Harlan as seen in Justified's credit sequence. Click to enlarge.
In Ted K’s latest missive as our very own Eastern Kentucky embedded reporter, he included a couple of outstanding photos of Harlan. I’m going to turn it over to him to discuss:
Ted K: I took a trip to Harlan County this weekend and while there was able to capture a photo from the exact spot as the photo in the opening credit title sequence. After getting home and comparing the photo to a screen grab of the title frame in the show I was able to comfirm that it was indeed the exact same location. [You can see here] an illustrated screen grab from the title showing a couple of key features that I will discuss, [as well as] the photo I took on Sunday afternoon.
In the illustrated screen grab you may notice that the green arrow points to the exact same roof of a house sneaking in to bottom of the frame on both my photo and the title-shot screen grab. You will also notice the relatively new Harlan County Justice Center and the old Harlan City Jail which was connected to the county courthouse. In my photo, taken Sunday, you will notice the jail is no longer there. It was torn down in late 2009.
Ted's shot of Harlan, dated 02/26/2012. Click to enlarge.
The Justice Center’s construction however was completed in 2003 or 2004, which dates the photo used in the opening credits of thes how to sometime between 2004 and 2009. Before the Justice Center was built in that location there was a commercial space in its place where I got my haircut until I was 14. My grandmother worked in a drug store across from the courthouse for the better part of her life as well. Even in the 90’s it was a place that felt like it was 1959.
Thanks again, Ted! Stay tuned tonight for a discussion of the “real” pain clinics as depicted in Justified season three, and an article on the subject from Ted tomorow!