Piru () is a small unincorporated historic town located in eastern

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, Ca ...

, in the

Santa Clara River Valley The Santa Clara River Valley is a rural, mainly agricultural valley in Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of t ...

near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, about east of Fillmore and about west of

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

. Lake Piru, in the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

, is the main recreational attraction. The population was 2,063 at the 2010 census, up from 1,196 when the 2000 census was enumerated. For statistical purposes, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

has defined Piru as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP), which does not precisely correspond to the historical community.

Etymology

Although the town is located in the traditional homelands of the Tataviam, the name ''Piru'' (originally pronounced "Pea-roo") derives from the Chumash word ''pí idhu-ku,'' which referred to the tule reeds growing along Piru Creek that were used in making baskets. Also designated and delineated as "Piro", adjacent to "Piro Creek" on 19th century atlas maps, (i.e. A. L. Bancroft's 1876 map of CA, NV, AZ, UT) It was first named Piru City in 1888.

History

Indigenous

The area was originally inhabited by the Tataviam, who often established villages along near permanent water sources at lower elevations, including Piru Creek and the Santa Clara River. The Tataviam village of ''Piiru'' was the original village of the area. There was also a nearby shared village between the Tataviam and Chumash of ''Kamulus'' in the corridor. Piru Creek was generally known as the place where the Chumash and Tataviam shared the land with one another, being on the respective edges of each of their lands. Important plant foods for the Tataviam included

yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

stalks and hearts, acorns, sage seeds,

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

and holly leaf cherry berries. The yucca hearts were collected in the spring each year and roasted in

earth oven An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. The earliest known earth oven was discovered in Central Europe and dated to 29,000 BC. At its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground ...

Rancho and settler town

The town was founded in 1887 by David C. Cook from

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, a wealthy publisher of

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

tract (literature), tracts and supplies who bought the Rancho Temescal Mexican land grant from the sons of Ygnacio del Valle.Johnson, Brett (December 24, 2011
"Tiny Piru church has big history and movie-star looks"
''

Ventura County Star The ''Ventura County Star'' (Marked online as VC Star) is a daily newspaper published in Camarillo, California and serves all of Ventura County. It is owned by Gannett, the largest publisher of newspapers in the United States. It is a successor t ...

'' Wanting to establish a "Second Garden of Eden" in this part of the Santa Clara River Valley, Cook specified, tradition says, that the acreage be planted with fruits identified with the Biblical garden—apricots, dates, figs, grapes, olives and pomegranates. That same year, he built his first home, a

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

structure, at the southwest corner of Main and Center Streets. The coast rail line was built through the valley in 1887. Because a small depot was already going to be built in nearby Camulos,

Charles Crocker Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took ...

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

refused to build a depot in Piru. This so annoyed Cook that he built his own depot and hired a stationmaster. Cook laid out the town around the railroad in 1888. The U.S. Post Office Department established the Piru Post Office on June 14, 1888.Ventura County settlements with a Post Office in 1890 included Bardsdale, Camulos, Fillmore, Matilija, Montalvo, Newbury Park,

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...

, Piru City, Punta Gorda, Simi, Springville, and Timberville. Larger Post Offices in Ventura, Hueneme, Santa Paula, Saticoy, and Nordoff provided money order service (Ventura also handled International exchange). Legend has it that the change in pronunciation was brought about by conductors of

trains, who would shout out, "Pie-roo!" when pulling into town. Another story tells of a Piru restaurant known for good pies. The owner hung a sign proclaiming, "We Put The Pie In Piru." In 1890, Cook built a lavish Queen Anne Style home a few blocks northwest of his original home, which came to be known as the

Piru Mansion The Piru Mansion is a Queen Anne style architecture in the United States, Queen Anne Style home located in Piru, California. History Also known as the Newhall Mansion or Cook Mansion, the Piru Mansion was built in 1886 and is Ventura County Hi ...

. A strict

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, he provided for construction of a church on the north side of Center Street, just west of Main. The church front is used in the movie '' J. W. Coop'' starring

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film ''PT 109 (film), PT 109'', a ...

(1972). His home at Main and Center became the Piru Hotel. Cook sold out to the Piru Oil and Land Company in 1900 after being cured of his ailments and realizing a profit due to recent oil discoveries. For her novel '' Ramona'' (1884),

Helen Hunt Jackson Helen Hunt Jackson (pen name, H.H.; born Helen Maria Fiske; October 15, 1830 – August 12, 1885) was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. She de ...

had used nearby Rancho Camulos as one of the settings. Portions of the 1910

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

of the same name, starring

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

, were shot there. During the production, Pickford, D.W. Griffith and others of the cast and crew, stayed at the Piru Hotel. The hotel later became known as the Mountain View Hotel. The name was later changed to the Round Rock Hotel, because of a large, round boulder located in the northeast corner of the front yard.

