Corriganville Movie Ranch is a historical filming site at Simi Valley, California. It’s a beautiful park with a rich history that began in the 1940s. This ranch used to be a functioning film studio, which was used to film a variety of films and television programs. It is now an area park.
The property was acquired by Ray “Crash” Corrigan in 1937. He was enthralled with Simi Valley after watching Clark Gable’s westerns. This led him to purchase the land covering 22,000 acres. The property was then opened to the general public. Visitors were able to visit the town’s western sets , and take stagecoach tours.
Corriganville Movie Ranch is one of the most visited tourist destinations that attracted people from all over the world. More than 20,000 people came to this location on weekends. Along with films, the park also held rodeo and entertainment shows. Many film stars attended the park, including Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.
The place was like Knott’s Berry Farm. After numerous fires destroyed these structures Corriganville was subject to a transition.
In the latter part of 1970 The site was then abandoned. However, a few of the older structures remain in place. For instance, the foundations of structures that were used to build Jungle Jim, and the remains of the livery stable could still be seen by those who visit.
The late 1970s saw the ranch was struck with two flames. Another fire that took place in 1979, caused the destruction of most structures remaining. At Halloween, vandals set ablaze in the stable used for livery.
Corriganville became the property of Bob Hope in 1965. After that, he created Hopetown that was an area of subdivision near the park’s entrance point. Later on the ranch was sold for investment to an individual. Corriganville now is an open-air park that is open to the general public. It is managed by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.
Visitors to Corriganville can explore the historical structures, including the schoolhouse, church as well as the horse stables and the church. Visitors can also go on stroll on the nature trail, which ends at a bench that offers views of the valley.
Apart from being a gorgeous location, Corriganville functioned as an operating film studio for several years. The large portion of Hollywood westerns made from 1937 to 1951, were made at Corriganville. This includes films like Lone Ranger, Rin Tin Tin, The Three Musketeers and Vendetta. Humphrey Bogart won an Academy Award for The African Queen, which was shot on the ranch.
Following the destruction of the location for filming in the year 1971 Corriganville became the actual location to film. It was then reconstructed as a park for people to enjoy in the later portion of 1990. There are trails to explore as well as a wealth of historical photographs from the place of the filming.
The site houses the railroad exhibit, that allows visitors to see the old souvenirs. This site has also been recognized as a historical landmark. significance.
The majority of the original film sets are gone, but the park offers the opportunity to view the facets from Hollywood that was in. A few scenes of Corriganville were shot in The Santa Susana Mountains, where the park is located. It is possible to learn more about the history of the region by going to the railroad depot which includes an actual scale model of Corriganville.