CALIFORNIA'S GOLD: NEAT HOUSES (TV)
Summary
One in this series of travel programs featuring host Huell Howser, who tours California, exploring the state's diversity. In this episode, Howser explores two unique -- but now uninhabited -- houses in California. Howser gives his introduction from the famous "Psycho" house movie prop on the Universal Studios Hollywood tram tour. First, Howser visits the state's former governor's mansion on 16th and H in downtown Sacramento, which served as the home for thirteen governors' families. There, he meets with Kathleen Brown, former resident and daughter of former governor Pat Brown, who gives Howser the "VIP tour." Brown tells some anecdotes of her time spent living in the mansion, including Christmas celebrations, sliding down the main staircase's banister, and playing among the home's Victorian furnishings. Brown also takes Howser to the structure's "off limits" areas. Next, Howser goes to Tulare County in the Sierra Nevada foothills to visit the Outdoor School of Science and Conservation (SCICON). Howser -- and numerous schoolchildren -- take a hike of several miles and 3,500 feet to a legendary cabin built by miners in the 19th century atop the mountain. There, a one-legged hermit, Irvy Elster, lived from the 1940s to 1960s. Rick Mitchell, director of SCICON, discusses the arduous route in reaching the hard-to-access cabin, then gives a tour of the one-room enclosure and its artifacts. Before leaving, Howser visits a unique flagpole, which doubled as a means of communication for Elster. Finally, Howser learns some memorable facts about the mysterious hermit's life.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: KCET-TV (Los Angeles, CA) / PBS
- DATE: July 7, 1996
- RUNNING TIME: 0:28:44
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:56578
- GENRE: Education/Information
- SUBJECT HEADING: Travel
- SERIES RUN: PBS KCET - TV series, 1991-2012
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Huell Howser … Producer, Writer
- Phil Noyes … Segment Producer
- Huell Howser … Host
- Kathleen Brown
- Pat Brown
- Irvy Elster
- Rick Mitchell