When I finally realized my childhood fantasy of sitting in Captain Kirk’s chair on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, I didn’t expect to be inside a converted grocery store in Ticonderoga, New York. However, that’s where superfan James Cawley has built an exact replica of the set from Star Trek: The Original Series (Star Trek TOS). So that’s where I went.
Meticulously reconstructing every set from a long-gone TV series from the original blueprints is no easy task, especially when you don’t have a Hollywood studio and its carpenters, electricians and other contractors helping you out. In fact, it took Cawley about 14 years to build what is now known as the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour.
I can hear the non-fans among you asking, “But why? And how?“
Disclosure: I visited Ticonderoga as a guest of the North Country Chamber of Commerce and the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour, neither of which reviewed or approved this post. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Why did Cawley rebuild the Star Trek TOS set?
The “why” will be familiar to any fan who, like Cawley, spent an inordinate portion of their childhood watching the Star Trek TOS adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy (as well as a seemingly endless supply of short-lived, red-shirted extras). There was just something about the show—the bright-eyed 1960s optimism, the goofy-looking aliens, the sly humour, the enormous styrofoam boulders on every planet—that captivated a lot of people.
“It started as a hobby because I was a big Star Trek guy, and I wanted a place where I could hang out and do Star Trek with my buddies. And it just grew from that,” said Cawley, 56.
He started building the sets in his grandfather’s barn. Initially, he and his friends just used them to shoot Star Trek fan movies. Lots of people did the same, and CBS/Paramount—owners of the rights to Star Trek TOS—turned a blind eye to these films for decades. The prevailing opinion seemed to be that anything that kept fans happy kept the franchise healthy.
Eventually, though, Hollywood cracked down on fan films longer than 15 minutes. Cawley found himself with a complete reconstruction of the Enterprise that he could no longer use for feature-length fun. That’s when he decided to open his creation to the public, with CBS/Paramount’s blessing.
How did he reconstruct the Star Trek TOS set?
The whole project began when a teenaged Cawley contacted Bill Theiss, who designed the costumes for the original 1966–69 TV series. Cawley wanted some tips on making his own Star Trek TOS uniform, and Theiss gave him advice. In fact, the two struck up such a good relationship that Cawley ended up interning with Theiss on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And when Theiss passed away in 1992, he left the blueprints for Star Trek TOS to Cawley.
By that point, Cawley had embarked on a successful career as an Elvis impersonator. That gave him the money to start building sets from the blueprints, but money wasn’t the only thing he needed. He also needed lots of time, dedication and focus.
Cawley spent untold hours watching the show, looking for tiny details—everything from the fabric of the sheets in sickbay to the colours of the lights on Lieutenant Uhura’s communications board—so he could replicate them. Desilu Studios, which produced the show, demolished the original set shortly after the series was cancelled. However, Cawley tracked down set designers and asked them for information. He bought old props at auction. In a nutshell, he went all in.
So what is it like to visit?
From the moment I got out of my car in the parking lot, I realized I was among true believers.
It has to be said that, aside from Fort Ticonderoga—which played a pivotal role in the American Revolution—the Star Trek attraction is pretty much the only thing that would entice tourists to visit the small, quiet town of Ticonderoga.
However, judging from the range of provinces and states represented by the licence plates in the parking lot, it is enough.
“It’s a big tourist draw,” Cawley confirmed. “People come from all over the world.”
I walked through the main entrance at the same time as a family of fellow Ontarians. The dad was almost levitating with excitement. The mom appeared to be gamely indulging her husband. The two teenagers looked as though they’d rather be anywhere else. However, within minutes, our guide Brendan Mills had even the kids intrigued.
Step through futuristic doors into the world of Star Trek TOS
Sure, we all expect electronic doors to slide open when we approach them, but that wasn’t a thing in 1966. “Not even supermarkets had automatic doors at this point in American history,” Mills explained as we stood at the set tour entrance. Apparently, the head of NASA was so interested in this technology that he called up Star Trek TOS creator Gene Roddenberry to find out how it worked. Roddenberry had to tell the disappointed exec that a crew member pulled on a hidden rope to open the doors.
One of Mills’s colleagues demonstrated this cutting-edge technology. Then, we stepped through the entrance and into a 1960s version of a 23rd-century starship corridor.
