Resort, Film Set, Prison, Naval Base: The Norconian Resort

Sixty-seven years ago this week, on December 8, 1941, The Norconian Resort in Norco, CA became a United States Naval Hospital. Before it's war service and sad decline, The Norconian was a destination for classic stars and home to a number of movies filmed on the resort grounds.

Born in 1929, and after on-again/off-again operation, the resort lived a short life and closed in 1940. In 1941, the Navy purchased the grounds, later opening it as a hospital the day after Pearl Harbor day. Since then, the grounds have been home to a prison and continue to have a naval presence to this day. And through all of this, original buildings and decor remain, in rough condition, behind a fence.



Laura from dropped me a note the other day about The Norconian's connection to some of Bob's early films, specifically Love in the Rough and Their Own Desire with Norma Shearer. We've talked about Love in the Rough's connection in a past post, but Their Own Desire was news to me. After some research (tough work!), Laura was able to confirm that the pool scenes in Desire match photos of The Norconian's pool, high dive, and bleachers. So much for Lake Michigan!

I am far from an expert on the topic, but these resources can fill you in more:

• Where is this place? Google Maps
  
• Lake Norconian Club Foundation (source of the post's photos)
  
• LA Times article
• The Norconian Resort - Arcadia Publishing