmed on the actual estate, and the staircase ascends on the left. After that, a 70% reproduction of Filoli was constructed on a West Hollywood backlot — and for reasons that are unclear, the staircase ascends on the right.
My favorite theory is that set designers were somehow given a reversed photo of the interior. Staffers at Filoli told me that some visitors have accused them of moving the staircase.
“Dynasty” ran from 1981 to 1989, with a singularly disappointing three-hour followup in 1991. Why disappointing? Because the sets had long-since been torn down and no scenes were shot at Filoli — some random L.A. mansion that looked nothing like the estate stood in.
When I got to Filoli last month and paid my $33 admission fee, I laughed out loud in delight more than once. We’ve probably all visited places that aren’t as cool as photos, video and our imaginations made us think they’d be, but that was not the case there. Filoli looks like Blake and Krystal just stepped out for a few minutes.
Although the Carringtons lived in Denver, the real house is in northern California. Built from 1915 to 1917 for the gold mine tycoon William Bowers Bourne II, the name Filoli derives from Bourne’s motto: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.” After Bourne and his wife died in 1936, the estate was sold to shipping heiress Lurline Matson Roth and her husband, William P. Roth, which is why it’s also known as the Bourne-Roth estate. Mrs. Roth lived in the home until she donated the estate to the National Historic Trust in 1975.
Since then, a good deal of restoration work has been done. But Filoli was not a decrepit wreck when it was donated, and the beauty and charm of the house remains.
It sounds counterintuitive, but rooms with more square footage than my house with ceilings 17 feet tall feel somehow sort of cozy. And, while there are ornate picture frames and fireplaces (there are 17 of those), the overall feel is light rather than heavy. The sort of place we could move into — if we had infinite funds and a large staff.
Currently, you can tour the grounds and the main floor of the house — including the foyer, ballroom, study, library, drawing room, dining room and kitchen. The second-floor bedrooms — currently in use as office space — are off limits for now, but there are plans to add an elevator to make Filoli compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
When I was there, the house was decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful. As are the grounds, even late in the year. (I’m planning to return next spring or summer, when things are in full bloom.
For me, this was a blast from TV’s past. (In addition to “Dynasty,” Filoli or its gardens have been shooting locations for “The Wedding Planner,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “Dying Young,” “The Game,” “George of the Jungle,” “Rent,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “An Inconvenient Woman” and “What Dreams May Come.”)
For others, it’s just a beautiful home. And the tie to “Dynasty” seems to be fading. Multiple staff members told me that the catfight-in-the-lily-pond between Krystal and Alexis took place at Filoli, but it was actually filmed at a Pasadena estate that served as a stand-in for Filoli in many episodes, Arden Villa.
I visited that house a number of years ago, and I wouldn’t mind living there, either — even though it’s a mere 13,000 square feet. But that’s not going to happen … unless Santa is shockingly generous this year.
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