Murphy Ranch: The compound in the hills of LA built by Nazi sympathisers
Universal Studios, Hollywood, is a land of wonder, excitement and burger sauce. Want to be a Minion? Cosplay the hell out of your day while experiencing the thrilling Despicable Me Minion Mayhem rollercoaster, or, if you don’t fancy that, pretend to have a family who stinks of diesel and jump onboard Fast and Furious – Supercharged. But, if you’re still not convinced, why not travel just 40 miles or so southwest of the resort to experience something entirely more sobering but equally as wondrous: a secret compound built in the hills of LA built by Nazi sympathisers during WWII.
Situated just above Pacific Palisades, Murphy Ranch is a now dilapidated compound covered in graffiti, looking a little like the former funhouse of a controversial clown. Yet, beneath the surface, which has been attacked by marker pens, spray paint and, no doubt, a strong sprinkling of matured urine, is a very real tale of terror and paranoia, revealing a popularly-believed urban legend regarding two Nazi sympathisers.
Constructed in the 1930s, the vast compound was built to be entirely self-sustaining, including on its grounds a fuel tank, a large water storage container and several bomb shelters and bunkers to presumably maintain the livelihoods of the residents long after the Nazis had completed their world takeover. Built by Winona and Norman Stevens and a mysterious German national named Herr Schmidt, it is believed that the pair, as well as the later owner, Jessie M. Murphy, were sympathisers of the Silver Legion of America, a racist white supremacist group.
The legend goes that Schmidt’s motivations were shadowy but demanded that the complex be self-sustainable, even convincing the Stephens to commit approximately $4million to make the compound a reality. A domineering and dominating presence, Schmidt was convinced to make his dream a reality but was held back by the lack of funds at his disposal, leaving an unfinished compound that never achieved its architectural potential.
In his mind, the compound would have been a HQ of the Nazi party if the Third Reich ever managed to achieve their ultimate goal. Clearly an ambitious and forward-thinking, if majorly flawed, real estate agent, Schmidt surely envisaged the Nazi party loving LA so much that they would have wanted to stay, ignoring the fact that John Wayne would have likely been able to make them flee the land with one mighty patriotic roar.
According to the legend that goes part and parcel with Murphy Ranch, the day after Pearl Harbour rocked the American conscience in 1941, the US military took a major interest in the compound and those who resided within it. According to the entirely unreliable local historian Randy Young, who toured the location with the slightly more trustworthy CBS, “The day after Pearl Harbor, the FBI rolled in and arrested them all…I think it was a scary time. This place is a symbol of what could have happened”.
Well, as the great filmmaker and Californian resident John Ford once wrote, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend” and despite the lack of real evidence to prove the existence of a Nazi compound in the hills of LA, isn’t it pretty to believe it. It does, indeed, add to the folklore of the magical world of Hollywood, where everyone from the Minions to Luke Skywalker was born. All Murphy Ranch seems to be is a physical manifestation of such bombastic fantasy.
