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83-764: The offices of the Daily News are in Chatsworth , and much of the paper's reporting is targeted toward readers in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles . Its stories tend to focus on issues involving local San Fernando Valley businesses, education, and crime. The editor currently is Frank Pine. The Daily News began publication in Van Nuys as the Van Nuys Call in 1911, morphing into

166-557: A 2,700-acre (11 km ) ranch on Medea Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains near Agoura Hills , between Malibu and the Conejo Valley . The studio built numerous large-scale sets on the ranch, including a huge replica of early San Francisco , an Old West town, and a Welsh mining village (built by 20th Century Fox for (1941) How Green Was My Valley , and later redressed (with coal mine tipple removed) as

249-529: A French village for use in (1943) The Song of Bernadette , and again used for (1949) The Inspector General ). Western town sets posed as Tombstone, Arizona, and Dodge City, Kansas, as well as Tom Sawyer's Missouri, 13th-century China, and many other locales and eras around the world. It is now Paramount Ranch Park in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area . The National Park Service took over

332-449: A complete adobe village survived on the northeast section of the ranch. In 1990, after the death of his horse ' Champion ,' which Autry had kept in retirement there, the actor put the remaining 12-acre (4.9 ha) ranch up for sale. It was purchased by Renaud and Andre Veluzat to be developed as an active movie ranch for location shooting . The Veluzats have a 22-acre (8.9 ha) complex of sound stages , western sets , prop shop, and

415-633: A farmer married to Bessie Iverson, owning the northern half (the Upper Iverson). In the mid-1960s the state of California began construction on the Simi Valley Freeway , which ran east and west, roughly following the dividing line between the Upper Iverson and Lower Iverson, cutting the movie ranch in half. That separated the ranch, and also produced noise, making the property less useful for moviemaking. The waning popularity of

498-478: A five-year lease on a parcel of land in central Placerita Canyon. The western town constructed there was located just east of what is now the junction of the Route 14 Antelope Valley Freeway and Placerita Canyon Road. Today this is part of Disney 's Golden Oak Ranch (see below) near Placerita Canyon State Park . In 1935, as a result of a Monogram-Republic studio merger, the 'Placerita Canyon Ranch' became owned by

581-469: A handful of the productions that were filmed at the ranch. The rocky terrain and narrow, winding roads frequently turned up in Republic serials of the 1940s and were prominently featured in chases and shootouts throughout the golden era of action B-Westerns in the 1930s and 1940s. For the 1945 Western comedy Along Came Jones , producer and star Gary Cooper had a Western town built at the ranch; this set

664-482: A larger real estate deal to be completed in 2023 which will see the studio get ownership of The Burbank Studios in time to mark its 100th anniversary. All historic sets and sound stages were demolished during December, 2023. Circa 1937, Ray "Crash" Corrigan invested in property on the western Santa Susana Pass in California's Simi Valley and Santa Susana Mountains , developing his 'Ray Corrigan Ranch' into

747-469: A rustic western town, Mexican village, western ranch, outlaw hide-out shacks, cavalry fort, Corsican village, English hunting lodge, country schoolhouse, rodeo arena, mine-shaft, wooded lake, and interesting rock formations. This amusement park concept closed in 1966. In spite of Corriganville's weekend tourist trade, production of films continued. The action TV series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin used

830-496: Is a partial listing of some of the classic Southern California movie ranches from the first half of the 20th century, including some other and newer locations. Located in the town of Apache Junction , Arizona, the Apacheland Movie Ranch and Apacheland Studio was developed from 1959 to 1960 and opened in 1960. Starting in late 1957, movie studios had been contacting Superstition Mountain-area ranchers, including

913-630: Is located near Santa Clarita, California , just north of Newhall Pass . In 1962 a brush fire destroyed most of the western town sets on the ranch, and Autry sold 98-acre (40 ha), most of Melody Ranch. The remaining 22-acre (8.9 ha) property was purchased by the Veluzats in 1990 for the new Melody Ranch Studios movie ranch. From 1926, early silent films were often shot in Placerita Canyon, including silent film westerns featuring Tom Mix . In 1931, Monogram Pictures took out

