Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of Deep Space 9 You Need To Know

If Star Trek: The Original Series and (by default) Star Trek: The Next Generation were Gene Roddenberry's "Wagon Train to the Stars", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was conceived by creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller as a sci-fi analogue to The Rifleman. As such, space station Deep Space 9 was imagined as a frontier town, with the Promenade standing in for main street, complete with a sheriffs office, saloon, chapel, school house, even a brothel (i.e. holosuites).

Production designer Herman Zimmerman designed the massive Promenade set to represent 120º of the full 360º stretch of space station. Complete sets for Quark's Bar, the station security office, medical infirmary, and replimat cafe were connected by the two-story circular walkway, which looked out onto a space backdrop through a row of large windows on the upper level.

Unfortunately, opposite those windows, the Promenade set actually remained unfinished through Deep Space Nine's first season. However, by season two, the Promenade set was finally completed, with the crossover bridges widened for easier filming and Quark's Bar given upper level, "outdoor" seating.

While permanent fixtures like Quark's, the infirmary, and Odo's security office remained mostly unchanged over Deep Space Nine's seven seasons, a generic set was built at the far end of the Promenade that was frequently redressed to stand-in for various episode-specific environments.

This octagonal room was used over the course of the series to represent numerous spots on the station, including Keiko O'Brien's school house, the security holding cell area, the infirmary operating ward, the assay office, and Garak's Clothiers.