Hollywood Studio Tour / Photographs and History of the Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studio Tour
Welcome to the Grace Market Research  Hollywood Studio Tour. Click  the description to view or download larger files. Photographs are copyrighted  and may not be used for commercial purposes
Even though there really is a district in the city of Los Angeles  called Hollywood, the "Hollywood" of movie and television production  studios encompasses a much larger geographic area. Warner  Bros. and Disney are  in Burbank, Columbia Pictures in Culver City,  while Universal Pictures is  located in Universal City - the name chosen by  Carl Laemmle for the chicken  farm he purchased on the outskirts of Los Angeles in 1914.
Nevertheless, from the earliest days, the area called Hollywood was  the home to many movie pioneers. And as you will see, many of these historic  sites are not in ruins or parking lots. In fact they continue to be thriving  production factories. Only the names have changed. We hope you enjoy this  glimpse of Hollywood, past and present.
Click one of the links below to take one of our other photo tours.
Portraits of Los Angeles, Wilshire and La Cienega
26K JPG file This studio was built in 1912 by film pioneer Sigmund "Pop" Lubin. Lubin had made and distributed some of  America's earliest films. One of  his early shorts (1897) featured by peep-show exhibitors showed his two  daughters having a pillow fight. With Thomas Edison he was a member of the  Motion Picture Patents Company, which attempted to control all U.S. film  production and projection through its' ownership of patents. When Lubin's film  company folded in 1917, the studio went through a succession of owners. Notable  among these was Monogram Pictures who filmed numerous "B" pictures  during the 1940's and 1950's including the Bowery Boys, Charlie Chan, and Shadow  series. The studio was   known as the Colorvision TV Studios in 1970 when it was  purchased by the present owner/occupant, KCET, a PBS affiliated station. This  photo shows the red brick buildings built in 1920.  4376 Sunset Drive, East  Hollywood.
38K JPG file In 1913 Jesse Lasky formed the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company  in partnership with Cecil B. DeMille and his brother-in-law, Samuel Goldfish.  Goldfish later changed his name to Goldwyn. This yellow barn was the tiny  company's first studio and the place where they filmed Hollywood's first  full-length motion picture, "The Squaw Man", directed by  DeMille in 1914.  Actors'  dressing rooms were the empty horse stalls.  The film  was enormously successful, grossing $245,000 on an investment of only $47,000.   Originally located at 1521 Vine Street, the structure was later moved to the  Paramount lot on Melrose Avenue, where it remained for 50 years. In 1982, the  barn was moved to its' present location on Highland Avenue across from the  Hollywood Bowl, and is now a museum dedicated to the silent  film era.  2100 N.  Highland Ave. Central Hollywood.
29K JPG file In the 1910's the block now occupied by the Sunset Gower Studios was  populated by fledgling production companies whose lack of capital lead to the  area being dubbed "Poverty Row". Across Gower Street was "Gower  Gulch", the hangout for movie cowboys in search of work. Amid this hotbed  of hustle  Harry Cohn opened the West Coast production arm of the New York film  distribution company, Cohn-Brandt-Cohn.  Columbia Pictures was born. Cohn's  autocratic rule made for tempestuous times at the Gower lot, with many feuds  between Harry and his top stars and directors, including the studios principal  assets, Frank Capra and Rita Hayworth. Nevertheless the studio grew steadily,  and produced a number of hit comedies, including "It Happened One  Night " (1934), "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town" (1936), and "His Girl Friday" (1940). Columbia closed their offices here  in 1972 and moved to Warner Bros'. Burbank Studios. Today the studios are rented  to independent producers although the indies who work here today are not so cash  poor as when the block was known as "Poverty Row". This entrance to  the lot is actually faces Sunset Boulevard. 1438 Gower Street, Central  Hollywood.
11K JPG file In 1915, Carl Laemmle bought a 230 acre chicken ranch on the outskirts  of Los Angeles, and dubbed his new studio "Universal City". Laemmle  had opened his first nickelodeon in 1906 in Chicago, and by 1909 was producing  his own one-reelers. His earliest stars included Mary Pickford, and the  Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman. Growing in size to 420 acres,  Universal City was ideally situated over a large tract of land that included  diverse outdoor locations, and large standing sets. Both Irving Thalberg who ran  the studio in 1920 at age 20, and Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures got  their starts as private secretary to Laemmle. In the 1930's Universal developed  the horror genre with nightmarish monsters like Frankenstein (Boris Karloff),  Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and the Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr.).  In recent years,  Universal has been home to a number of Steven Spielberg's blockbusters,  including "Jaws " , "E.T." and "Jurassic Park". This  photograph of Universal's famous "Black Tower" houses the executive  offices. 3900 Lankershim Blvd., Universal City.
