933 Deer Trail Lane, Fawnskin, California, on the north side of Big Bear lake. That's where Ken Franklin (portrayed by the great Jack Cassidy) had his private little lake get-away in the Columbo episode, "Murder By The Book".

Hello fellow Columbo-ites! Especially Walt, Mitch and Rob Thornsby...

Mitch, the house you found at 39760 Flicker Road isn't the house, but it's so close, the correct house can breath on it!

I knew 39760 wasn't right, because it's on the wrong side of the road, facing the wrong direction. However, had it not been for Mitch locating this approximate area, I would not have found 933 Deer Trail Lane.

The correct house, 933 Deer Trail Lane is just a few houses to the east of Mitch's house, across a road and up a hillside.

If you look at the photo below, which I grabbed from Google Maps, you can see the house at 39760 Flicker is all the way to the left of the photo. The correct house is all the way to the right of the photo.



BELOW: The pencil points out the correct house. Notice that it is at an angle to the road which runs along it's north side. There is open space and a hillside directly to the house's west side.



BELOW: In this photo from the episode, we are standing on Deer Trail Lane (sort of a secondary off-shoot of itself if you study the map) along the north side of the house. Notice the house is at an angle to the road and there is a hillside to the house's west. Also, the car (facing east) is pointed toward an open area in the back. There is no garage there.



BELOW: Now, 40 years later, there's a garage back there.



BELOW: Jack Cassidy steps from the walkway/entry area of the house up to the drive-way area via the northwest corner of the property.

ALSO: Note the decorative fence alongside the property. Notice how in the background the fence is parallel to the house. Closer toward the driveway, the fence angles in a more northerly direction.



BELOW: The pencil points to the area at the northwest corner of the property where Jack Cassidy stepped from the entry area to the driveway in the above photo.



BELOW: The pencil points to the decorative fence which runs parallel to the house then angles in a northerly direction toward the driveway.



BELOW: This photo from the episode is from a point just a bit further up Deer Trail Lane, north of the house. The Mercedes is parked in the driveway. Notice the large tree just in front of the car's driver's door. This tree is located in a "V" shaped patch between the driveway and the roadway.



BELOW: The pencil points to the approximate location where the above photo was taken. The pencil points toward the same tree, still alive after 40 years. Notice the location of it in the "V" shaped patch between the driveway and the roadway curving north.





BELOW: Here's Peter Falk and Jack Cassidy standing on the deck running alongside the west side of the house. The curving road down the hillside is Deer Trail Lane.



BELOW: The pencil points to curving Deer Trail Lane running alongside the west side of the house, down the hillside.



BELOW: Jack Cassidy stands at the southwest corner of the deck outside the house. In the background, to the south of the property, beautiful Big Bear Lake.



BELOW: The pencil points to the approximate area where Peter and Jack were standing in the photo up above. Just a bit below the pencil point is the back southwest corner of the deck where Jack Cassidy was standing in the photo just above. Beautiful Big Bear Lake is just a bit out of frame to the bottom of the photo.



There you have it. Another "Columbo" mystery solved! I've wanted to visit the Big Bear Lake area for years. Now I'm determined to get there and see the house.

For a good close-up, just google the address on Google Maps, 933 Deer Trail Lane, Fawnskin, California.

Just a little extra info: The current Zillow.com "zestimate" of the house is $547,500. (In 2007, it was close to $800,000.) It has 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and a fireplace. It's 2,974 square feet. The lot is 22,267 / 0.51 acres. It was built in 1970.

MY GOD!

Now that I just finished that long post, I just saw that Walt posted an hour ago about finding the correct house.

Oh well.

Nevermind.

ya dun good, kid!

Good job! You gleaned more information than I did. It didn't register with me that was a garage, and not a new cabin/house. I should have realized that, due to it's smaller size and all the asphalt pad area.

I suspect the owners did a major alteration job, creating a new entryway and upstairs dormer (probably slightly expanding the home's square footage.