Lights, camera, red alert
Instantly, I felt as though I was an ensign en route to help Mr. Scott troubleshoot some trouble with the warp drive. For the true Trekker (not Trekkie, please), the attention to detail was amazing.
In the ship’s recreation room, there was a replica of the show’s three-dimensional chess board. Mills noted that the Star Trek TOS props department didn’t exactly use space-age parts to build the original. “The bottom part was a cake-display stand that they stole from the cafeteria at Desilu.”
In a corridor, Mills pressed a red button, and the unmistakeable shriek of a red alert rang out.
Honestly, I wished I could go back and tell 10-year-old me that I’d be here someday.
Beam me down, Scotty
One of the first major stops on the tour was the transporter room. There, each of us could take our turn standing on one of the illuminated pads, which were nothing more than upended TV studio lights.
Mills explained how the show’s special effects crew created the illusion of bodies vaporizing into thin air long before the days of CGI. Basically, they needed to film something that looked magical. Then, they could lay that footage on top of film of actors in the transporter.
So how did they do it? “They used confetti, silver confetti, in a glass tube. And then, sometimes, they dropped in Alka-Seltzer,” Mills said.
Paging Dr. McCoy
Leonard “Bones” McCoy was my favourite character. So one of the high points of the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour for me was a visit to sickbay.
Like the ship’s automatic doors, the computer monitors above each bed don’t strike visitors as unusual now. However, even the most advanced hospitals didn’t have anything like them in 1966, Mills noted.
I resisted the strong urge to jump on one of the beds and pretend to be in the throes of a mysterious alien infection. Touching or sitting on most of the set’s elements is not allowed. “I look at myself as a curator,” Cawley told me after my tour. “This is a museum, and we treat it as such.”
However, there is one crucial exception to the no-sitting-allowed rule, which I’ll get to next.
You have the con
After a few more stops and a visit to engineering, it was time for the tour’s pièce de résistance. One last pair of doors slid open, and our group walked onto a faithful reproduction of the Enterprise bridge.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I gasped. So did the Ontario dad behind me.
It would be hard for any Trekker not to be blown away. A bit dazzled, we wandered past Mr. Spock’s computer array, Lieutenant Uhura’s comms station, and the console from which Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekhov guided the ship through all sorts of perils.
And the capper? We were each allowed to sit in Captain Kirk’s chair and pose for photos.
When it was my turn, did I have to pretend that the Enterprise was going through one of its many bouts of turbulence, with crew members tossed in the air like so many peanuts?
Well, d’uh. I mean, who wouldn’t?
If you go
As you can probably tell, I could regale you all day with tidbits of Star Trek TOS lore I gained on the tour. But if you didn’t like the original series, you’ve probably stopped reading long before now. And if you are a fan, you’ll likely want to visit the place yourself. So I don’t want to give away all the secrets. However, here is the visitor information you’ll need to know.
Where is the Star Trek Original Series set tour?
The Star Trek Original Series Set Tour is located at 112 Montcalm Street in Ticonderoga, New York. That’s at the southern edge of the Adirondacks region, about 4 hours and 15 minutes southeast of Ottawa. The attraction is open year round, but hours vary with the seasons.
Nearby accommodations
I stayed at the Best Western Plus Ticonderoga Inn & Suites, which is an awfully long name for what is a low-key but nice small hotel. It’s just 1.6 kilometres or a three-minute drive from the Star Trek attraction. And I can vouch for the burgers and fries served in the onsite restaurant; mine were delicious.
Disclosure: If you use the map below to book accommodations in Ticonderoga or elsewhere, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
Hours, admission fees and other visitor information
You can get the latest information on admission fees and opening hours on the attraction’s website. It also has details on upcoming events featuring Star Trek celebs. A word to the wise: William Shatner himself has been known to stop by, but if you want to see him, you’ll need to nab tickets months in advance.
At the end of the tour, you can see some of the original Star Trek artifacts that Cawley has collected, nicely displayed in glass cases.
And finally, in case you’re wondering: Yes, there is a gift shop, where you can boldly browse where many have browsed before.
P.S.: While you’re in upstate New York, you could check out the mountain resort town of Lake Placid, about an hour and 20 minutes away.
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As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.