Culver City, California

Culver City is a city located in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 38,816. The community is virtually surrounded by the city of Los Angeles.

History

Culver City was founded by Harry Culver in 1913 and the city was incorporated in 1917. The first film studio in Culver City was built by Thomas Ince in 1918. In the 1920s, silent film comedy producer Hal Roach and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) would build studios in Culver City. During Prohibition, speakeasies and nightclubs such as the Cotton Club lined Washington Boulevard near the studios; as in West Hollywood to the north, their presence was a major factor in Culver City's resistance to annexation by Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
Harry Culver - 1913 - Incorporated - 1917 - Thomas Ince - 1918 - 1920s - Silent film - Hal Roach - Metro Goldwyn Mayer - Culver City - Prohibition - Speakeasies - Cotton Club - Washington Boulevard - West Hollywood

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The Heart of Screenland

Hundreds of movies and TV shows have been filmed on the lots of Culver City's movie studios, including The Wizard of Oz, The Thin Man, Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Rebecca, the Tarzan series, and the original King Kong. In fact, the Yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz is still inside the lot on Stage 27 of Sony Studios. More recent films made in Culver City include Grease, Raging Bull, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, City Slickers, Air Force One, Wag the Dog and Contact. The TV shows filmed on Culver City sets, include Mad About You, Lassie, Batman, The Andy Griffith Show and Jeopardy!.

Related Topics:
The Wizard of Oz - The Thin Man - Gone with the Wind - Citizen Kane - Rebecca - Tarzan - King Kong - Yellow brick road - Grease - Raging Bull - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - City Slickers - Air Force One - Wag the Dog - Contact - Mad About You - Lassie - Batman - The Andy Griffith Show - Jeopardy!

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John Travolta's "Stranded at the Drive-In" sequence in Grease was filmed at the Studio Drive-In on the corner of Jefferson and Sepulveda, the first Drive-in Theatre built in California. It served as a set for many other films, including Pee-wee's Big Adventure. The Drive-In was closed in 1993, and was demolished in 1998.

Related Topics:
John Travolta - Pee-wee's Big Adventure

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Although the city is mostly unremarkable, its streets should be very familiar to most Americans. Due to its proximity to the movie studios, the city's streets have been featured in countless films and TV shows. Since much of the architecture of the residential areas of the town have not changed in decades, the nostalgic sitcom The Wonder Years filmed many of their outdoor scenes in the neighborhoods of Culver City which easily passed for the 1960s. The 1970's show CHiPs also featured many non-contiguous chase scenes through the streets. The Nicholas Cage film Matchstick Men featured many scenes at Culver City's Veterans Memorial Park (which was also featured in the opening scenes of the sitcom Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family).

Related Topics:
The Wonder Years - CHiPs - Nicholas Cage - Matchstick Men - The Hogan Family

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The history of the town is beginning to be recognized. The Aviator, a 2004 film about Howard Hughes, featured several mentions of Culver City in connection with Hughes.

Related Topics:
The Aviator - 2004

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Culver City has a long history with Howard Hughes, including housing Hughes Aircraft Company. The actual physical Aircraft Company plant has always been located in Westchester - directly adjacent to Culver City. Both Culver City and City of Los Angeles maps verify this point. The plant was commonly, and incorrectly, called "Hughes' Culver City" facility. Part of the confusion is due to Hughes himself, and part due to a Culver City mailing address.

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Roman Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery and Jewish Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery contain the remains of many celebrities and local residents.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - Holy Cross Cemetery - Jewish - Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery

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Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Rita Hayworth, Bela Lugosi, Fred MacMurray from My Three Sons, Audrey Meadows from The Honeymooners, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, Gia Scala, Sharon Tate and Lawrence Welk are among the celebrities buried at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Related Topics:
Bing Crosby - Jimmy Durante - John Ford - Rita Hayworth - Bela Lugosi - Fred MacMurray - My Three Sons - Audrey Meadows - The Honeymooners - Los Angeles Dodgers - Walter O'Malley - Gia Scala - Sharon Tate - Lawrence Welk

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http://www.hollywood-underground.com/holycross.htm

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Jack Benny, Max Factor, Percy Faith, Detroit Tigers baseball legend Hank Greenberg, Lorne Greene, Al Jolson, Michael Landon, Vic Morrow, yippie Jerry Rubin, and Dinah Shore are buried at Hillside Memorial Park.

Related Topics:
Jack Benny - Max Factor - Percy Faith - Hank Greenberg - Lorne Greene - Al Jolson - Michael Landon - Vic Morrow - Jerry Rubin - Dinah Shore

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http://www.hollywood-underground.com/hillside.htm

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Decline of the Studios (1960s & 1970s)

In the 1960s, much of the MGM back lot, 28 acres (113,000 m²) of the "back forty" was sold off to build condominiums and gated townhouse communities. The decline of neighboring South Central Los Angeles (now South Los Angeles) brought gang and narcotics problems to Culver City in the 1970s, and for some time Culver City (especially the city's eastern end) was considered a relatively undesirable area. However, Culver City

Related Topics:
1960s - Condominiums - South Los Angeles - Gang - Narcotics

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managed to avoid the white flight which occurred in other nearby communities ; the non-Latino white

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population did not leave the city because of the increased numbers of other ethnicities.

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Rebirth of Downtown (1990s & 2000s)

However, in the 1990s, it launched a successful revitalization program in which it renovated its downtown as well as several shopping centers in the Sepulveda Boulevard corridor near Fox Hills Mall. Around the same time, the relocation of Sony's motion picture operations(known as Columbia Pictures){{ref|sonyIsColubmia}} to the former MGM studios at Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue also brought much-needed jobs to the city. Although property crime is still an issue (as in most areas of Los Angeles), Culver City is now a diverse, prosperous middle-class community.

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The influx of multiple art galleries to downtown, all within walking distance of one another, prompted the New York Times in 2005 to praise the new art scene and call Culver City a "nascent Chelsea."

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Working out of the Culver Hotel is Richard Cohen Films, producer and distributor of notable documentaries such as "Going To School-Ir a la Escuela" about inclusive education, and "Taylor's Campaign" about homelessness in Santa Monica. Currently, nearing completion is a feature cinema verite documentary about the redevelopment of downtown Culver City, and the saga of the Culver Hotel. For more information, http://www.richardcohenfilms.com

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The future

Groundbreaking may begin in 2006 for the first phase of a Light Rail line from Downtown Los Angeles to the intersection of Venice & Robertson in Culver City with a completion date of 2009 or 2010. The stated intent of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority it that the line eventually be extended to the city of Santa Monica to the West.

Related Topics:
Light Rail - Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Santa Monica

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http://www.mta.net/projects_plans/exposition/default.htm

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