Corriganville Movie Ranch

 

Corriganville Movie Ranch is a historic filming location located in Simi Valley, California. It's a picturesque park with a long history that dates in the 40s. The ranch was once an operating movie studio which was used to film hundreds of television and film shows. Nowadays, it's a park for the region.

The property was bought through Ray "Crash" Corrigan in 1937. He was fascinated by Simi Valley after seeing Clark Gable's western films. This led to him purchasing the land of 2,000 acres. He opened up the property to public. Visitors could visit the town's western sets and ride stagecoach tours.

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Corriganville Movie Ranch is one of the most popular tourist attractions that attracted visitors from all over the nation. More than 20,000 people visited this place on weekends. Apart from films the park also hosted entertainment and rodeo displays. A number of movie stars visited the park among them Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

In its beginning the place was similar like Knott's Berry Farm. After several fires damaged the structures, Corriganville went through a change.

In the late 1970s, the site was abandoned. However, some of the old structures are still standing. For instance the foundations of structures used for Jungle Jim, and the remains of the livery stable can still be seen by visitors.

Through the late 1970s the ranch was hit by two fires. A second fire that occurred in 1979 destroyed the majority of the structures that remain. In the Halloween season vandals lit a fire in the stable for livery.

Corriganville is sold to Bob Hope in 1965. Then, he developed Hopetown which was a subdivision close to the park's entry point. In the future, he sold his ranch to an investor. Corriganville today is a park for the public, managed through the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

Visitors to Corriganville can tour the historic structures, which include the church, schoolhouse the horse stables, and church. Visitors can also take a walk along the nature trail that concludes at a bench with views across the valley.

In addition to being a beautiful place, Corriganville functioned as a operating movie studio for a number of years. A majority of Hollywood westerns that were produced between 1937 and 1951 were filmed at Corriganville. They include those like the Lone Ranger, Rin Tin Tin, The Three Musketeers and Vendetta. Humphrey Bogart won an Academy Award for The African Queen, which was filming in the ranch.

After a fire destroyed the filming location in the year 1971, Corriganville ceased to be an actual location for filming. But, it was rebuilt to a park for the public in the latter part of 1990. There are trails for exploring and a wealth of memorabilia from the location of filming.

The site is home to an exhibit on railroads, which allows visitors to view antique souvenirs. The site is also designated as a landmark of historical significance.

The majority of original sets for movies are gone but the park provides the chance to see an aspect of Hollywood the past. Certain scene from Corriganville were shot at the Santa Susana Mountains, where the park is situated. You can find out more about the past of the region by visiting the depot of the railroad that includes a model of Corriganville.