View across Universal City, with Burbank studio district in backgroundView of 10 Universal City Plaza alongside Universal Sheraton and Universal Hilton
Universal City is a neighborhood within the San Fernando Valley of the City of Los Angeles which includes portions of unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (168ha), within and immediately outside the area is the property of Universal Pictures (NBCUniversal's film studio), one of the five major film studios in the United States: about 70 percent of the studio's property is inside this unincorporated area, while the remaining 30 percent is within the Los Angeles city limits. Universal City is nearly surrounded by Los Angeles, with the area's northeastern corner touching the city of Burbank.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) station is located at Universal CityWalk, and the community also houses the only government-funded fire station in the United States located on private property. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) Station 51 (formerly Station 60 until the mid 1990s) is of special significance to Universal, as "Station 51" was the fictional setting of the Universal and Jack Webb television series Emergency![2] The current Station 51 was not used for external shots, or used as a model for the interior shots seen on the show (LACFD Station 127 in Carson was used).
Carl Laemmle officially opened the Second Universal City (Lankershim Boulevard) on March 15, 1915, on the 230-acre (93ha) Taylor Ranch property.[5] At the launch event, in what is now the North Hollywood area, a crowd of men and women eagerly awaited the display of the film stages, daredevil stunt pilots and silent film idols, as well as the movie cameras Laemmle had brought along. "See how slapstick comedies are made. See your favorite screen stars do their work. See how we make the people laugh or cry or sit on the edge of their chairs the world over!" stated a poster touting Universal's opening. "C'mon out! Aw, c'mon!"[6]
Laemmle, a German immigrant, was Universal Pictures' founder who opened his first nickelodeon in Chicago in 1906. He moved to New York City, where he soon joined half a dozen small motion picture companies to create the movie company he called Universal Pictures.
In 1912, Laemmle briefly operated three small studios - Bison, Nestor, and Oak Crest Ranch. After a court battle with New York Motion Picture Company, control of the Bison lot was returned to the New York Motion Picture Company. The court allowed Carl Laemmle to retain use of the name "Bison" as "Bison 101" for his westerns,[7] which were filmed on the Oak Crest property in the San Fernando Valley. The Oak Crest Ranch is where Laemmle filmed the western At Old Fort Dearborn. The Providencia Land and Water company, called "Oak Crest Ranch" in the trade papers, became the first Universal City location.
In 1913, Laemmle consolidated the Nestor studio (Hollywood) and Oak Crest ranch (Providencia) property. His first Universal City was too small, so he ordered a search for a new and larger property in the valley, a location with more space. Laemmle leased Providencia ranchland in the San Fernando Valley in 1912. If it was a city, it was a haphazard one:[8] with the help of nearly 300 movie hands and actors, Laemmle erected makeshift buildings, set up cameras and began churning out hundreds of one- and two-reel silent westerns.
Other studio chiefs called the place "Laemmle's Folly", mocking that the property was so far out of town and that Laemmle could film scenery for free anywhere he wanted. Laemmle worried that he had made a huge mistake, though Universal was a success because the public could observe movies being made.[citation needed]
In the meantime, Laemmle added a zoo to the Oak Crest Ranch,[9] which was open to visitors to generate free advertising by word of mouth. The Rotarians of Los Angeles were one of the groups permitted to visit the Oak Crest - Universal City.[10]
The Oak Crest ranch being too small for his larger Universal City, Laemmle bought the Lankershim Land and Water property, the 230-acre (0.93km2) Taylor Ranch for $165,000, calling it his "New Universal City".
In 1914, operations at The Oak Ranch (Providencia Ranch) were moved to the Taylor (Lankershim) ranch. The Universal (Oak Crest) ranch zoo was moved to the permanent Universal City Zoo location on the Back Ranch of the Lankershim property where it persisted until the 1930s. The new Universal City was opened for Universal staff in 1914.
Laemmle went on an eight-day whistle-stop tour from Chicago to Los Angeles the week before Universal City's grand public opening. His promoters even sold the grand (and technically impossible) lie that Laemmle had persuaded the Secretary of the Navy to send a battleship up the Los Angeles River to fire a salvo on opening day. Easterners, they hoped, would believe anything they heard about California.
After World War I, Laemmle brought even more kin over from war-torn Europe, increasing the payroll to 70. His cheerful nepotism was immortalized in humorist Ogden Nash's couplet: Uncle Carl Laemmle has a very large faemmle. Carl Laemmle was responsible for creating the "star system" rather than just using anonymous actors in films.
