Santa Clarita, California recent comments:

This is the Valencia Ice Station.

Former ranch and mansion of silent Western movie star William S. Hart. Hart, whose movie career spanned from 1914 until his retirement in 1925, was probably the biggest movie actor of this time period. He was renowned for having introduced realism into his Western movies, many of which he wrote and produced as well as acting in them. After his retirement from motion pictures, Hart built a mansion on this hilltop in Newhall, California, which was completed in 1927 and in which he lived until his death in 1946. Here he hosted many of his famous friends such as painter Charles Russell, and Western icon Wyatt Earp. Upon his death Hart willed this property to the County Of Los Angeles to be used as a park open to the public for all time. Hart Park currently consists of Hart's Mansion, which he built on "La Loma de Los Vientos" (Hill of the Winds), a bunk house and the original ranch house which he purchased in 1921. There is a large grassy area down below which is used for picnics and special events, as well as a small zoo and even a herd of buffalo which were donated to Hart Park by Walt Disney in the 1960's. Also within William S. Hart Park is Heritage Junction, the home of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. The Historical Society was formed in 1975 with it's mission to preserve and teach the rich history of the Santa Clarita Valley. Heritage Junction features 8 historic buildings which were saved from destruction and moved to the Junction from their original locations in the Valley. The main building is the Saugus Train Station, built in 1887 for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The station now houses a museum of the Valley's history manned by expert docents on weekend afternoons. Other buildings include the Pardee House, Newhall Ranch House, Mitchell Schoolhouse adobe, Edison House, Kingsburry House, Ramona Chapel, and Callahan Schoolhouse. More information on these buildings can be found at the Historical Society website www.scvhs.org.

Famous for porn shoots.

It was 1987. The cost of a first class postage stamp was twenty-two cents; the N.Y. Giants won the Super Bowl; Prozac was introduced in the United States and The Simpson’s made their television debut on the Fox Network. Ronald Reagan was our president, Andy Warhol died and it was an NBA Championship year for the Los Angeles Lakers. Of interest to northern Los Angeles County was the birth of a new City, comprised of about 130,000 residents called Santa Clarita. It’s been like a fairytale story for Santa Clarita, born December 15, 1987, and building upon success after success while carving a niche as one of California’s top cities. Most recently, Santa Clarita was named as one of the top five most business friendly cities in Los Angeles, while CNN/Money magazine named Santa Clarita as its top pick for cities to live in California, ranking the young city in the top 20 in the nation; pretty amazing for a city just two decades old. In just 20 short years, Santa Clarita has compiled an amazing list of accomplishments benefiting this tight-knit community. More parks, trails, Metrolink stations, sports and transit facilities, new roads like the Cross Valley Connector, a responsive local government, increased Sheriffs services, curbside recycling programs, local representation on major issues like preventing a dump in pristine Elsmere Canyon and working to stop a mega-mining plan in Soledad Canyon, and the ability to keep 100% of locally generated tax dollars in the community are just some of the benefits of Cityhood!