20th century

Juan José Fustero (b. ca. 1836), who called himself "the last full-blooded Piru Indian," died on June 30, 1921. In 1961, a plaque to honor him was placed in Piru Canyon near the place where he lived most of his life. On December 17, 1922, Jenks Harris, a would-be cowboy actor, and a gang of partners in crime, which included another actor and the president of the Pacific Autoplane Company, robbed the bank in Piru of $11,000. He said, when later caught in Los Angeles, that he conceived of the idea while on location at Piru with the film company Universal and stated he committed the robbery to pay his parents' mortgage. The gang was each sentenced from one year to life in prison at San Quentin. In the 1950s, the Round Rock Hotel became the Round Rock Rest Home for elderly tenants, which it remained until 1989. The architectural style and pastoral setting made it a draw for the film industry. It was used in as a set in films such as '' The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and ''The Silhouette.'' (1990). It then became the Heritage Valley Inn. It is no longer functioning as an inn.

Disasters

Piru was struck by two major disasters in the 20th century. On the night of March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam, to the east in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

, broke, sending a torrent of water through the Santa Clara River Valley and causing the deaths of approximately 400 people, a number of whom were in Piru. The

Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake affected Greater Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1994, at 04:30:55 PST. The epicenter of the moment 6.7 () blind thrust earthquake was beneath the San Fernando Valley. Lasting approximately 8 seconds a ...

of January 17, 1994, destroyed several buildings in the historic downtown area.

Geography

Piru is located at (34.407297, −118.799675). According to the

, the CDP has a total area of , of which 99.50% of it is land and 0.50% is water. Elevation: . Piru is located in the

Climate

This region experiences hot and dry summers. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Piru has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Economy

Piru has the highest percentage of agricultural workers and second-highest percent of manufacturing workers in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

. 32% have occupations in manufacturing, while 28% are employed in the agricultural sector. Piru had the lowest median home prices in

in 1999.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Piru had a population of 2,587. The population density was . The racial makeup of Piru was 25.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 51.3% from other races, and 19.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 89.5% of the population. The whole population lived in households. There were 682 households, out of which 51.9% included children under the age of 18, 65.0% were married-couple households, 6.7% were cohabiting couple households, 17.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 9.2% of households were one person, and 4.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.79. There were 590

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(86.5% of all households). The age distribution was 28.6% under the age of 18, 10.4% aged 18 to 24, 25.9% aged 25 to 44, 24.1% aged 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 32.5years. For every 100 females, there were 107.0 males. There were 705 housing units at an average density of , of which 682 (96.7%) were occupied. Of these, 49.1% were owner-occupied, and 50.9% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $96,765, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $31,137. About 8.1% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Piru had a population of 2,063. The population density was . The racial makeup of Piru was 1,063 (51.5%)

, 16 (0.8%)

, 43 (2.1%) Native American, 11 (0.5%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

, 830 (40.2%) from other races, and 100 (4.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1,748 persons (84.7%). The Census reported that 2,063 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 523 households, out of which 292 (55.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 329 (62.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 69 (13.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 39 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (5.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 67 households (12.8%) were made up of individuals, and 25 (4.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.94. There were 437

(83.6% of all households); the average family size was 4.34. The population was spread out, with 676 people (32.8%) under the age of 18, 243 people (11.8%) aged 18 to 24, 569 people (27.6%) aged 25 to 44, 420 people (20.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 155 people (7.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.2 males. There were 561 housing units at an average density of , of which 302 (57.7%) were owner-occupied, and 221 (42.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 1,202 people (58.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 861 people (41.7%) lived in rental housing units.

Infrastructure

Ventura County Waterworks District No. 16 provides sewer service to the more densely populated historic town center around the railroad line on the west side of Piru Creek. The district's service area also includes a small area east of the creek and certain areas south of the settlement along Main Street.

Education

Fillmore Unified School District operates Piru Elementary School. The district also operates Fillmore Middle School and Fillmore High School in Fillmore.

Use as filming location

Piru has been used for shooting film and television productions over the years, including ''

Desert Fury ''Desert Fury'' is a 1947 American film noir crime film directed by Lewis Allen (director), Lewis Allen, and starring Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak and Burt Lancaster. Its plot follows the daughter of a casino owner in a small Nevada town who become ...

