Paramount Ranch, a local landmark of film history, is being given a new beginning after facing damage in devastating 2018 wildfires. It is currently scheduled to reopen later this year, fall 2025.
After hitting their $500,000 fundraising goal and receiving an additional $500,000 in federal funding, the Santa Monica Mountains fund green-lit the ranch’s major rebuilding and renovation project in June 2023.
Mike Malone, a retired Paramount Ranch park ranger, has decades of experience teaching patrons about the history of the park. He shared that Paramount Ranch was among the first film production ranches as the movie industry began migrating to California to avoid the uncertainty of East Coast weather patterns.
Malone continued to explain that 2700 acres of land were originally purchased by Paramount in 1927, though that land has since been split into different parcels causing the modern ranch to be far smaller. The ranch and familiar hill-studded skylines can be spotted in many old movies, portraying locations all around the world from Alaska to South Africa. Malone referred to the renovation as the “new life of Paramount.”
The well-known ranch once housed the 1950s-themed Western Town which was a tourist attraction for many years before being tragically burned down in the 2018 Woolsey fire.
The original town featured a number of easily adaptable sets and facades. Many directors throughout history have found it very useful for serving as a backdrop for western films.
Amelia Brooke, art director for the Oscar-winning film “Everything Everywhere All At Once“ explained the benefits of shooting in Western Town in a 2023 interview with NPR.
“You basically walked in and it was ready to shoot…You can focus on the story that you’re telling, as opposed to all of the money that you’re sinking into the surrounding sets,” said Brooke.
However, Volunteer Coordinator for the Santa Monica Mountains National Park Service Lei De Vera remarked that Western Town had been riddled with restricted areas due to its age and outdated building standards even prior to its destruction. Lei expressed optimism about the upcoming renovations.
“We look forward to all the future public programs and events we’ll be able to host, and the reopening of something that is so treasured by the community,” said Lei.
Under the current renovation plan, four new buildings will be built in the same footprint as what once was. A pavilion, prop shed, barn and restrooms will join the existing train depot and offices on the property.
National Park Service stated that new structures will host indoor and outdoor event spaces, and will act as the “backbone for future filming.” They went on to explain the ultimate goal of the renovation plans.
“The goal is to reestablish the ranch as a movie-making hub and create opportunities for people to gather for special events, participate in education programs, and volunteer with habitat restoration,” said the National Park Service.
National Park Service also noted that these new constructions will be “fire-safe and adaptable.”
David Szymanski, National Park Service superintendent expressed his excitement regarding the project in an interview with The Acorn.
“Paramount Ranch is one of the only location film ranches that has been in continuous use since the Golden Age of Hollywood. It welcomed the dawn of television and the streaming era. It is the National Park Service’s only site dedicated to interpreting American film history, and we are excited to bring the excitement back,” Szymanski said.
Tallahassee Heys, a third-year business major at Moorpark College and president of the Moorpark College Film Club, shared Szymanski’s sentiments.
“Honestly, it feels surreal to live so close to a visitable relic of film history. It’s one thing to see Paramount Ranch in movies, but it’s an entirely different thing to see it in person,” Heys explained. “You are suddenly surrounded by the ghosts of the great filmmakers and it only fuels the imagination of what is possible.”
Heys shared that the ranch’s reopening and hosting of film-related events will boost community engagement and bring film lovers and filmmakers close together, forging connections and bounds over their shared love of movies.
“As an aspiring filmmaker, it’s amazing that the ranch has renewed availability as a reservable film backdrop,” Heys said. “It would be a dream to shoot a project there someday, as one of my favorite shows, ‘Westworld,’ was filmed there. It’s such an iconic location and offers an incredible space to fully realize my imaginations.”
While the project was initially scheduled for completion in fall 2024, significant delays have pushed it back to 2025. Regardless, history buffs, movie buffs, filmmakers and members of the community can look forward to the ranch reopening its doors.
