Ponderosa

Ponderosa, ponderous or heavy in Latin and Italian, may refer to:

Places

Entertainment

Ponderosa (Sheffield)

The Ponderosa is a recreation area within the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Although not a public park it was designated as Open Space by Sheffield City Council in the 1993 Unitary Development Plan. It covers an area of over 10 hectares (25 acres) and is located at 53°23′12″N 1°29′11″W / 53.3868°N 1.4865°W / 53.3868; -1.4865, 1.5 km west of the city centre between the districts of Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe. Although the name “Ponderosa” was originally an informal name given by local children, it is now the accepted title and is recognised by the local council. Along with Weston Park and Crookes Valley Park it is one of the three “Crookesmoor Parks”.

History

The Ponderosa can be split into two distinct halves, each with contrasting history. The upper part was for many years known as Crookesmoor Recreation Ground, however prior to that it was an area of small dams in open countryside. The dams were built around 1740 by Joshua Matthewman after he had gained permission from the Lord of the Manor, Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk. The dams were constructed to impound local spring water to supply the town of Sheffield. J. Tayler’s map of Sheffield of 1832 shows a string of four small dams below (north) of what is now Crookes Valley Road and on the site of the present day upper Ponderosa. These four dams were filled in during the second half of the 19th century and by 1903 it was shown on the map as Crookesmoor Recreation Ground. During World War II the recreation ground was used as a station for barrage balloons to defend the city.

Ponderosa (TV series)

Ponderosa is a television series developed by Bonanza creator David Dortort for PAX-TV (now known as ION) that ran for the 2001–2002 television season.

Envisioned as a prequel to the long-running NBC series Bonanza, covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam and Hoss were teenagers and Joe a little boy, it had less gunfire, brawling and other traditional western elements than the original.
Bonanza creator; David Dortort, approved PAX TV's decision to hire Beth Sullivan, creator and executive producer of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, to oversee scripts and executive produce, which some believe gave the series a softer edge.

Ponderosa was canceled after one season, in part because of disappointing ratings and high production costs. Although Sullivan had hoped to film the series in and around Los Angeles, PAX decided to film in Australia to reduce costs.
Series "show runner" Sullivan sustained severe injuries in a car crash only 12 days after the airing of the first season's last episode.