The Apple Valley Inn was a hotel and restaurant established in Apple Valley, California, to help developer Newton T. Bass attract wealthy land buyers to the southern California desert town. Bass and partner Bernard "Bud" Westlund owned Apple Valley Ranchos Land Development Co. [1]
The inn, which opened on Thanksgiving Day 1948, [2] is a landmark in the community and a prominent feature in the history of Apple Valley.
The inn was a popular vacation destination for Hollywood celebrities during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Frequent visitors included notable icons Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne and Richard Nixon in its heyday. Entertainment for guests included such performers as cowgirl celebrity and famous trick roper, Texas Rose Bascom.
Jack Rogers, famed Country Western Singer, guitarist, and prolific composer, was frequently performing at the Inn during the sixties. He was a close friend and compatriot of “Newt” (the owner), Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Bob Hope, etc. Richard Nixon took a liking to Jack and his music and would go into the bar at night and each night request Jack play and sing “El Paso” which of course he accommodated.
The inn originally allowed only white Christians as patrons. Apple Valley Ranchos Land established racial policies in its covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) dated Feb 14, 1946. [3] The restrictions were increasingly relaxed throughout the 1950s as GI Bill money was used to purchase property.
In 1954, screenwriter and producer Roger Corman set part of his movie Highway Dragnet at the inn with extensive shots of the lobby, pool and exterior scenes. In 1956, director Douglas Sirk and producer Ross Hunter utilized the same features as the 'Palm Valley Inn' in the film There's Always Tomorrow .
In 1965, movie stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and their family became residents of Apple Valley. Roy Rogers leased the inn and restaurant, which was then renamed Roy Rogers' Apple Valley Inn. The Outdoor Steak Fry and the Roy Rogers' Riding Stables, with its haywagon rides and horseback riding, were two popular enterprises attached to the inn. Mel Marion and then Billy Bascom managed the stables. Cowboy artist Earl Bascom and his artist son John worked there from time to time. Roy Rogers' personal horse, Trigger Junior, was frequently boarded at the riding stables. [2]
After many successful years, the inn closed to the public in 1987. It was purchased by the Lakritz Partnership in November 2003 and restored.
Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley.
Apple Valley is an incorporated town in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, in the U.S. state of California. Its population was 75,791 as of the 2020 United States Census. The town is east of and adjoining to the neighboring cities of Victorville and Hesperia, 35 miles (56 km) south of Barstow, and 49 miles (79 km) north of San Bernardino through the Cajon Pass. It was incorporated on November 14, 1988, and is one of the 22 incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city".
Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810.
Roy Rogers was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then as an actor, the rebranded Rogers then became one of the most popular Western stars of his era. Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his Golden Palomino, Trigger; and his German Shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His early roles were uncredited parts in films by fellow cowboy singing star Gene Autry and his productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette. In his later years, he lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.
Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a chain of fast food restaurants primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. The chain originated as the rebranding of the RoBee's House of Beef chain of Fort Wayne, Indiana, acquired by the Marriott Corporation in February 1968. However, Marriott first used the Roy Rogers Roast Beef name on conversions of the company's Junior Hot Shoppes in the Washington, D.C. area in April 1968, then the existing RoBee's stores. An aggressive nationwide franchising campaign was launched. At its peak, the chain included over 600 locations. The chain now has 41 locations in seven states, either company owned or franchised.
The Farmers Insurance Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the San Diego, California, area in the early part of the season known as the "West Coast Swing".
Trabuco Canyon is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest.
Cajon Pass is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault, it has an elevation of 3,777 ft (1,151 m). Located in the Mojave Desert, the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass area is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Happy Bottom Riding Club (1935–1953), was a dude ranch, restaurant, and hotel operated by aviator Florence "Pancho" Barnes near Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley of California's Mojave Desert. Barnes and her club were featured in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book, The Right Stuff, and its 1983 film adaptation.
Duncans Mills is an unincorporated community located in Sonoma County, California.
Western lifestyle or cowboy culture is the lifestyle, or behaviorisms, of, and resulting from the influence of, the attitudes, ethics and history of the American Western cowboy. In the present day these influences affect this sector of the population's choice of recreation, clothing, and consumption of goods.
Signatures Restaurant was a Washington D.C. restaurant opened by Jack Abramoff. Expensive and lavishly appointed with expensive memorabilia, Villeroy & Boch chargers and Christofle flatware, Signatures was used by Abramoff in coordination with his skyboxes and foreign trips to spend money primarily given by Indian tribes on politicians. During 17 months between 2002 and 2003 Signatures gave away $180,000 of food and drinks.
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The first such facilities were all within the 30-mile (48 km) studio zone, often in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and Simi Valley in the U.S. state of California.
Chasen's was a famous restaurant frequented by film stars, entertainers, politicians and other dignitaries in West Hollywood, California, located at 9039 Beverly Boulevard on the border of Beverly Hills. It opened for business in 1936 and was the site of the Academy Awards party for many years. It was also famous for its chili. Elizabeth Taylor had several orders of Chasen's chili flown to the set of Cleopatra in 1963 while filming in Rome, and to Oroville, California during the filming of The Klansman in 1974.
Eastend is a town in south-west part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, situated approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of the Montana border and 85 kilometres (53 mi) east of the Alberta border.
Earl Wesley Bascom was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, cowboy, rodeo performer, inventor, and Hollywood actor. Raised in Canada, he portrayed in works of fine art his own experiences of cowboying and rodeoing across the American and Canadian West. Bascom was awarded the Pioneer Award by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2016 and inducted into several halls of fame including the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1984. Bascom was called the "Cowboy of Cowboy Artists," the "Dean of Rodeo Cowboy Sculpture" and the "Father of Modern Rodeo." He was a participant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Sportsmen's Lodge is a hotel located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, Los Angeles, California. Operating under various names since the 1880s, the Sportsmen's Lodge is a San Fernando Valley landmark and remains a popular spot for celebrations, dinners and public events. Located in the heart of the Valley's studio district, the Sportsmen's Lodge was a popular gathering spot for cast and crew in old Hollywood, including Clark Gable, Bette Davis, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos was a 8,486-acre (34.34 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day southwestern San Diego County, California given in 1823 to Francisco María Ruiz. The name means "Saint Mary of the Little Cliffs". It encompassed the present-day communities of Mira Mesa, Carmel Valley, and Rancho Peñasquitos in northern San Diego city, and was inland from the Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve bluffs.
The Highland Springs Ranch & Inn, formerly known as Highland Springs Resort, was established in 1884 and became Riverside County's first historical landmark. The ranch is located in the unincorporated community of Cherry Valley at the northwestern end of the San Gorgonio Pass. The Ranch and its immediate neighborhood are known as the community of Highland Springs.
34°31′19″N117°12′59″W / 34.52186968252505°N 117.21640027351287°W