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996-703: Is served by 20 daily trains on the Metrolink Ventura County Line from Ventura to Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles . Amtrak California Pacific Surfliner has 10 trains daily traveling through here on the Coast Line which also handles freight transport by Union Pacific Railroad and was involved in the 2008 Chatsworth train collision near here. The Orange Line of the Los Angeles Metro system

1079-560: Is to be used in The Rose of the Ranch" which has just been started. The new ground is to be used for big scenes and where a large location is needed. A stock farm is to be maintained on the ranch. It is planned to use 500 people in the story. There will be 150 people transported through Southern California for the mission scenes. The studio will be used for the largest scene ever set up, the whole state and ground space being utilized." In 1963,

1162-658: The Van Nuys News after a merger with a competing newspaper called the News . In 1953, the newspaper was renamed the Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet . The front page was produced on green newsprint. During this period, the newspaper was delivered four times a week for free to readers in 14 zoned editions in the San Fernando Valley. In 1971, the newspaper was sold to the Tribune Company by

1245-477: The 118 freeway in the northern end of the neighborhood. Thirty-four percent of Chatsworth residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average percentage for the city. Schools within the Chatsworth boundaries are: The City of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department, California Department of Parks and Recreation , County of Los Angeles, California State Park Volunteers, and

1328-548: The Ahmanson family 's Home Savings and Loan purchased the property and adjacent land. Home Savings and Loan was the parent company of Ahmanson Land Company , and so the ranch became known as the Ahmanson Ranch. Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) took over ownership of Home Savings and proceeded with the development plans for the ranch. The public advocacy for undeveloped open space pressure was very strong, and development

1411-486: The Daily News . The Daily News endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, but then endorsed his opponent Mitt Romney in 2012. The Daily News bears no relation to an earlier historic Los Angeles Daily News (1923–1954), a morning newspaper based in Downtown Los Angeles (originally the Illustrated Daily News ) that ceased publication on December 18, 1954. An even earlier newspaper called

1494-544: The Los Angeles Daily News was printed beginning in 1869 and continuing for a number of years after. Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California , in the San Fernando Valley . The area was home to Native Americans, who left caves containing rock art . Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish beginning in the 18th century . The land

1577-673: The Los Angeles Public Library , is located at 21052 Devonshire Street . It was rebuilt in a modern style in 2002. The Chatsworth Post Office, of the United States Postal Service , is located at 21606 Devonshire Street . The U.S. Census Bureau operates the Los Angeles Regional Census Center in Chatsworth. The Chatsworth Transportation Center , a major transportation hub for the town and west valley,

1660-556: The Philippines (9.3%) were the most common places of birth. The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $ 84,456, considered to be a high income for the city. The percentages of families that earned more than $ 40,000 was considered high for the county. Renters occupied 28.9% of the housing stock, and house- or apartment-owners held 71.1%. The average household size of 2.6 people was considered average for Los Angeles. In 2000, there were 2,933 military veterans, or 10.8% of

1743-574: The Santa Monica Mountains , and the Santa Clarita area of the Greater Los Angeles Area . The natural California landscape proved to be suitable for western locations and other settings. As a result of post-war (WWII) era suburban development, property values and taxes on land increased, even as fewer large parcels were available to the studios. Los Angeles development was widespread, resulting in urban sprawl . Most of

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1826-739: The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy operate the various natural open space preserve parks and neighborhood recreation parks . A distinctive feature in Chatsworth is the Chatsworth Dam and reservoir. Built in 1918 as part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct system, the property belongs to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power . Due to increasing concerns of the water quality because of algae plumes and storm water inflow, it

