Bronson Caves

 

 

 

 

Here's a few shots from our trip to the Bronson Caves in April 2003, as 

well as some pictures from the 1960's Batman series, which featured these caves.

 

Yes - the Bronson Caves near Hollywood are the caves used for filming the exterior shots of 

 

the Batcave

 

 

 

Here is one of the original Batmobiles, driven by Adam West accompanied by Burt Ward, in the television movie "Back to the Batcave" which aired in March 2003.  In the background, you can clearly see the main entrance to the Bronson Caves.

 

 

And here's the entrance to the Bronson Caves, in a picture I took when Janet, myself and Lisa Taylor, a friend visiting from Vancouver, went to check it out.  This was in April 2003.

 

 

In this picture, Lisa and I assume "superhero" stances at the cave entrance.

 

The Bronson Caves are not very deep, and were not naturally formed.  But they look pretty cool, and you can walk through them without stooping over - plenty of headroom.  So, if they are manufactured - who made them and why?

 

This area used to be the site of a rock quarry, back in the early part of the 20th century, and no one seems to know why this cave was created.   It may have been dug out as part of the work in the quarry, or this may have been done in order to create a set for filming movies.   

 

 

Here's how the view looked, from inside the cave, in the old Batman TV series.   The foliage was added as part of the disguise that Batman has to prevent the people of Gotham City from discovering the Batcave.  

 

 

 

And here's the classic shot of the Batmobile barrelling down the road having just emerged from the Batcave.

 

 

Zoooom - Holy Speeding Tickets Batman!   (The Batmobile couldn't actually move too fast across this terrain, as you may recall this footage was speeded up.)

 

The Bronson Caves have been featured in some other TV shows, and many movies - mostly B grade horror and sci-fi flicks.   A select list can be found at the very bottom of this web page, with links to the Internet Movie Database.

 

 

 

 

Okay, me and the cave one more time.

 

If you want to see the caves, you need to go to a small park that is at the extreme north end of a road called Canyon Drive in Hollywood that crosses Franklin Avenue.  

 

This small park, and its parking lot, are actually in the Southwest corner of the much larger Griffiths Park.   Once you get to the parking lot, you are in Bronson Canyon and the caves are very close nearby.  They are a little hard to find (they're a short distance up an access road - - but the location is not intuitive).  

 

Lots of local folks visit the park to do park type stuff, so when you get there ask a couple people for directions to the cave - this is the most efficient way to find them.

 


UPDATE - Holy Automotives Batman!

 

Here's a picture of me and the Batmobile - taken on August 21, 2004 at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 Last updated on Sunday, August 22, 2004

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Other films, tv shows and videogames that feature the Bronson Caves:

"Guns of Will Sonnett, The" (1967) , Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) , African Treasure (1952) , Army of Darkness (1993) , Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950) , Attack of the B-Movie Monster (2002) (Videogame) ,  Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) , Barricade (1950) ,  Brain from Planet Arous, The (1957) , Bride and the Beast, The (1958) , Cape Canaveral Monsters, The (1960) , China Gate (1957) , Coyote Trails (1935) , Cyborg 2087 (1966)  , Cyclops, The (1957) , Day the World Ended, The (1956)  , Death Ring (1993) (Videogame) , Demonwarp (1988) , Dimension 5 (1966) , Don't Go Near the Park (1981)  ,  Earth vs. the Spider (1958) ,  Flame Barrier, The (1958) ,  Flash Gordon (1936) ,  Fortress of Amerikkka (1989) ,  George Lucas: Maker of Films (1971) ,   Hello Trouble (1932) ,  Help Me... I'm Possessed (1976) ,   Honor of the Range (1934) ,  Hurricane Express, The (1932) ,    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) ,  Isola degli uomini pesce, L' (1979)  ,    It Conquered the World (1956)  ,  Julius Caesar (1953) , Killers from Space (1954)  ,   King of the Wild (1931) ,  Magic Sword, The (1962) ,  Man Beast (1956)  ,  Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983) ,  Monster and the Ape, The (1945)  ,    Monster from Green Hell (1958)  ,  Nest, The (1988)  , Night of the Blood Beast (1958) ,  Phantom Empire, The (1986)  ,  Precious Find (1996)   ,  Raise the Titanic (1980)  ,  Return of Dracula, The (1958) , Return, The (1980)  , Robot Monster (1953)   ,  Searchers, The (1956)  ,  Shadowzone (1990)   , Sleeper (1973)   ,  Space-Thing (1968)  ,  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) ,  Teenage Cave Man (1958)  , Three Musketeers, The (1933/I)  , Unknown World (1951)  , Vampire Bat, The (1933)  , Wasp Woman, The (1995) (TV movie)

 

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