Since you read my posts, the cabin's roof pitch and angle to the road was a dead give away in identifying it.

I'm surprised the cabin was built in 1970, just one year before the Murder By The Book filming. To me, the cabin appeared older than one year old. (I think one reason for this was the bare incandescent light bulb I saw in the rear kitchen area when Jack Cassidy was removing the items from the grocery box.

As a said in my first post here asking if anyone knew of the cabin's location, I wonder who owned the cabin at that time. I would suspect the owner had something to do with the Hollywood film industry, Universal Studio, Columbo set, etc.

Even though 40 years have passed and the cabin has been altered, I'd still love to go inside and look at the fireplace room and stand on the deck outside, knowing Falk, Cassidy, and Milner once stood there.


Now if you could find the location of Lilly Da Sanka's store! I tried, if you read my post.

Headache2112

933 Deer Trail Lane, Fawnskin, California, on the north side of Big Bear lake. That's where Ken Franklin (portrayed by the great Jack Cassidy) had his private little lake get-away in the Columbo episode, "Murder By The Book".

Hello fellow Columbo-ites! Especially Walt, Mitch and Rob Thornsby...

Mitch, the house you found at 39760 Flicker Road isn't the house, but it's so close, the correct house can breath on it!

I knew 39760 wasn't right, because it's on the wrong side of the road, facing the wrong direction. However, had it not been for Mitch locating this approximate area, I would not have found 933 Deer Trail Lane.

The correct house, 933 Deer Trail Lane is just a few houses to the east of Mitch's house, across a road and up a hillside.

If you look at the photo below, which I grabbed from Google Maps, you can see the house at 39760 Flicker is all the way to the left of the photo. The correct house is all the way to the right of the photo.



BELOW: The pencil points out the correct house. Notice that it is at an angle to the road which runs along it's north side. There is open space and a hillside directly to the house's west side.



BELOW: In this photo from the episode, we are standing on Deer Trail Lane (sort of a secondary off-shoot of itself if you study the map) along the north side of the house. Notice the house is at an angle to the road and there is a hillside to the house's west. Also, the car (facing east) is pointed toward an open area in the back. There is no garage there.



BELOW: Now, 40 years later, there's a garage back there.



BELOW: Jack Cassidy steps from the walkway/entry area of the house up to the drive-way area via the northwest corner of the property.

ALSO: Note the decorative fence alongside the property. Notice how in the background the fence is parallel to the house. Closer toward the driveway, the fence angles in a more northerly direction.



BELOW: The pencil points to the area at the northwest corner of the property where Jack Cassidy stepped from the entry area to the driveway in the above photo.



BELOW: The pencil points to the decorative fence which runs parallel to the house then angles in a northerly direction toward the driveway.



BELOW: This photo from the episode is from a point just a bit further up Deer Trail Lane, north of the house. The Mercedes is parked in the driveway. Notice the large tree just in front of the car's driver's door. This tree is located in a "V" shaped patch between the driveway and the roadway.



BELOW: The pencil points to the approximate location where the above photo was taken. The pencil points toward the same tree, still alive after 40 years. Notice the location of it in the "V" shaped patch between the driveway and the roadway curving north.





BELOW: Here's Peter Falk and Jack Cassidy standing on the deck running alongside the west side of the house. The curving road down the hillside is Deer Trail Lane.



BELOW: The pencil points to curving Deer Trail Lane running alongside the west side of the house, down the hillside.



BELOW: Jack Cassidy stands at the southwest corner of the deck outside the house. In the background, to the south of the property, beautiful Big Bear Lake.



BELOW: The pencil points to the approximate area where Peter and Jack were standing in the photo up above. Just a bit below the pencil point is the back southwest corner of the deck where Jack Cassidy was standing in the photo just above. Beautiful Big Bear Lake is just a bit out of frame to the bottom of the photo.



There you have it. Another "Columbo" mystery solved! I've wanted to visit the Big Bear Lake area for years. Now I'm determined to get there and see the house.

