Forgotten Playground of Hollywood Glitterati

By Bruce Ueno

A rare glimpse of the Norconian Club as it is today

Today we embark upon a new kind of adventure. It isn't far as one measures the miles, but it is still impossibly distant, for ours is a journey back in time....

A searchlight sweeps a path through the night sky, its glimmering beacon beckoning you to a Xanadu redux, the most luxurious of new resort destinations.  Your limousine ascends a hill and takes its place in the queue, pulling into the circular drive and stopping before the gleaming and elegant facade. Electricity is in the air, the excitement palpable, portending an evening of revelry.  Impeccably uniformed doormen  greet you now, and with a flourish they bid you enter.  Across the lobby, screen luminaries rub shoulders with other notables as you join the parade of elegantly attired and well-coiffed patrons in the palatial foyer.  In the distance, muted strains of a Tommy Dorsey tune drift from the casino.  Is this some Hollywood gala or Park Avenue soiree?  No, you are in Norco, circa 1929.

Those familiar with the bucolic charm of present day Horsetown, USA might find it ironic that Norco was once home to one of the premiere resort destinations in the nation and a favorite haunt of Hollywood's golden age stars.  The Lake Norconian Club was a lavish affair, an incongruously situated urbane paradise in the midst of the countryside.  It still exists, though this former playground of the rich and famous now stands abandoned and inaccessible to the public, locked behind the walls of the Norco Naval Weapons Station.  During its brief, glorious life, its guest list read like a veritable "who's who" the era's A-listers:  Will Rogers, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Wallace Beery, Buster Keaton, Bing Crosby, Laurel and Hardy, James Cagney and Babe Ruth among many others once walked the halls, lazed in mineral baths, and strolled the greens of the Norconian's golf course.

The pavilion and boat House continue to be maintained by
navy personnel.

The Lake Norconian Club was the brainchild of Norco founder, wealthy businessman Rex Clark. Clark originally planned his town as a model community where people could live self-sufficiently from the fruits of their own land. After the fortuitous discovery of hot mineral springs on his property, the idealistic Clark conceived the notion of developing the extravagant resort, inspired by the famed mineral baths of Europe, but on an even larger, more monumental scale.  His grand design would be a paean to the good life, and include all manner of recreational activities. Apart from the aforementioned amenities, the resort grounds included an Olympic sized pool, the first in California, tennis courts, equestrian and hiking trails, a lake for boating and its own airfield.  The buildings themselves were equally remarkable.  Constructed in the "mission revival" style, the Norconian featured elaborately hand-painted ceilings, murals, paintings and ornate woodwork.  The resort became a prime filming destination in its own right, with several movies shot on the grounds.

Sadly, the success of Clark's enterprise may have been doubtful from the start.  Norco, then solidly within Southern California's sleepy, agrarian outback, was an unlikely spot for such posh accommodations.  After the novelty of the Norconian wore out, guests found themselves with very little to do outside the resort itself.  The obstacle of Norconian's improbable location was further compounded by the unfortunate timing of its opening, occurring just a few months before Black Tuesday and the Great Depression.  Never profitable, the Norconian nevertheless struggled along for several years, but by 1941, as war raged in Europe and Asia, the Norconian was put up for sale. The property was purchased by the navy the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor for use as a naval hospital, reportedly for less than half what the magnificent resort cost to build.

The Norconian served as a naval hospital for the duration of the war and for some time afterward.  The resort grounds later saw use as a naval weapons lab, and a medium security prison, uses which continue to this day. The grand building itself was found to be seismically unfit in 2002, and was subsequently vacated, boarded up, and left to the elements.

It's glory days long gone, the resort sits abandoned and surrounded
 by barbed wire.  Navy parking lot in the foreground.

Despite its significance and presence on the National Register of Historic Places,  the days of the Norconian may be numbered.  Deemed too dangerous to occupy and too costly to restore, the now-abandoned resort is quickly falling into a state of complete disrepair.  Portions of the ceiling have fallen in leaving gaping holes. Rainwater stains the fine ceiling paintings, murals and wood work, and dead animal carcasses and feces from feral cats litter the marble floors.  The worn and ravaged chambers of the Norconian still have the capacity to astound and amaze even in their present distressed condition, but without renewed public interest and massive funding, this historic treasure and masterpiece of period architecture will be lost for all time.

There are efforts underway by concerned citizens to preserve the Norconian, chief among these being the work of the nonprofit Norconian Club Foundation. If you would like to read more about the resort, view additional photographs or help to preserve this irreplaceable part of our local history, please visit the foundation's web site at http://lakenorconianclub.org

Some Norconian Trivia:
5-acre Lake Norconian is kept full by an artificial stream supplied by city water. With a flow rate about that of an ordinary garden hose, the water is turned on in the morning, and off at night.

The hot springs that were at the heart of the resort are still active.  At one time, they supplied water to a nearby housing tract until residents complained about their continuously hot tap water.  The hot spring water is now diluted with water from other sources, and continues to supply the city's day to day needs.  Regrettably, the mineral baths are but a memory.

The conical hill that can be seen beside the 15 freeway and Sixth Street in Norco is known as "Beacon Hill" for the resort's large searchlight that once sat atop it. 

Looking at homes in the Norco area?  I can help.  Call me at (951) 310-0397.