Paramount project

‘A new OLD West is rising in the california mountains’

Read SFGATE’s article about Paramount Ranch’s Reconstruction.

Santa Monica Mountains Fund ran a two year capital campaign raising $500,000 toward re-construction of Paramount Ranch. These funds were matched dollar-for-dollar from federal funds to meet our $1 million goal.

Santa Monica Mountains Fund

‘A New Old West is rising in the California Mountains’: RECENT ARTICLE ABOUT PARAMOUNT RANCH’s RECONSTRUCTION

Apr 8, 2024

Listen up - News of Phase one

Despite nearly a century of beloved film and cultural history, the famous Paramount Ranch Western Town might not be coming back exactly as it was, but it will aim to preserve the past and strengthen the structures for the future.

"We're doing something called rehabilitation," said David Szymanski, park superintendent at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in a recent interview with NPR. "We're not trying to recreate the 1920s or the 1940s, but one of the best ways to preserve a historic place is to continue doing what was done there historically…”

Listen to the full article: On NPR.org

Paramount Ranch & Movie history within the national parks

Paramount Ranch is a movie backlot and recreation site in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. It is a rare example of the movie ranches used by the large Hollywood studios in the 1920s through the 1940s, during which time it was “well within a day’s driving distance at some thirty-five miles north of downtown Los Angeles” (Paramount Studio News, 16 November 1927).

Purchased by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1980, it is the last of its kind in Southern California, and is the only site within the entire NPS dedicated to movie making; its importance to the history of movie making is recognized by it’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Ranch and it’s historic Western Town have been the location for many types of movies over the last 100 years including horror, westerns, international dramas, comedies, music videos, adverts and more.

Unfortunately, the devastating Woolsey Fire of 2018 completely destroyed Western Town and other historic buildings at Paramount Ranch and has meant that after 100 years, filming at the site is currently on hold.

SAMO Fund has been involved in fund-raising and planning the reconstruction of Paramount Ranch. Keep reading to explore how this historic site can once again be a filming and recreation site for 100 more years and beyond.

Paramount Ranch is the last of its kind in Southern California and is a tangible link to the Golden Age of Hollywood

Paramount Ranch is a place for creativity, imagination and traditions inspired by stunning, natural landscape set within the boundaries of the largest urban national park in the country.

Reconstruction

The National Park Service is building four modernized structures at Paramount Ranch within the footprints of the destroyed historic Western Town buildings. These buildings will conform to current safety standards and will be flexible spaces, so they can be used for both filming and recreational events.

Find out more about the rebuilding project here: Paramount: Past, Present, and Future - article by the NPS

“SAMO Fund is funding the reconstruction of one of the four historic structures, a small events space. Federal funding matched our capital campaign dollar for dollar. SAMO Fund succeeded in raising $500,000 from 2020-2022. With the federal match, we met our goal of $1 million! ”

— SAMO Fund Team

Phase one of construction has begun!

Superintendent David Szymanski explaining construction Phase 1

“. . . (an) ideal location site for pictures, having every conceivable type of terrain in its broad expanse, foothills, mountains, canyons, large stretches of flat ground, wooded sections, everything…”

- Paramount Studio News, 16 November 1927

“. . . the largest single piece of property held by any motion picture company…”

- Paramount Studio News, 16 November 1927

Donors

We are grateful to National Park Foundation, Malibu Foundation, Capital Group Foundation, City of Agoura Hills, Lake Avenue Group at Morgan Stanley, Music in Motion, Dore & Geoff Baker of Aviara Real Estate, REI, Songmakers of California, and private donors Sara Horner, Jean Schmit, David Hertz, Brad Hertz, Richard Hollman and many others who have already contributed to the Paramount Project. Tiny Porch Concerts has also hosted numerous events through the years to support Paramount Ranch and other structures in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.