Haunting and alluring in a state of active decay the aging Elsinore Naval and Military Academy was constructed in the late 1920s as part of the Southern California Athletic and Country Club, but the club never opened due to financial troubles and the coming depression.Haunting and alluring in a state of active decay the aging Elsinore Naval and Military Academy was constructed in the late 1920s as part of the Southern California Athletic and Country Club, but the club never opened due to financial troubles and the coming depression.
In 1933, the stately building opened as a military school for boys in grades 1-12 opened. It averaged 150 to 200 students until it closed in 1977.The school played host and home to sons of wealthy parents, including foreign dictators and even the son of actor Bela Lugosi, of “Count Dracula” fame.
The school has remained empty since 1977 suffering fire in the main lobby and the out buildings that housed classrooms burned down in the 1980s. Vandalism, squatters and the weather take their toll each year. The facade beyond a ineffective chain link security fence appears tired and worn as it awaits restoration or a wrecking ball.
The old academy has become the creepy Overlook of Inland Southern California.