Corriganville Movie Ranch- Various films & TV shows, Santa Susana, California USA
Posted by: 
calgriz
N 34° 15.984 W 118° 39.042
11S E 348031 N 3792927
Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction starting in the late 50's. The ranch was owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan.
Waymark Code: WMKK5E
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 04/24/2014
Views: 6
Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting for over 50 years. In the late 40's, it was a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains in the Santa Susana Pass area of Simi Valley in eastern Ventura County, California.
Built on land purchased by Corrigan in 1937. Corrigan opened portions of his vast movie ranch to the public in 1949 to explore such themed sets as a rustic western town, Mexican village, western ranch, outlaw hide-out shacks, cavalry fort (**Fort Apache), Corsican village, English hunting lodge, country schoolhouse, rodeo arena, mine-shaft, wooded lake, and interesting rock formations. In spite of pesky tourist trade, production of films continued, the action TV series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin used the Fort Apache set for many shots from 1954 to 1959. Roy Rogers, Lassie, and Emergency! production units also filmed scenes on the ranch.
The ranch provided scenery as well as man-made structures and sets, and was the backdrop for movies and television programs such as Fort Apache, Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory, The Robe, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Sky King, and Star Trek. The visual environment was that of a picturesque California oak woodland. The ranch provided terrain such as lakes, mountains, caves, large boulders, and rock outcroppings and overhangs. The small man-made lake featured a bunker with windows that would allow underwater scenes to be shot. Estimates of the number of movies and television shows filmed there range from the hundreds to the thousands. The property included the fort built for Fort Apache that was rented to several productions by Corrigan.
Now named Corriganville Regional Park, the site of Corriganville Movie Ranch is a public park operated by Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. The park has various concrete and brick foundations, the remains of movie & theme park buildings, movie lake, and oak tree grove. Several signs present photographs and descriptions of filming locations in small kiosks for visitors. Hiking trails provide views from dramatic rock formations that made the park a popular filming location from 1930s to 1960s. The park and the entire Santa Susana Pass area has many sites and vistas seen in movies and especially 1950s television "westerns" like 'Fort Apache'.
Corriganville Park
7001 Smith Rd, Simi Valley, CA
(805) 584-4400 rsrpd.org
Movie or TV Show: Fort Apache
Year Released or First Aired: 1,948.00
IMDB Link: [Web Link]
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