1909-566: The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy since 1987. The location of the ranch was in the northwest corner of Chatsworth , along the western side of Topanga Canyon Boulevard where it currently intersects with the Simi Valley Freeway. The First Lasky Ranch in the San Fernando Valley was located on the Providencia Ranch. In 1912, Universal purchased the property and named it Oak Crest Ranch. This old Universal ranch

1992-755: The Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park . In 1795, the Spanish land grant had been issued for Rancho Simi , reconfirmed in 1842 by the Mexican governor. Its lands included part of current Chatsworth, westward from Andora Avenue. In 1821, after the Mexican War of Independence from Spain , the Mission San Fernando became part of Alta California , Mexico. In 1834, the Mexican government began redistributing

2075-462: The Simi Hills on Santa Susana Pass in what is now Chatsworth , eventually expanding their land holdings to about 500 acres (200 ha). They reportedly allowed a movie to be shot on the property as early as 1912, with the silent movies Man's Genesis (1912), My Official Wife (1914), and The Squaw Man (1914) being some of the productions often cited as among the earliest films shot on

2158-625: The backlots . They call it the 'Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio' and 'Melody Ranch Studios.' The ranch has a museum open year-round. One weekend a year the entire ranch is open to the public during the Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival , held at the end of April. The 22-acre (8.9 ha) Melody Ranch Studio was used in 2012 for filming some scenes for Quentin Tarantino 's Django Unchained . The owners in 2019 were Renaud and Andre Veluzat. In 1927, Paramount Studios purchased

2241-573: The ' Corriganville Movie Ranch .' Most of the Monogram Range Busters film series, which includes Saddle Mountain Roundup (1941) and Bullets and Saddles (1943), were shot here, as well as features such as Fort Apache (1948), The Inspector General (1949), Mysterious Island (1961), and hundreds more . Corrigan opened portions of his vast movie ranch to the public in 1949 on weekends to explore such themed sets as

2324-559: The 110-acre (45 ha) 'Monogram Ranch' property from the Hickson heirs in 1953. He renamed the property 'Melody Ranch' after his 1940 film of the same name , and his following Sunday afternoon CBS radio show (1940–1956) and . A brushfire swept through 'Monogram Ranch' in August 1962, destroying most of the original standing western sets. The devastated landscape was useful for productions such as Combat! . A large Spanish hacienda, and

2407-438: The 15.2 square miles (39 km ) Chatsworth neighborhood, or 2,301 people per square mile, among the lowest population densities for both the city and the county . In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 37,102. In 2000, the median age for residents was 40, considered old for city and county neighborhoods; the percentages of residents aged 35 and older were among the county's highest. The neighborhood

2490-583: The Apacheland Barn, both of which survived the second fire, were donated to the Superstition Mountain Museum. Each structure was partially disassembled at the ranch, moved by truck, and reassembled on the museum grounds, where both stand today. Columbia Pictures , 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA, purchased the original 40-acre (16 ha) lot in 1934 as additional space to its Sunset Gower studio location, when Columbia

2573-624: The Chatsworth area on August 5, 1769, led by the Spanish military leader Gaspar de Portolà . With its establishment in 1797 and subsequent Spanish Land Grant by the King of Spain, Mission San Fernando (Mission San Fernando Rey de España) gained dominion over the San Fernando Valley's lands, including future Chatsworth. The Native American trail that had existed from the Tongva-Tatavium village called rancheria Santa Susana (Chatsworth) to another village, replaced by Mission San Fernando , became

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2656-545: The Fort Apache set for many shots from 1954 to 1959. Roy Rogers , Lassie , and Emergency! production units also filmed scenes on the ranch. In 1966, Corriganville became 'Hopetown' when it was purchased by Bob Hope for real estate development. A wildfire destroyed the buildings in 1970. About 200 acres (81 ha) of the original 2,000 acres (810 ha) is part of the Simi Valley Park system, open to

