“Picture City” would not have it’s namesake without its relationship to Paramount Ranch. And of course, Paramount Ranch would not have its namesake without its relationship to Paramount Pictures.

Paramount Pictures in 1923 leased 2,700 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains for it’s goal of creating a “movie ranch” and brought to life the American West for film audiences for thirty years.

In 1953, William Hertz purchased the southeast portion and breathed life back into Paramount Ranch. From Hertz’s love of western films, he decided to build “facades around buildings that had been a support area during the Paramount Studios days” according to historian, Don Bitz. Hertz’s innovation of using Paramount Pictures' old prop storage sheds to build a western town, he ushered in a period of television being filmed on the property. The reason for the switch to TV was that there were many popular western shows on during that decade.

While Paramount Ranch got heavy use from 1960 into the 1970’s, the National Park Service bought the property in 1980. Under NPS, the movie ranch lived up to it’s name and continued to see many Hollywood productions, including “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman,” “Carnivale,” and “Westworld.”

Tragedy struck Paramount Ranch in 2018 when the Woolsey Fire set fire to what we fondly think of as the Western town in many of our favorite western television shows and films. What remains today are the photos in the gallery below, including the train station and the chapel.

However, the NPS has exciting plans which will kick off construction to rebuild the property in 2023. The goal is to bring Paramount Ranch back to movie magic life through rebuilding, preservation, and habit restoration. The National Park Service finds it important to continue the tradition of filmmaking on the land as well as utilizing it for public enjoyment.

Picture City Coffee honors the rich history of Paramount Ranch through our namesake and our love of filmmaking.