The Jim Henson Company studios

Earlier this week, the husband and I had the opportunity to visit the studios of The Jim Henson Company. The sign out front proudly displays the name of the company, and the presence of Kermit is also a pretty big hint as to what lies past the closed gates.


The company name on the gate and the figure of Kermit.


A better look at Kermit.



The Jim Henson Company is located on the grounds of Charlie Chaplin's former studios, and the giant Kermit atop the entrance pays tribute to Chaplin in his costuming.


The view of giant Kermit from inside the studios.



We had an opportunity to tour some of the locations on the lot.


A bench near the entrance of the studio.


We had a visit inside the reception building of the studio, where we saw a very familiar figure in the waiting area.


The picture of Jim Henson is currently covered in Halloween decorations.


We also had a chance to visit The Barn, which was formerly Chaplin's scenery shop and which now serves as the creature shop on the lot. I was very happy to see the original latex creature of Baby Sinclair in his high chair from the TV show "Dinosaurs", but unfortunately, no photos were allowed at that point. We also saw the device that is used to create live digital animation that we originally saw experimented with at Muppetfest back in 2001.


Being at the Henson studios, some images are both surprising and not.


Hmmm, who or what is that sticking out of the building?


A close-up of Kermit.


After our tour, we had a chance to enjoy lunch made from the Backstage Kitchen on the lot. I had chosen the garlic shrimp penne, and I have to say it was quite delicious, very garlicky, and not only were the shrimp a very nice size, but there was also a very generous portion of them in the pasta. I wonder if they do take-out? :)

A very nice visit to the Henson Studios.