2739-804: The Los Angeles County Recorder's Office a map of the San Fernando Valley with a subdivision he called "Chatsworth Park." William Booth Barber, the president of the San Fernando Valley Improvement Company, was born in England 17 miles from the Duke of Devonshire's palatial estate, Chatsworth House. In 1893 W.B. Barber filed an additional map with the Recorder's Office called the "Plat of Chatsworth Park Townsite." The Chatsworth Branch Library, operated by

2822-515: The Matter with Helen? . It is commonly believed, though not the case, that Leave It to Beaver was filmed here, ('Beaver' actually filmed (first season) at CBS Studio Center – née Radford Studios and later at Universal Studios ). The Waltons originally filmed on the Warner Bros. main lot where the recognizable house facade was located until it burned down in late 1991. A recreation of

2905-762: The Menace , The Hathaways , The Iron Horse , I Dream of Jeannie (which also used the Father Knows Best house exterior), Bewitched , The Monkees , Apple's Way , and The Partridge Family (which also filmed on ranch sound stages ). A short list of the many classic feature films which filmed scenes on the movie ranch would include; Lost Horizon , Blondie , Melody in Spring , You Were Never Lovelier , Kansas City Confidential , High Noon , The Wild One , Autumn Leaves , 3:10 to Yuma , The Last Hurrah , Cat Ballou , and What's

2988-529: The Pacific Electric railway services, by rail to The Oak Crest Station and then Vehicle by way todays Barham Blvd. ( Mammoth Film Plant : Van Nuys News and the Nuys Call, Nov. 29 1912) On August 4, 1918, Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company began leasing the property. It consisted of 500 acres, with an additional 1,500 acres of adjoining government land which they were allowed to use. The ranch

3071-845: The Quarter Circle U, the Quarter Circle W, and the Barkley Cattle Ranch, for options to use their properties as town sets. One notable production during this time was Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster . Though historically inaccurate, it features the area known as Gold Canyon, with the Superstitions prominent behind the movie's representation of the Clanton ranch. During this time, Victor Panek contacted his neighbors in Apache Junction, Mr. and Mrs. J.K. Hutchens, to suggest

3154-673: The United States Public Land Commission in 1873 and was the single largest land grant in California. The Chatsworth Historical Society was formed in 1963 in an effort to successfully save the historic Pioneer Church from demolition. The society and Chatsworth Museum are located in Chatsworth Park South at Los Angeles Cultural Historical Monument No. 133, the Homestead Acre . In addition to preserving Chatsworth history and educating

3237-647: The Walton house was built on the Warner Bros. Ranch lot, utilizing the woodland mountain set originally utilized by Apple's Way , and later occasionally used by Fantasy Island TV shows. The facade remains and has been used in numerous productions such as NCIS , The Middle , and Pushing Daisies . On April 15, 2019, it was announced that Warner Bros. will sell the property to Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Fund as part of

3320-637: The Western genre and the decline of the B-movie coincided with the arrival of the freeway, which opened in 1967, and greater development pressure, signaling the end for Iverson as a successful movie ranch. The last few movies that filmed some scenes here included Support Your Local Sheriff (1968) and Pony Express Rider (1976). In 1982, Joe Iverson sold what remained of the Lower Iverson to Robert G. Sherman, who almost immediately began subdividing

3403-504: The Wind (Selznick 1939) and They Died with Their Boots On , " Santa Fe Trail " (Warner Bros. 1940), and many others. From The Moving Picture World , October 10, 1914 (page 622 relates to the Lasky ranch and page 1078 to the new Lasky Ranch): "The Lasky company has acquired a 4,000-acre ranch in the great San Fernando valley on which they have built a large two-story Spanish casa which

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3486-936: The climate. Movie ranches were developed in the 1920s for location shooting in Southern California to support the making of popular western films. Finding it difficult to recreate the topography of the Old West on sound stages and studio backlots , the Hollywood studios went to the rustic valleys, canyons and foothills of Southern California for filming locations. Other large-scale productions, such as war films, also needed large, undeveloped settings for outdoor scenes, such as battles. To achieve greater scope, productions conducted location shooting in distant parts of California, Arizona , and Nevada . Initially production staff were required to cover their own travel expenses, resulting in disputes between workers and