20K JPG file The studio was called Triangle Studios when it was built in 1915 by D.W.  Griffith, Mack Sennett,  and Tom Ince. It became the Sam Goldwyn Studio in 1918,  and in 1924, following the merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis  B. Mayer Productions, it became Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Ironically, Samuel Goldwyn  had been forced to relinquish ownership of Goldwyn Pictures in 1922, and was  never a part of the company that bore his name.  Under Louis Mayer, and Irving  Thalberg, the "boy wonder" who was 24 at the time, MGM became hugely  successful, and the home of "more stars than there are in heaven",  including Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Clark  Gable, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Lana Turner,  all three Barrymores, and many others (the distinguished list goes on and on).   After falling on hard times, MGM sold the lot to Lorimar Television in the  1980's.   Today, the lot is owned by Sony Corp. of America, who got into the  movie business in a big way with the acquisition of  Columbia and Tri-Star  Pictures. 10202 Washington Blvd., Culver City.
31K JPG file Nestled against the Franklin Hills in East Hollywood is the front  gate of ABC's local affiliate, Channel 7. Although ABC uses this location  primarily for local broadcasting these days, in 1917 this was the site of  Vitagraph Studios, one of the most prolific and popular producers of the silent  screen era. Built by film pioneers Stuart Blackton and Albert Smith, Vitagraph  was one of the largest early studios in Hollywood, employing such stars as  Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mary Pickford, Adolphe Menjou and Rudolph Valentino.  This photo was made looking east off Talmadge Avenue, named for Norma Talmadge,  Vitagraphs' premier leading lady. Warner Bros. acquired Vitagraph in 1925, and   sold the studio lot to ABC in 1949. 4151 Prospect Ave., East Hollywood.
44K JPG file Built in 1918 by production pioneer Tom Ince, this plantation-style building was  built to resemble George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, and was the first  major studio building in Culver City. Ince was regarded as a true visionary, and  was partnered at different times with such luminaries as D.W. Griffith and Mack  Sennett. One of his most successful collaborations was with famous cowboy  actor William S. Hart. Rumors continue to surround Ince's mysterious  death in 1924. Some say that he was shot aboard William Randolph  Hearst's yacht. Some say that he drowned. We believe the truth is that Ince suffered a heart attck aboard the yacht, but was taken back to his home  in Benedict Canyon where he died two days later on November 18. Since Ince's death,  the studio has had many owners. The studio was acquired  by RKO Radio in 1931 when that company took over Pathe Exchange, Inc. who had  owned it since at least 1927. It was called RKO Pathe Studio and was owned by  RKO until 1958 when it was sold to Desilu. RKO filmed "Citizen Kane" on this lot. David Selznick leased part of the  studio from RKO and produced many films on the  lot during this period, most notably, "Gone With The Wind".  The lot was acquired by the Sony Corporation as  part of its Culver City expansion. Despite the peaceful exterior, this is a very  busy place. 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City.
20K JPG file Charlie Chaplin built this studio in 1918 after signing a contract  with First National Pictures for more than one million dollars following the  release of his first masterpiece, "The Tramp". All of  Chaplin's classic movies were made here, including "The Kid " (1920), "The Gold Rush" (1925), "City Lights" (1931), "Modern Times" (1936), and "The Great  Dictator" (1940). More recent occupants have been CBS and Red Skelton.  In 1966, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss purchased the property, and made it the home  of A&M Records. The Jim Henson Company purchased the historic studio in  April, 2000, resettling the Muppets and all operations from the Raleigh Studios.  1416 La Brea Ave. Central Hollywood.
30K JPG file Originally called the Jasper Studio when it was built in 1919, this  is the site of Howard Hughes 1927 production "Hell's Angels", starring his "discovery" Jean  Harlow. Francis Ford Coppola bought the studio in 1980 as headquarters for his  Zoetrope production company. In 1983 Zoetrope vacated the studio and it was  reincarnated as the Hollywood Center Studios and is a busy center of independent  productions. Directors  (and brothers) Ridley ("Alien", "Blade  Runner") and Tony Scott ("Top Gun", "Crimson  Tide")  occupied the studio during the 1980's. George Burns, who celebrated his 100th birthday on January 20th of this year, was an  occupant  until his recent death.  The great comedian invariably went to his office on  this lot every Monday thru Friday. All the world will miss him.  1040 Las Palmas Avenue.  Central Hollywood.