'' (1947). Location scenes were shot with the northwest side of Center Street, at Main, used as the exterior of Fritzi Haller's saloon and casino; the Piru Mansion was used as the Haller home and the historic Piru bridge, crossing Piru Creek on the east side of town, was used as the locale of the car crash. (Some of the exterior scenes were also filmed in the Old Town section of Cottonwood, Arizona, especially where Burt Lancaster enters the Old Town jail, extant though enlarged.) Piru was also used in the scene in '' A Star Is Born'' (1954) starring

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

where Jack Carson's character, Libby, finds them after they are married. Piru was also featured in the 1966 film '' Incident at Phantom Hill''. Piru stood in for a fictional town Clarksberg, California in the 1974

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

'' The California Kid''. Piru was used as a location for the 1974 '' Rockford Files ''episode 'Caledonia, It's Worth a Fortune.' It was used for exterior shots in the 1975

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company founded by Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott in 1962, before closing by Group W Productions on February 3, 1989. Located in Reseda, California, Filmation produced animated ...

children's series '' The Ghost Busters''. ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

'' filmed "Angel's on Vacation" in Piru in 1979. Scenes in '' The Fugitive'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

'', ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', '' NCIS'' and ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' were filmed in Piru. In the 1981 made-for-TV horror film '' Dark Night of the Scarecrow'', several of the primary locations in the film, including the café, post office and service station, are in Piru. In '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983), the scenes of the rest home in the "Kick the Can" segment were filmed at the historic building that is now the Heritage Valley Inn.

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

and

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

filmed scenes for '' Rhinestone'' (1984), in Piru. Also ''Silent Night Deadly Night 3'' was filmed here, in 1984. The town served as the fictional San Remos countryside in the movie ''

Cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

'', starring

, Reni Santoni and

Brigitte Nielsen Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...

. With the exception of a few scenes, the entire comedy '' Happy, Texas'' (1999) was filmed in Piru. It was also used for scenes of '' Bubble Boy''. The exterior of Piru United Methodist Church was used in ''

Big Momma's House ''Big Momma's House'' is a 2000 crime comedy film, directed by Raja Gosnell, and written by Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer. The film stars Martin Lawrence as an FBI agent who is tasked with tracking down an escaped convict and his loot, by goi ...

'' (2001). The chase scene in '' Enough'' (2002) starring

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

was filmed in Piru along with scenes from ''

Torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...

'' (2004) and the final scene for '' Van Helsing'' (2004). The 2005 movie '' The Amateurs'' starring

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

was largely filmed in Piru – as was much of the television movie ''

The Love War ''The Love War'' (1970) is a science fiction ABC Movie of the Week starring Lloyd Bridges as an alien warrior and Angie Dickinson as the woman he befriends. It was originally advertised and broadcast under the title ''The Sixth Column''. Plot Tw ...

'' (1970) starring Jeff's father

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

, with

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

(with Piru serving as location ''and'' setting). The town has also served for some of the scenes on TV's ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American television sitcom created by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver for Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic ...

'' and for scenes set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, in ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

''. In the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

movie ''

Race to Witch Mountain ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is a 2009 American science fiction adventure film directed by Andy Fickman. The film stars Dwayne Johnson alongside AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciarán Hinds, Alexander Ludwig, Tom Everett Scott, and Christoph ...

'' (2009) starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, scenes where he and the alien boy and girl go into a small town, Stony Creek, where they have repairs done on his

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

and go to a restaurant/country music club, were actually shot in Piru, which continues to be a popular location with film companies. Piru Mansion was used as the home of Ellis Wyatt in '' Atlas Shrugged: Part I'' (2011), the first segment in a three-part movie adaptation of the novel by

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

. Piru was also used to film the 2011 music video " Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" from the band

Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster (musician), Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending ...

and featuring actress Gabourey Sidibe. The ''Dexter'' season 6 episode "Nebraska" which aired in 2011 was partially filmed in Piru, with Piru standing in for parts of Nebraska. The 2013 music video for the hit '' Wake Me Up'' by

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

, starring the Russian model Kristina Romanova and the young Californian model Laneya Grace. ''

Water for Elephants Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

'' was also filmed in Piru as well as

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

' ''Unthinkable'' music video. The 2014 action-drama film '' Swelter'', starring

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate schoo ...

, Lennie James, and

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...

, was filmed entirely in Piru, per the DVD credits, with the town substituting for Baker, Nevada. The 2017 movie '' Lucky'', starring Harry Dean Stanton, was filmed in Piru.

Notes

References

External links

TrainWeb.org – First Train to Piru in Years!
{{authority control Census-designated places in Ventura County, California Populated places established in 1887 History of Ventura County, California Census-designated places in California 1887 establishments in California