3569-522: The current large employers based in Chatsworth are Capstone Turbine , Natel Engineering , and Hydraulics International . Lamps Plus has production and distribution facilities in Chatsworth. Titus Software 's United States subsidiary once had its headquarters in Chatsworth. Seltzer Motor Industries, of Chatsworth, in 1979 produced the Willow , a two-seat sports car kit. It is the first transverse, inline four-cylinder, mid-engined kit car ever offered to

3652-527: The famous "Garden of the Gods" on the west side of Red Mesa, in which many rock formations seen in countless old movies and TV shows are accessible to the public. This includes the area on the east side of Red Mesa that includes the popular Lone Ranger Rock, which appeared beside a rearing Silver, the Lone Ranger's horse, in the opening to each episode of The Lone Ranger TV show. This area has been owned by

3735-631: The former Chatsworth Reservoir and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The neighborhood has one of the lowest population densities in Los Angeles and a relatively high income level. Chatsworth is the home of the Iverson Movie Ranch , a 500-acre area which was the most filmed movie ranch in history, as more than 2,000 productions used it as a filming location. The 2000 U.S. census counted 35,073 residents in

3818-501: The go-to outdoor location for Westerns in particular and also appeared in many adventures, war movies, comedies, science-fiction films, and other productions, standing in for Africa, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and any number of exotic locations. Buster Keaton 's Three Ages (1923), Herman Brix 's Hawk of the Wilderness (1938), Laurel and Hardy 's The Flying Deuces (1939), John Wayne 's The Fighting Seabees (1944), and Richard Burton 's The Robe (1953) are just

3901-543: The headquarters for Premier America (formerly Litton Federal Credit Union) and Matadors Community Credit Union. The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), once busy with Rocketdyne testing rocket engines and Atomics International doing nuclear research, is quiet and high in the Simi Hills west of Chatsworth. It has been closed, will undergo an extensive environmental cleanup, and will become an open-space park. The park will permanently add to Chatsworth's scenic backdrop, greenway , and hiking opportunities. Some of

3984-501: The historic movie ranches have been sold and subdivided. A few have been preserved as open space in regional parks , and are sometimes still used for filming. To support continued use of the remaining ranches in its jurisdiction, the Santa Clarita Municipal Code was amended in 2011 to establish a "Movie Ranch Overlay Zone" which grants operating ranches added zoning benefits, such as helicopter landing permission and 24-hour indoor and outdoor filming where not adjacent to residences. Below

4067-484: The idea of building a dedicated studio in the Superstition area. Hutchens and Panek found a suitable site that was developed into Apacheland, intended to be the "Western Movie Capitol of the World". Construction on the Apacheland Studio soundstage and adjacent "western town" set began on February 12, 1959, by Superstition Mountain Enterprises and associates. By June 1960, Apacheland was available for use by production companies and its first TV western Have Gun, Will Travel

4150-440: The mission lands. In 1846, the Mexican land grant for Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was issued by Governor Pío Pico . It was bounded on the north by Rancho San Francisco and the Santa Susana Mountains , on the west by the Simi Hills , on the east by Rancho Tujunga , and on the south by the Montañas de Portesuelo ( Santa Monica Mountains ). The Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando received a Federal land patent to retain ownership by

4233-438: The newly formed Republic Pictures . In 1936, when the lease expired, the entire western town was relocated a few miles to the north at Russell Hickson's 'Placeritos Ranch' in lower Placerita Canyon, near the junction of Oak Creek Road and Placerita Canyon Road. The property was leased by the newly independent Monogram Pictures , and renamed as 'Monogram Ranch' in 1937. Gene Autry , actor, western singer, and producer, purchased