Laemmle was forced to end studio tours in the 1920s, when talkies came along and "quiet on the set" became an absolute. He sold his sprawling entertainment empire in 1936. Before his death in 1939, at age 72, he helped bring more than 200 German-Jewish refugees to Los Angeles.
Universal City did not welcome tourists again until July 15, 1964, with the opening of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and its included Studio Tour. The next few decades saw the arrival of hotels, an amphitheater, and Universal CityWalk (a faux city street and popular destination for tourists and locals).
Universal Ranch 1912
On April 30, 1912, Carl Laemmle merged the Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP) with five smaller companies to form the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. After visiting his newly acquired west coast operations of Nestor Studios and Nestor Ranch, he renamed the studio "Universal Studios" and the leased Oak Crest Ranch became the first "Universal City" in the San Fernando Valley. The first Universal/Nestor Ranch (Providencia Land and Water Development Company property Oak Crest Ranch) is presently the site of Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). In 1915, Universal moved its operations at the Hollywood/Nestor studio and Universal/Nestor Ranch to its new Lankershim Blvd. location before the official opening of Universal City (Lankershim Blvd). In 1916, the first Universal Oak Ranch became known as the Lasky Ranch. The Hollywood studio was then leased to Christie Comedies.
Universal City – Oak Crest Ranch (1912–1914)
In 1912, Carl Laemmle toured his Pacific Coast operations. He renamed the Nestor Studio "Universal Studios" and renamed the Providencia Ranch "Universal City." Carl Laemmle thought the Providencia Ranch area was too small for his idea of "Universal City." He ordered the purchase of Lankershim land Water Company property. Universal City moved to a new location, the Taylor Ranch.[11]
Lankershim Land and Water Company
They purchased lots 276, 277, 278; also a small portion of Lot 279, marked "Mary L. Carhart" (left side of the Lankershim bridge). Only 230 acres (0.93km2) of the northern part of lot 278 became the official studios front lot in 1915. The zoo and second open-air stage were constructed on the northern sections of lot 277 and 278. The mountain portions above 600 feet (180m) were not incorporated into studio use until MCA/Universal's master plan to level the hills and create the Universal Studio Tour Center and City Walk.
Universal City Ranch (Forest Lawn) moves
Between 1914 and 1915 "Universal City" assets were moved to the Lankershim location.[12][13]
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) history before 1917
Early map of Burbank, California, with Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills on the bottom left
The Providencia Land and Water Development Company property was used as a location for some early films, most significantly the battle scenes in the silent classic about the American Civil War, The Birth of a Nation (1915).
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the West Hollywood Station in West Hollywood, serving Universal City.[19] In addition, the department operates the substation at Universal CityWalk in Universal City. Prior to the summer of 1991, the West Hollywood Station handled all calls for police service from Universal City. In the summer of 1991, the LASD established the substation in a trailer in the parking lot of the studio tour and remained in the area until two years later, when the substation was moved into a permanent location in the CityWalk theme mall when it opened.[20] The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) also shares jurisdiction with the LASD in providing protection to Universal City, operating the North Hollywood Community Police Station in North Hollywood, whose responsibilities include Universal City.[21]
The Universal City shuttle between Lankershim Boulevard and CityWalk, decorated for the December 2024 holiday season
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The Home of Peace Memorial Park and Mortuary, also called the Home of Peace Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 4334 Whittier Boulevard west of Interstate 710 in East Los Angeles.
Carl Laemmle was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films.
The Nestor Film Company, originally known as the Nestor Motion Picture Company, was an American motion picture production company. It was founded in 1909 as the West Coast production unit of the Centaur Film Company located in Bayonne, New Jersey. While not the first movie studio in Los Angeles, Nestor made great strides on October 27, 1911, by establishing the first permanent motion picture studio in Hollywood, California, and producing the first Hollywood films. The company later merged with its distributor, the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, on May 20, 1912. Nestor remained a recognizable brand name for Universal until at least the middle of 1917.
David Horsley was an English-American pioneer of the film industry. He founded the Centaur Film Company and its West Coast branch, the Nestor Film Company, which established the first film studio in Hollywood in 1911.
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketing headline is "The Entertainment Capital of LA". It was initially created to offer tours of the real Universal Studios sets and is the first of many full-fledged Universal Studios theme park resorts located across the world.
Universal City/Studio City station is an underground rapid transit station on the B Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located under Lankershim Boulevard at its intersection of Campo de Cahuenga and Universal Hollywood Drive in the neighborhoods of Universal City and Studio City, after which the station is named.
Josephine M. Workman better known by her stage name, Princess Mona Darkfeather was an American actress who starred in Native American and Western dramas. During the silent era of motion pictures, from 1911 to 1917, she appeared in 102 movies. She is best known for her role as Prairie Flower in The Vanishing Tribe (1914).
