The ranch, as a place, idea, and way of life, flourishes at a points around the planet, but only a few locations can claim to be the home of not just a ranch, but a movie ranch.
Southern California is one of those spots, a cinematic stretch that's seen hundreds of films and television shows set up productions at our horsey, atmospheric, Old-West-like movie ranches.
The short of it? More lights than livestock tend to pop up at these properties, as a general rule, and more craft service tables than hay bales.
Paramount Ranch is among our most celebrated movie ranches, with the ranch's recognizable Western Town having served as a sepia-toned backdrop in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," Bob Hope's "Caught in the Draft," and TV's "The Cisco Kid," just to cite a few of the starry many.
The oak-lovely Agoura Hills property, which boasts a number of buildings bearing an 1800s-style mien, has clearly been around for more than a couple of decades.
Make that nine decades, exactly, in 2017, which happens to be the year of the movie ranch's big 90th anniversary.
To honor this real-world, reel-world spot, the National Park Service is helming an evening devoted to Paramount Ranch's history, all to honor its 90th birthday.
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The Sunday, June 4 to-do will include a walking tour, followed by an appearance by film historian Marc Wanamaker, followed by a photo-rich presentation on the ranch.
Everything begins at 6 on June 4, but NPS invites attendees to arrive early for a picnic. Pack your own, for sure, as this isn't a food-for-sale evening.
No spoilers, but the modern name of the ranch surely (and correctly) clues into the fact that Paramount Pictures was behind the property's purchase in 1927. It was Rancho Los Virgenes, once upon a time, and the amount of acreage that Paramount signed for? Some 2,700 acres.
Today, Paramount Ranch sits inside the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which means that, in addition to film crews of the future using its handsome setting for a story, film fans and history fans and nature buffs alike will be able to visit, as they do now, for decades to come.
Visiting info, beyond the June 4 event? Ride your pony in this direction.
Other 90th birthdays in the larger Southern California area? Clearly 1927 was a year for some major dream-making 'round our stomping grounds, for the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the TCL Chinese Theatre, and Highland Bowl all are marking 90th birthdays in 2017.
What's your favorite Paramount Ranch flick, a film that employed the dusty, ten-gallon'd streets of the chaparral-handsome, scrubby-spectacular movie ranch? There are plenty to choose from.