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4316-444: The newspaper and consolidated it with his other Southern California MediaNews holdings into the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. The group briefly published local editions for the Antelope Valley , Santa Clarita and Ventura County . However, to cut costs and consolidate resources, the local editions were eliminated. As part of circulation reporting for the Southern California News Group , all papers in LANG are considered editions of

4399-420: The open space. Chatsworth Reservoir is classified by the Los Angeles Times as a city neighborhood, but "because there are relatively few homes in this area," the Times does not provide separate statistics for it, but adds them to Chatsworth. The Devonshire and Topanga stations of the Los Angeles Police Department provide services in the area. Chatsworth is the home of the National Notary Association and

4482-470: The original family owners. In 1976, to de-emphasize the Van Nuys location, the paper changed its name to the Valley News and Green Sheet , and gradually converted from the four times a week operation to a daily newspaper with paid circulation. During this period, circulation increased to 210,000. In 1981, the paper changed its name to the Daily News of Los Angeles and became a daily publication. In 1985, Tribune bought KTLA , and due to ownership laws of

4565-457: The population, a high percentage compared to the rest of the city. The percentage of married people was among the county's highest. The rate of 10% of families headed by single parents was low for the city. Chatsworth is flanked by the Santa Susana Mountains on the north, Porter Ranch and Northridge on the east, Winnetka , Canoga Park , West Hills on the south, the Simi Hills , and unincorporated Los Angeles County and Ventura County on

4648-411: The property. It was located across the Los Angeles River from the First National/Warner Bros studios in the area which is now Forest Lawn Cemetery. Hunkins Stables and Gopher Flats are close to Old Universal/Lasky Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. This area is noted for a filming location history of many important movies, including, The Thundering Herd (Famous Players–Lasky Co. 1925), Gone with

4731-487: The property. The former Lower Iverson now contains a mobile-home park, the nondenominational Church at Rocky Peak , and a large condominium development. The Upper Iverson is also no longer open to the public, as it is now a gated community consisting of high-end estates along with additional condominiums and an apartment building. Part of the ranch has been preserved as parkland on both sides of Red Mesa Road, north of Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth. This section includes

4814-416: The public as the Corriganville Regional Park. Though the original movie and TV sets are long gone, many of the building concrete foundations are still extant. Corriganville Regional Park . Parts of the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood were filmed at Corriganville Park, as a stand-in for the Spahn Movie Ranch . In the 1880s, Karl and Augusta Iverson homesteaded a 160-acre (65 ha) family farm in

4897-428: The public, the society acts as conservator of the Homestead Acre. In 1869, the grantee's son, Eulogio F. de Celis, returned from Spain to Los Angeles. In 1874, the family sold their northern half of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando to northern Californians, California State Senator Charles Maclay and his partners George K. Porter, a San Francisco shoe manufacturer, and his cousin Benjamin F. Porter. The Porters’ land

4980-399: The public. 34°15′26″N 118°36′01″W  /  34.25722°N 118.60028°W  / 34.25722; -118.60028 Iverson Movie Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of

5063-411: The ranch during its peak years. The long-running TV Western The Virginian filmed on location at Iverson in the ranch's later period, as did Bonanza and Gunsmoke . By the 1960s, the ownership of the ranch was split between two of Karl and Augusta's sons, with Joe Iverson, an African safari hunter married to Iva Iverson, owning the southern half of the ranch (the Lower Iverson) and Aaron Iverson,

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5146-444: The route for missionaries and other Spanish travel up and down California. It was part of the El Camino del Santa Susana y Simi trail that connected the Valley's Mission, Los Angeles pueblo (town), and the southern missions with the Mission San Buenaventura , the Presidio of Monterey , and the northward missions. The trail crossed over the Santa Susana Pass to the Simi Valley , through present day city park Chatsworth Park South and

