FREE LA: Celebrating the West at Santa Clarita's William S. Hart Ranch and Museum

This weekend's adventure with the kids involved a half-hour drive up to Santa Clarita to check out the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum. Run by the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, the Hart Museum is located on the former ranch of silent movie star Hart. The grounds are a tribute to cowboys and the Wild West, and includes a petting zoo in addition to tours of Hart's mansion and ranch house. Details:

The William S. Hart Park and Museum is the former retirement home of the famed silent film actor and director who produced a series of hit Western movies in the early 1900's. His beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival Style Mansion – now the Museum – exhibits an impressive collection of Western artwork by noted artists Charles M. Russell, Frederic Remington, and Joe de Yong, as well as mementos from early Hollywood, personal furnishings and effects, and artifacts representing multiple Native American cultures.

The Museum also includes an historic 1910 Ranch House that exhibits Hart's tack and saddle collection, personal furnishings, and additional Hollywood mementos.

Both the Mansion and the Ranch House are located in scenic William S. Hart Park, where guests may enjoy visiting a live collection of farm animals, a herd of American bison, a vast picnic area, a series of hiking trails, and a charming Western-themed Gift Store.

The best part: the Park and Museum are free. There's always events going on as well; this Saturday we stopped by for a cowboy-themed event, and the kids did various arts and crafts plus rode a carriage. Some pics:




Roping demonstration


The William S. Hart mansion; tours are given on the weekends.


Office inside the house


Lookout castle near the mansion


Small tea room near the house


Sun deck



The William S. Hart ranch house (which he built before building the mansion at the top of the hill)


Saddle collection, located inside the William S. Hart ranch house


Ranch brand


Dogs' graveyard

William S. Hart Park and Museum
24151 Newhall Avenue
Newhall, CA 91321
Wednesdays - Fridays, 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Saturdays - Sundays, 11:00am - 4:00pm

Glendale: "We're No. 4! We're No. 4!"

Among Glendale's bragging rights over the years: The fact that the city, at around 200,000 strong, is the third largest in Los Angeles County, behind only L.A. and Long Beach.

Well, that's about to change, as Santa Clarita goes on an annexation spree. According to the Glendale News-Press, as Santa Clarita gobbles up more surrounding unincorporated area, its population is set to surpass Glendale:

On Wednesday, a county commission in charge of annexing unincorporated land approved adding seven more communities to Santa Clarita, bringing the city's population of 176,000 to roughly 192,000, in line with Glendale.

And by year's end, Santa Clarita is slated to annex more land, boosting its population to just above 200,000, a marker Glendale had claimed for years.

The U.S. Census had pegged Glendale's population at 194,973 as far back as 2000, but the California Department of Finance, using estimations in the interim, long had the figure above 200,000. That all changed after the 2010 Census results were released.

Glendale will still be a prominent regional player among city governments, but it stands to lose a long held byname. Glendale officials have repeatedly referred to the city's No. 3 ranking when touting its political importance, and it has appeared in nearly every major community description for years.

Glendale, are you going to take this lying down? Or are you going to finally annex La Crescenta? Go go go!

'Chaplinfest' Comes to Santa Clarita This Weekend

The William S. Hart Museum in the Santa Clarita Valley will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s "Modern Times" with a two-day event this Friday and Saturday.

Event includes a screening of the 1992 Robert Downey Jr. film "Chaplin," as well as an all-day screening on Saturday of Chaplin's early Keystone Comedies. More info:

Staff from the Natural History Museum and the Hart Museum will display objects including the camera with which Mack Sennett filmed the comedies, and a Keystone Kop’s billy club and helmet.

Later, there is a special Chaplin dinner and screening in Hart Hall, along with a one-time display of movie posters, memorabilia, and original props from the film — donated by Chaplin himself in the late 1930s — including his striped overalls, the oil can, and wrenches from the film’s famous factory scene.

It is the first time these Modern Times artifacts have been on display together. On hand will be movie critic Leonard Maltin and actress Tippi Hedren (who appeared in Chaplin’s last film, A Countess from Hong Kong).

The William S. Hart Park and Museum is located at 24151 Newhall Avenue in Newhall, and was built by silent film star William S. Hart. The 230-acre property, which includes a 22-room mansion, is now jointly operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Spotted on the 5 This Afternoon

Driving south on the 5, at one point we drove behind a massive flatbed truck hauling away the charred remains of a vehicle.

At least, that's what it looked like. The pieces were so mangled and burned beyond recognition, I had to assume it was a piece of a truck involved in this weekend's terrible 5 freeway tunnel fire.



What a mess. It now appears that Caltrans plans to re-open on Monday morning the south-bound stretch of the 5 that has been shut down all weekend (following the Friday night collision). That's great news for commuters... but it's still gonna be a terrible, terrible commute. Sorry, Santa Clarita folk.

I also feel your pain. Last year Maria, Evan and I spent several hours stuck near the 14 and 5 interchange, due to a brush fire. The freeway had been shut down, and there was nothing we could do but sit. And sit.



Any of you get caught up in this weekend's mess?