The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a motion picture studio and production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle. The company was based in New York City, with production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1912, IMP merged with several other production companies to form Universal Film Manufacturing Company, later renamed Universal Pictures Company with Laemmle as president.
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate.
Edendale is a historical name for a district in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, in what is known today as Echo Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake. In the opening decades of the 20th century, in the era of silent movies, Edendale was known as the home of most major movie studios on the West Coast. Among its many claims, it was home to the Keystone Cops, and the site of many movie firsts, including Charlie Chaplin's first movie, the first feature-length comedy, and one of the first pies-in-the-face. The Edendale movie studios were mostly concentrated in a four-block stretch of Allesandro Street, between Berkeley Avenue and Duane Street. Allesandro Street was later renamed Glendale Boulevard.
The Centaur Film Company was an American motion picture production company founded in 1907 in Bayonne, New Jersey, by William and David Horsley. It was the first independent motion picture production company in the United States. In 1909 the company added a West Coast production unit, the Nestor Film Company, which established the first permanent film studio in Hollywood, California, in 1911. The company was absorbed by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company in 1912.
Providencia Ranch, part of Providencia Land and Water Development Company property named for the Rancho Providencia Mexican land grant, was a property in California, US. It was used as a filming location for the American Civil War battle scenes in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and other silent motion pictures. The valley was also the site for two Universal Studios west coast operations in 1914.
The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded. Throughout its history, settlement in the San Fernando Valley was shaped by availability of reliable water supplies and by proximity to the major transportation routes through the surrounding mountains.
Thomas Harper Ince was an American silent era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films.
Universal Studios Lot is a television and film studio complex located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California and is part of the entire Universal Studios complex, which also includes the adjacent Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. It is the production site of Universal Studios and is owned by Comcast through its subsidiary NBCUniversal. The lot officially opened the gates of Universal City on March 15, 1915. The lot began offering its modern studio tour in 1964, which eventually evolved into the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Today the Universal Studios Lot is made up of 400 acres, which includes more than 30 sound stages, the Brokaw News Center and 165 other separate structures.
Rex Motion Picture Company was an early film production company in the United States.
The Unattainable is a 1916 American Black and White silent drama directed by Lloyd B. Carleton. The film is based on the story by Elwood D. Henning. The photoplay stars Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson.
Universal City Zoo was a private animal collection in southern California that provided animals for silent-era Universal Pictures adventure films, circus pictures, and animal comedies, and to "serve as a point of interest" for tourists visiting Universal City. The animals were also leased to other studios. The zoo was closed in 1930, after cinema's transition to synchronized sound complicated the existing systems for using trained animals onscreen.
Charles Herbert Christie and Alfred Ernest Christie were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs.
"San Fernando Valley" By Marc Wanamaker (2011) Page 97, 103, and 106
Early Hollywood Research Database - New York Dramatic Mirror - December 4, 1912
Pacific Film Archive - Media History Digital Library -" The Moving PictureWorld" - Volume XVI April to June 1913
The Moving Picture World - "UNIVERSAL CITY MOVES: Movie Making locations by Jerry L. Schneider
Early Universal City by Robert Birchard: Arcadia Publishing
Universal Weekly: "A Trip through the Home of Universal" July 5, 1913, August 16, 1913, July 5, 1913
Universal Weekly: "Universal City to be Moved to new Sites" March 28, 1914
Universal Weekly: "Universal's Chameleon City" and "Universal's Chameleon Studio Town"
Universal Weekly: " Movie Actress Control Its Politic" 1913
Universal Weekly: " Where Work Is Play and Play is Work" December 1913
The Rotarian - Feb 1914 - Page 59 " Tour of the Oak Crest Ranch - the first Universal City
Universal Weekly: "The New Universal City ," September 1914
"The Life and Adventures of Carl Laemmle" By John Drinkwater [Chapter IX Universal City]
"Building Universal City" [October 3, 1914, The Moving Picture World] Movie Making locations by Jerry L. Schneider
"Oak Crest," two articles quoted [The Moving Picture World]Movie Making locations by Jerry L. Schneider
"Facts and Figures about Universal City" "Souvenir Edition", 1915 Universal City Tour
The Hollywood story By Joel Waldo Finler, Page 261 " The New Universal City .. in 1915"
Bison Archives Collection Oak Crest Ranch images - Mark Wannamaker - interview on the first Universal City 1912 to 1914
The Theatre of Science: a volume of progress and achievement in the motion picture industry by Robert Grau (1914) pages 51 and 287 [Providencia Ranch - Universal City Moves]
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