5229-404: The site. Many of the earliest citations, though, have turned out to be incorrect. For example, The Squaw Man is now known to have filmed a scene elsewhere in Chatsworth, a short distance southwest of the Iverson property, but did not film on the Iverson Ranch. By the late 1910s, what would become a long and fruitful association developed between Hollywood and the Iverson Movie Ranch, which became

5312-426: The stagecoach traffic to Santa Barbara once again used the coast route, and the Santa Susana Pass road was relegated to local traffic. Construction of the 118 Ronald Reagan Freeway through the Santa Susana Pass began in 1968 with major traffic now bypassing Santa Susana Pass Road. The Chatsworth name, which hails from the stately Chatsworth House in England, was first recorded in 1888, when George R. Crow filed with

5395-404: The studios. The studios agreed to pay union workers extra if they worked out of town. To solve this problem, many movie studios purchased large tracts of undeveloped rural land, in many cases existing ranches , that were located closer to Hollywood. The ranches were often located just within the 30-mile (48 km) perimeter, specifically in the Simi Hills in the western San Fernando Valley ,

5478-439: The time, Tribune sold the paper to Jack Kent Cooke , who spent millions of dollars building state of the art offices and expanding coverage to include the entire San Fernando Valley . When the Los Angeles Herald Examiner went out of business November 2, 1989, it left the Daily News the second-biggest paper in the city behind the Los Angeles Times . Upon Cooke's death in 1997, William Dean Singleton 's MediaNews purchased

5561-414: The very large Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve , with various trails to the Lasky Mesa locale. The property was sold to a conservancy in 2003 but some filming was done there afterwards, including some scenes for the 2006 film Mission: Impossible III . More recently, it has been a hiking area. Originally known as 'Placeritos Ranch', the 110-acre (45 ha) ranch in lower Placerita Canyon

5644-479: The west, and Twin Lakes, a community founded by San Francisco's George Haight in the early 20th century and unincorporated Los Angeles County which includes a 1,600 acre park with equestrian trails, to the north. This region experiences hot and dry summers, with average daily high temperatures of 90–100 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chatsworth has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Chatsworth

5727-441: Was also known as Providencia Flats and the Lasky Ranch. Around the same time that the lease was expiring, Paramount Famous Lasky purchased the Paramount Ranch location in the Agoura area, and moved all of the ranch sets to the new location. The lease then was turned back to the Hollingsworth interests. In 1929, Warner Bros purchased a portion of the ranch from the W. I. Hollingsworth Realty Company. By 1950, Forest Lawn Cemetery owned

5810-415: Was built for the production of Universal 101Bison Brand Westerns. In 1912, Universal; purchased and leased land here to create the first Universal City. This Universal ranch was first used to film Universal Brand Bison films. In 1914, Universal City moved to its present location in the valley, The new Universal City was officially opened on March 15, 1925. The studio could be reached from Hollywood by using

5893-426: Was commonly referred to as the 'Monogram Ranch'. Russell Hickson owned the property from 1936 until his death in 1952, and built-reconstructed all original sets on the ranch. A year later in 1937, Monogram Pictures signed a long-term lease with Hickson for 'Placeritos Ranch', with terms that the ranch be renamed 'Monogram Ranch.' After Gene Autry purchased the property in 1953, he renamed it as 'Melody Ranch.' It

5976-429: Was considered to be ethnically "moderately diverse" for both the city of Los Angeles and its county, with a relatively high percentage of whites and Asian people, and a sizable Hispanic/Latino community. The population was 65.7% Non-Hispanic White , 14.4% Asian , 13.5% Hispanic or Latin , 2.2% Black , and 4.2% of other origins. Among the 25.2% of residents born abroad - a low figure for Los Angeles - Korea (10.4%) and

6059-512: Was extended to Chatsworth Station in 2012, with a dedicated right-of-way across the Valley to North Hollywood Station of the Red Line subway . The Chatsworth Transportation Center also offers connections to several Los Angeles Metro, Simi Valley , and Santa Clarita bus routes. It is located at 10046 Old Depot Plaza Road, between Devonshire and Lassen streets. Chatsworth is serviced by

