The Simmons house
Looks closely at it.... It is the house that was used on the Munsters.
1313 Mockingbird Lane
Actually I think it's the Psycho house...The Munsters house was much more ornate.
shareOk, so, I was wrong.... Here's the REAL scoop...
The Simmons Mansion from The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was not a re-use of the Psycho house.
Yes, it has some very similar features, but it was actually another facade house on the Universal backlot. This house was (and still is) on Colonial Street on the UCS backlot.
This and the Munster house were built for a 1946 movie called So Goes My Love. It was also Jimmy Stuart's house in the 1950 movie Harvey. The best place to see a clear view of the house that comes to mind is the 1958 Jerry Lewis movie Rock-a-Bye Baby.
The Psycho house clearly 'borrowed' various elements from this house. In fact, the tower top and upstairs windows seem to be identical. - I have never been able to figure out why or seen any mention of this in books written about the Psycho production. Perhaps these were stock units laying around in the Universal shops at the time- who knows.
The Psycho house has been used in other productions, but TGAMC was not one of them.
Ain't the internet wonderful?
The Munster house was just to the left of the Simmons Mansion at the time, although not seen in TGAMC.
The Simmons Mansion set (known as the Allison home to the studio) is often confused with the Munster house for a few reasons:
The house from the Addams Family is of a similar style as the Allison house (the Munsters and Addams Family TV series' are often confused)
The Munster house was (and is) next door to the Allison House- both were built at the same time for the same movie. When taking the Universal Studios Tram tour, guests are told 'there is the Munster house'; unless you see EXACTLY where the guide is pointing, the average person wouldn't know which old gothic house is which.
Mark
For those of you who are fans of the James Garner series, "The Rockford Files", the Simmons mansion can be clearly seen for just a second or two in the episode titled "The Big Ripoff". Jim Rockford (Garner) is on a case that takes him to a small (and fictional) town called Almeria, California. In a brief scene, Rockford drives past the very same house used as the Simmons mansion. The house is seen with a more well-kept look with a neatly manicured lawn and shrubbery, and the creepy, rusting metal fence and gate are now removed. There's no doubt, however, that it's the Simmons place!
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