The Critic visits an explosion of televisions in front of Dynasty’s original house. And it’s beautiful.

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Throughout the 1980s I really wanted to live in the original Dynasty house even though I knew that would never happen.

Before I even embarked on a career as a journalist, I thought my chances of living in a 56-room, 54,000-square-foot mansion were slim. Well, none.

But, man, the house the Carringtons lived in in Dynasty was something else. Is something else. And more than 30 years after the last episodes of the series aired, I finally went to the Filoli house, 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 the airy exteriors of the house. (Kids, this was back when you had to watch a TV show when the network aired it.) Once inside reality, I was taken back to scenes of Jeff Colby (John James ) and Fallon Carrington Colby (Pamela Sue Martin/Emma Samms) fighting in the hallways and breakfast room. Blake (John Forsythe) shoving her son’s boyfriend, who died when he hit his head against a fireplace. First marriage of Blake and Krystals (Linda Evans). Second marriage of Blake and Krystals. Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) throwing furs from the Grand Staircase balcony as she temporarily acquired ownership of the estate and threw Blake and Krystal out.

(Yes, Dynasty was crazy. That’s why we loved it.)

(Scott D. Pierce | The Salt Lake Tribune) Filoli’s Grand Staircase.

And there were countless scenes of Krystal walking down that grand staircase although there was something a little weird about it. The first three episodes of Dynasty were shot on the real estate, and the staircase goes up on the left. After that, a 70% reproduction of Filoli was built on a West Hollywood backlot and for reasons that are unclear the staircase goes up on the right.

My favorite theory is that the set designers were somehow given a reverse shot of the interior. Filoli employees told me that some visitors accused them of moving the staircase.

Dynasty ran from 1981 to 1989, with a singularly disappointing three-hour follow-up in 1991. Why disappointing? Because the sets had long since been torn down and no scenes had been shot at Filoli, a random LA mansion that looked nothing like the estate.

When I arrived at Filoli last month and paid my $33 entry fee, I burst out laughing more than once. We’ve probably all visited places that aren’t as cool as photos, videos and our imaginations have made us think they would be, but that wasn’t the case there. Filoli looks like Blake and Krystal who just came out for a few minutes.

(Scott D. Pierce | The Salt Lake Tribune) Filoli’s exterior.

Although the Carringtons lived in Denver, the real home is in Northern California. Built 1915-1917 for gold mining magnate William Bowers Bourne II, the name Filoli derives from Bournes’ motto: Fight for a just cause; Love your neighbour; Live a good life. After the death of Bourne and his wife in 1936, the estate was sold to maritime heiress Lurline Matson Roth and her husband, William P. Roth, which is why it is also known as the Bourne Estate- Roth. Mrs Roth lived in the house until she donated the estate to the National Historic Trust in 1975.

Since then, many restoration works have been carried out. But Filoli was not a decrepit wreck when given away, and the beauty and charm of the house remains.

It seems counterintuitive, but rooms with more square footage than my house with 17-foot-tall ceilings somehow feel cozy. And, while there are ornate frames and mantelpieces (there are 17 of them), the overall feel is light rather than heavy. The kind of place we could move into if we had endless funds and plenty of staff.

Currently, you can tour the grounds and ground floor of the house, including the foyer, ballroom, office, library, living room, dining room, and kitchen. Second-floor rooms currently used as offices are prohibited at this time, but there are plans to add an elevator to make Filoli compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(Scott D. Pierce | The Salt Lake Tribune) Filoli’s ballroom.

When I was there, the house was decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful. As are the grounds, even late in the year. (I plan to come back next spring or summer when things are in full bloom.

For me, it was a blast from past TVs. (In addition to Dynasty, Filoli or its gardens have been filming 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 nice house. And the link with Dynasty seems to be fading. I’ve been told by several staff members that the catfight in the lily pond between Krystal and Alexis took place at Filoli, but was actually filmed at an estate in Pasadena that served as Filoli’s backup. in many episodes, Arden Villa.

(Scott D. Pierce | The Salt Lake Tribune) Filoli’s kitchen.

I visited this house a few years ago and wouldn’t mind living there, even though it’s only 13,000 square feet. But that won’t happen unless Santa Claus is incredibly generous this year.

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