6142-534: Was filmed in November 1960, along with its first full-length movie The Purple Hills . Actors such as Elvis Presley , Jason Robards , Stella Stevens , Ronald Reagan , and Audie Murphy filmed many other western television shows and movies in Apacheland and the surrounding area, such as Gambler II , Death Valley Days , Charro! , and The Ballad of Cable Hogue . The last full-length movie to be filmed

6225-458: Was halted further by new groundwater tests showing migrating contamination of the aquifer with toxic substances from the adjacent Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) experimental Nuclear Reactor and Rocket Engine Test Facility . The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the State of California purchased the land for public regional park . The Lasky Movie Ranch is now part of

6308-556: Was in need for more space and a true backlot /movie ranch. Through the years numerous themed sets were constructed across the movie ranch. Formerly known as the Columbia Ranch and now the "Warner Brothers Ranch", this 32-acre (13 ha) movie ranch in Burbank, California , served as the filming location for both obscure and well-known television series, such as Father Knows Best , Hazel , The Flying Nun , Dennis

6391-544: Was inhabited by the Tongva , Chumash , and Tataviam . They inhabited the valley for an estimated 8,000 years. Stoney Point is the site of the Tongva village of Momonga , which was also a trading place with the neighboring Tataviam and Chumash people . The nearby Burro Flats Painted Cave remains a legacy of the Chumash culture's rock art and solstice ceremony spirituality. The first European explorers came into

6474-839: Was known as “The Devil’s Slide”. A new wagon route bypassing the deteriorating Devil's Slide was opened in 1895. Initially called El Camino Nuevo (the New Road), it was later named the Chatsworth Grade Road, which continued in use until Santa Susana Pass Road (now Old Santa Susana Pass Road) was built in 1917. In 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad opened a tunnel through the Newhall Pass , enabling rail connections from Los Angeles north to San Francisco, and rail travel soon replaced travel by stagecoach between Los Angeles and San Francisco. From this time,

6557-544: Was part of a Spanish land grant, Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando , in the 19th century , and after the United States took over the land following the Mexican–American War , it was the largest such grant in California. Chatsworth has seven public and eight private schools. There are large open-space and smaller recreational parks as well as a public library and a transportation center. Distinctive features are

6640-527: Was subsequently used in many other productions until the town was dismantled in 1957. Hollywood's focus began to shift to the medium of television beginning in the late 1940s, and Iverson became a mainstay of countless early television series, including The Lone Ranger , The Roy Rogers Show , The Gene Autry Show , The Cisco Kid , Buffalo Bill, Jr. , Zorro , and Tombstone Territory . An estimated 3,500 or more productions, about evenly split between movies and television episodes, were filmed at

6723-556: Was taken out of service in August 1969. After the 1971 San Fernando earthquake additional concerns for seismic safety led to its abandonment by the LADWP as a storage facility. Chatsworth Oaks Park and the Chatsworth Nature Preserve are located here giving views of migrating birds and other animals, and their sounds such as the coyotes calling in the evening. The views of the rocky and dramatic Simi Hills surround

6806-434: Was the 1994 HBO movie Blind Justice with Armand Assante, Elisabeth Shue, and Jack Black. On May 26, 1969, fire destroyed most of the ranch. Only a few buildings survived, but the sets were soon rebuilt to accommodate ongoing productions. A second fire destroyed most of Apacheland on February 14, 2004. The causes of both fires were never determined. On October 16, 2004, Apacheland was permanently closed. The Elvis Chapel and

6889-542: Was west of present-day Sepulveda Boulevard including most of Chatsworth, and the Maclay land was east of Sepulveda Boulevard. The Old Santa Susana Stage Road or Santa Susana Wagon Road continued in use as an alternative to the route along El Camino Viejo from 1861 to 1875, replacing the older road as the main route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The downgrade from the Santa Susana Pass into Chatsworth

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