33K JPG file This photograph shows the administration building built in 1922 as the West  Coast headquarters of the Warner brothers - Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack. In  1927, Warner  produced the first talking picture, "The Jazz Singer" starring the immensely popular Al Jolson on its sound stages, and changed  the future of the film business. Warner's corporate offices were moved to  Burbank in 1929 after the acquisition of  First National Pictures. In 1939 the  studio was bought and made into a 52 lane bowling alley. Gene Autry purchased  the building in 1964 and since that time it has been the home of KTLA Channel 5.  5858 Sunset Blvd. Central Hollywood.
13K JPG file This old door opens into the Warner Bros. Hollywood Studios on  Formosa Street just south of Santa Monica Blvd. Built in 1920 and called The  Hampton Studios, they were purchased by the Mary Pickford Company in 1918  and renamed Pickford-Fairbanks Studios in 1919 following the merger of  Hollywood's "First Couple". Fairbanks early classics "Robin Hood" (1922) and "The  Thief of Bagdad" (1924) were made here. The name above the main  gate became United Artists in 1921 although UA did not take ownership until  1928. Ua controlled the studio until 1939 when Samuel Goldwyn became a partner  and the studio was renamed The Samuel Goldwyn Studios. Goldwyn acquired complete  ownership in 1955, after a long and bitter court battle with Mary Pickford. Frances Goldwyn, Sam's widow, left the studio to the Motion Picture Home, who  sold it in turn to Warner Bros. in 1980.  1041 Formosa, Central Hollywood.
22K JPG file Paramount's  story begins in 1916 when Adolph Zukor merged his Famous Players Film Company  with Lasky Films to form Famous Players-Lasky. The following year Zukor took  over Paramount Film Distribution and the new company was named Paramount  Pictures. "America's Sweetheart", Mary Pickford provided the  box-office punch for Zukor as he built Paramount into the nations leading film  company. Paramount acquired the United Studios lot in 1926 and continues to  occupy them. Paramount's roster of stars included Rudolph Valentino, Gloria  Swanson, Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, the comedy team Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Cary  Grant, W.C. Fields, Mae West, William Holden, Alan Ladd, as well as Dean Martin  and Jerry Lewis. Paramount was home to directors Cecil B. DeMille, Joseph von  Sternberg, Ernst Lubitsch, Henry Hathaway, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder.   This photo shows one of the two new main gates on Melrose Avenue. The famous old  gate still exists and will be featured in a future album. This is the only major  studio still resident in the "real" Hollywood. 5500 Melrose Ave.,  Central Hollywood.
29K JPG file Part of the Paramount lot now, these studios were built in 1921 and  called the Robertson-Cole Studios. Joseph Kennedy bought it as FBO studios in  1923 in his ill-fated foray into filmmaking. RKO Pictures bought it in 1928 and  in 1941 RKO produced Orson Welles' screen classic, "Citizen Kane" , as well as other Welles' films. RKO was responsible for the pairing of  Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, producing two musical vehicles for them a year  from 1934 to 1937. RKO was instrumental in establishing "film noire" as a popular genre with such films as "Murder My Sweet" (directed by Edward Dmytryk), "Notorious" (Alfred Hitchcock),  and "While the City Sleeps" (Fritz Lang). Desilu bought the  studio in 1953 following the success of  the television series "I Love  Lucy". The blue globe in the picture is the old RKO Globe. 780 Gower  Street, Central Hollywood.
24K JPG file After building a penny arcade into a film distribution business  William Fox founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915.  Legendary sex-goddess  Theda Bara starred in Fox films during the silent era but in 1930 Fox was forced  out of his own company  following a federal anti-trust investigation. This  studio was constructed in 1928 by William Fox, and was an innovator in both  sound and the wide-screen process. In 1935, Fox Film merged with Twentieth  Century to form Twentieth Century-Fox. Darryl Zanuck and Joseph Schenk came from  Twentieth Century to take over the helm of the corporation they would lead for  decades to come. Fox featured players over the years  included Shirley Temple,  Will Rogers, Sonja Henie, Loretta Young, Betty Grable, Henry Fonda, Tyrone  Power, and the inimitable Marilyn Monroe. Fox collected Best Picture Oscars for "Cavalcade"(1933), "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "Gentlemen's Agreement" (1947), "All  About Eve"(1950), "The Sound of Music"(1965), and "The French Connection" (1971), among others. 10201 Pico  Boulevard, Century City.
