‘The Star Trek Original Set Tour’ takes Trekkies on a surreal trip back in time — and warps them into the future
Who knew the quickest way to reach the final frontier was in upstate New York?
Just a stone’s throw from Fort Ticonderoga, and just a few minutes from Lake George, is a hidden gem that has drawn in Star Trek fans and stars from around the globe.
“The Star Trek Original Set Tour” is a unique experience tucked inside an old building that decades ago housed a supermarket. Inside is a sprawling, intricately detailed recreation of the U.S.S. Enterprise, as seen on the original 1960s classic science fiction series.
“Not only does it give you a sense of what the original studio would have been like, but it gives you a sense of the fictional world at the same time,” owner James Cawley told the Daily News.
“We wanted to be able to educate you about how they made the show, but at the same time we wanted you to feel like you were in the 23rd century,” he said.
The recreated sets include everything, from the famed bridge, the transporter room, Dr. McCoy’s sickbay, to the sprawling engineering section. You can even pop in to look around Captain James T. Kirk’s personal quarters and marvel at the infamous Tantalus field.
One of the reasons the recreations are so perfect is because Cawley based the designs on the original blueprints used to construct the sets in 1966.
During the 1980s, Cawley befriended Bill Theiss, the celebrated costume designer for “Star Trek,” who also worked on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
“We were kinda like pen pals, but like telephone pen pals,” he explained.
Shortly after Theiss died in 1992, Cawley received a box full of items the designer kept from the original series. Most were small knick knacks, such as buttons and pieces of fabric. But there were several rolls of paper that contained a very rare find.
“They were a set of blueprints from the original show that he had saved,” he said.
The detailed plans included exact dimensions of the set, allowing Cawley to recreate everything to the precise size and scale of the original. As a result, when you step onto the Enterprise bridge, everything is exactly the same as it would have been when they filmed the series.
Original cast members Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig have visited and last year, Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, took his place in the captain’s chair during a special event.
A life-long Star Trek fan, Cawley started building bits and pieces of the shows set in his grandfather’s workshop. He has worked as an Elvis impersonator for more than 30 years, and used the money he earned touring the country to build the sets.
“There are elements of it that were built in a couple of other places over the years, but the vast majority of what’s here now has been rebuilt, because we wanted it to stand up to the human eye and high definition photography,” Cawley explained.
But don’t ask how much he has spent over the years on control panels, sliding doors or the Jefferies tube.
“I don’t really know, because I built a lot of this prior to this becoming a business, and it was for the enjoyment out of it,” he said with a laugh. “And I remember telling myself... if you really keep track of every dime that you’ve put into this thing, it’s no longer going to be fun. And if it isn’t fun, then you shouldn’t be doing it.”
Early versions of the set were featured years ago in a fan web series, “Star Trek: New Voyages.” Cawley played Kirk in most of the 11 episodes. Afterward he got license from CBS allowing him to create the tour, and opened the doors to the experience four years ago. Since then, it’s been visited by thousands of Star Trek fans from around the world.
The “Star Trek Original Set Tour” has also hosted special gatherings such as Trekonderoga, where notable actors from Trek history have appeared. Last year, guests included Terry Farrell from “Deep Space Nine,” Robin Curtis from “Star Trek III,” along with Ethan Peck (the grandson of Gregory Peck) who played Spock in the last season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery.”
Although closed for several months because of coronavirus, Cawley recently began welcoming visitors once again. There are now limits to what people can touch, and masks are required, but the experience is still surreal.
“It’s my hope here that we can get through the pandemic, all of us, and we’ll be able to grow this and do a lot more,” he told The News.
Plans are in the works to expand the tour. Cawley noted he hopes to open up more space and include items from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” There are also designs in the future to build a replica of the bridge from that show’s Enterprise D.