For a good close-up, just google the address on Google Maps, 933 Deer Trail Lane, Fawnskin, California.

Just a little extra info: The current Zillow.com "zestimate" of the house is $547,500. (In 2007, it was close to $800,000.) It has 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and a fireplace. It's 2,974 square feet. The lot is 22,267 / 0.51 acres. It was built in 1970.

It really bugged me that the cabin was supposed to be in the San Diego area. Thanks for finding the real location, as I didn't think I could get an answer to such an obscure piece of trivia. Hoo-ray for the internet!!!!

Just found this post about episode 1 of Columbo, Murder by the Book. I have been going up to Big Bear, Ca for over 25 years. I know where the store once stood. Email if interested.
Scott

I found where the store once stood on Google back in 2011. On Google you can see the old store after it was closed down, and also the house beside it (probably the same owner) in the historical street and aerial views. I did screen saves and posted many photos on the Facebook Columbo Appreciation Society page, which I belong to. I also posted photos of the Franklin house taken this past July 2018.

Just went up there yesterday. House next store is long gone too. They built a big house back off the street. The steps to the old house are are still there. House at 933 Deer trail lane is still there, but is a private road, no trespassing sign and keep out signs.

Superb headache! I think it is that house too. Looking at the scenery behind Jack's cabin is has to be Grout Bay (see below) and the angle looks too accurate to be anything else. I have saved this thread and will certainly check it out next year. Thanks! .

Hey Walt. Thanks for your kind words about my post. Still can't believe I posted an exact hour after you. I had been working on putting that post together all morning.

Actually, I also had the info the night prior, just like you. And also just like you, I couldn't get this website to properly post my google photos. My originals are much bigger and clearer than what ended up posted. This website would only show the right half of the photos. IT WAS MAKING ME CRAZY! I couldn't get the photos to work correctly.

Oh well.

I also was wondering where the general store was located. I had found a similar looking building on the south side of the lake. It's a senior center. The surrounding area isn't right though and you obviously found the correct area, also on the north side, which you wrote in your other post.

Again, great work. I'll see that cabin in person some day!

DID THEY EVER GET THE BLOODSTAIN OUTA THE CARPET???

I really appreciate all this painstaking research, but it would be even greater if someone could visit the actual site with a camera like a fan did with the Donner beach house last year, and Barney's Beanery quite a while back.

Bill, I hereby promise to take photos of the Murder By the Book Ken Franklin cabin in Fawnskin, California, when I visit there at some point in the future. I promise to post them on this website.

I was out there in California three years ago and I took photos of the "Blueprint For Murder" office building which was being built during that episode. Here are a couple of the photos.



The building, the Century Park Plaza, is located at 1801 Century Park East. The immediate closest intersection is Little Santa Monica Boulevard & Century Park East.

So you know you can believe me when I say I PROMISE to take those photos of the cabin. However, I presently have no plans to go there, though I've wanted to for years - not even knowing the Ken Franklin cabin was located there. The Big Bear Lake area is supposed to be absolutely beautiful. I really want to see it for myself.

And I'm looking forward to it Headache ... if for no other reason than to see the changes that have taken place there since 1971. It might be even be a kick to introduce yourself to the current occupants with the reason you were there.

Hi, I was shocked to,find this Website and other Colombo fans trying to locate the cabin from Murder by the Book. So I was on a business trip to Riverside this week and had to drive up to BB Lake after finishing early to find the Ken Cabin. I was thrown off by another cabin on Flicker with identical ballusters on the outside deck rail but the angle and view did not look right. Then after seeing,this and watching the show again, realized that Deer Trail Rd. is showing on the west side as Colombo walks out of the house to talk to Franklin. Now I know there are other guys who like finding former location sites. Its sad to see Grout Bay all land due to low water level. But given the nearby ElDorado fire, was glad to check it out. Tom T

I had a friend take photos and video of the Franklin cabin a couple of years ago. The house has been added to, plus has a detached garage now. But the entryway where Ken Franklin entered still looks much the same.