19K JPG file The Burbank Studios were built in 1926 by First National  Pictures and purchased in 1929 by the ever expanding Warner Bros., Inc.  Corporate headquarters were moved here from the Hollywood offices on Sunset  Blvd., and the Burbank studios became the center for film production. In the  1930's the company produced many gangster pictures starring the likes of James  Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and of course Humphrey Bogart. The gangster genre has  continued to be a staple in the Warner's output with Warren Beatty's "Bonnie  and Clyde" as well as the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" movies  continuing the tradition. Although the studio's first bona fide stars were Rin  Tin Tin and John Barrymore (not necessarily in that order), the studio signed up  many important talents over the years including Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Jane  Wyman, Olivia de Havilland, John Wayne, Doris Day, Joan Crawford, John Garfield,  Paul Muni, and James Dean. Jack Warner had his offices in this building in the  1930's. It still houses executive suites. 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank.
42K JPG file Raleigh Studios has grown during the past 15 years to become  perhaps the largest, best equipped, independent studio in town. The studio was  built during the 1920's by William H. "Billy" Clune and called the  Clune Studios. Clune  also built Clune's Broadway theater in downtown Los  Angeles. The studio was the California Studio in the 30's when William Boyd and  Gabby Hayes made their popular "Hopalong Cassidy"films here.  Future president Ronald Reagan filmed "Death Valley Days"here  in the early 1960's when the studio was aptly called the Producers Studio. 650  N. Bronson, Central Hollywood.
30K JPG file In 1911 the Nestor film Company rented a tavern and a barn on this  site and turned them into Hollywood's first studio. Nestor films merged with  Universal Studios in 1915. CBS built Columbia Square on this site in 1938, and  the studio facilities were home to many classic radio programs. "Lux  Radio Theater", "Beulah", "Gene Autry's  Melody Ranch", "My Friend Irma", "Life With  Luigi", and "The Jack Benny Show" were among many  produced here. Today the buildings are occupied by CBS local affiliate KCBS TV,  Channel 2. 6101 Sunset Blvd., Central Hollywood.
17K JPG file Known as the RenMar Studios today, this site was used by Metro  Pictures as an outdoor set in the 20's before Metro became part of MGM in the  1924 merger.  The studios were built in the 1940's and called the Motion Picture  Studios. It has been the home of a number of television productions including  Danny Thomas' "Make Room For Daddy". 846 Cahuenga Blvd.,  Central Hollywood.
22K JPG file In 1938, the NBC radio building was located at the corner of Sunset Blvd.  and Vine St. in Hollywood, just down the street from the CBS Columbia Square -  also completed in 1938. Hollywood became not only the center of movie  production, but also the center of radio production. The Hollywood studio no  longer exists, but NBC's Burbank headquarters houses both West Coast corporate  offices, and production facilities. This NBC main gate leads to the taping  studios and executive offices. It is here that "The Tonight Show" has been taped since Johnny Carson was a fresh face. The show is still  broadcast from this location, starring new host, Jay Leno.  3000 W. Alameda  Avenue., Burbank
23K JPG CBS began construction of the Television Center in 1952 after  bulldozing  Gilmore Stadium, first home of the L.A. Rams.  Earl Gilmore, who built the  stadium, was born in 1887 in an adobe house still owned by the Gilmore family  and located behind this building - the headquarters of CBS Entertainment  Division, CBS News, and other network corporate offices. CBS executives share  the site with several television productions. Tickets for "The Price Is  Right", "Politically Incorrect", and "Dennis  Miller Live" are currently available here. 7800 Beverly Blvd. West  Hollywood.
20K JPG file From an inauspicious beginning in 1925 in a storefront studio in the Los  Feliz section of Hollywood, the animation genius Walt Disney expanded his studio  first to a location now occupied by a Mayfair grocery store, and then to his  campus-like headquarters on Buena Vista Street in Burbank. Greatly revitalized  in recent years, Disney's new state-of-the-art Animation Building symbolizes the  company's meteoric rise after 20 years of doldrums following founder Walt  Disney's death. The building is the focal point for the many animated film  projects produced since Disney's dramatic reversal of fortune. The Animation  Building is located just south of  the Buena Vista Studios (built by Walt  himself in 1939 on 51 acres that he purchased for $100,000). 500 S. Buena Vista,  Burbank.
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