CULVER CITY, CA

Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Since the 1920s, Culver City has been a center for film and later television production, best known as the home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. From 1932 to 1986, it was the headquarters for the Hughes Aircraft Company. National Public Radio West and Sony Pictures Entertainment have headquarters in the city. The city was named after its founder, Harry Culver. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Over the years, it has annexed more than 40 pieces of adjoining land and now comprises about .

History

Early history

Archaeological evidence suggests a human presence in the area of present-day Culver City since at least 8000 BC. The region was the homeland of the Tongva-Gabrieliño Native Americans. For centuries, native people lived in areas currently part of and surrounding Culver City. California's native people were massacred by waves of Spanish, Mexican and Euro-American invaders through a combination of slavery, disease, relocation, forced labor, imprisonment, broken treaties and a genocidal war of extermination, including paid bounties for dead “Indians”.

The Spanish and Mexican governments offered concessions and land grants from 1785 to 1846 forming the Ranchos of California. Culver City was founded on the lands of the former Rancho La Ballona and Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes. When Culver City was founded, native, Hispanic or Latino people were not allowed to buy property.

Camp Latham

In 1861, during the American Civil War, Camp Latham was established by the 1st California Infantry under Col. James H. Carleton and the 1st California Cavalry under Lt. Col. Benjamin F. Davis. Named for California Senator Milton S. Latham, the camp was the first staging area for the training of Union troops and their operations in Southern California. It was located on land of the Rancho La Ballona, on the South side of Ballona Creek, near what is now the intersection of Jefferson and Overland Boulevards. The post was later moved to Camp Drum, which became the Drum Barracks.

Culver City

Harry Culver first attempted to establish Culver City in 1913. It was officially incorporated on September 20, 1917, and named after its founder. His first ads read "All roads lead to Culver City", indicating several main transportation routes led to the city. While this slogan might seem welcoming to all, the city was explicitly founded as a whites-only sundown town, as were most of the suburbs and towns outside the downtown and Central Avenue districts of Los Angeles. Culver ran ads promoting “this model little white city”, while his close associate, Guy M. Rush, promoted lot sales “restricted to Caucasian race”. The city also at times excluded people of non-Christian religious faiths.

The weekly Culver City Call was the first newspaper in the community. The paper was founded in 1915.

The first film studio in Culver City was built by Thomas Ince in 1918 for The Triangle Motion Picture Company. Silent film comedy producer Hal Roach built his studios there in 1919, and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) took over the Triangle studio complex in 1924. During Prohibition, speakeasies and nightclubs such as the Cotton Club lined Washington Boulevard.

Culver Center, one of Southern California's first shopping malls, was completed in 1950 on Venice Boulevard near the Overland Avenue intersection. Many other retail stores, including a Rite Aid and several banks and restaurants, have occupied the center since then.

Hughes Aircraft Company

Hughes Aircraft opened its Culver City plant in July 1941. There the company built the H-4 Hercules transport (commonly called the "Spruce Goose"). Hughes was also an active subcontractor in World War II. It developed and patented a flexible feed chute for faster loading of machine guns on B-17 bombers, and manufactured electric booster drives for machine guns. Hughes produced more ammunition belts than any other American manufacturer, and built 5,576 wings and 6,370 rear fuselage sections for Vultee BT-13 trainers.

Hughes grew after the war, and in 1953 Howard Hughes donated all his stock in the company to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. After he died in 1976, the institute sold the company, which made it the second-best-endowed medical research foundation in the world.

The studios (1960s, 1970s and 1980s)

The Hal Roach Studios were demolished in 1963. In the late 1960s, much of the MGM backlot acreage (lot 3 and other property on Jefferson Boulevard), and the nearby known as RKO Forty Acres, once owned by RKO Pictures and later Desilu Productions, were sold by their owners. In 1976 the sets were razed to make way for redevelopment. Today the RKO site is the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract, while the MGM property has been converted into a subdivision and a shopping center known as Raintree Plaza.

Rebirth of downtown (1990s and 2000s)

In the early 1990s, Culver City launched a successful revitalization program in which it renovated its downtown as well as several shopping centers in the Sepulveda Boulevard corridor near Westfield Culver City. Around the same time, Sony's motion picture subsidiaries, Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, moved into the Lorimar Studios lot which was renamed Columbia Studios in 1990 and took on its current name, Sony Pictures Studios a year later.

The influx of many art galleries and restaurants to the eastern part of the city, formally designated the Culver City Art District, prompted The New York Times in 2007 to praise the new art scene and call Culver City a "nascent Chelsea."

In 2012 Roger Vincent of the Los Angeles Times said that, according to local observers, the city's "reputation as a pedestrian-friendly destination with upscale restaurants, gastropubs and a thriving art scene is less than a decade old".

Geography

The city is surrounded by the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Mar Vista and Palms to the north; Westchester to the south; Mid-City, West Adams, and Baldwin Hills to the east; the Ladera Heights unincorporated area to the southeast; and the L.A. neighborhoods of Venice and Playa Vista to the west, along with the unincorporated area of Marina Del Rey.

The two primary ZIP codes for Culver City are 90230 and 90232. Because ZIP codes do not necessarily follow city boundaries, a portion of Culver City is in the 90066 ZIP code, which also serves some of the Mar Vista neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles.

Culver City's major geographic feature is Ballona Creek, which runs northeast to southwest through most of the city before it drains into Santa Monica Bay in Marina Del Rey.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , over 99% of which is land.

Climate

Culver City has a borderline semi-arid (Köppen: Bsk) and Mediterranean climate (Csb/Csa), typical of coastal southern California.

Demographics

Economy

Corporations with headquarters in Culver City include Beats Audio, MedMen, National Public Radio West, NantHealth, Talespin Reality Labs, Sweetgreen and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Largest employers

According to the city's 2019–20 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

Movie and television production

Hundreds of movies have been produced on the lots of Culver City's studios: Sony Pictures Studios (originally MGM Studios), Culver Studios, and the former Hal Roach Studios. These include The Wizard of Oz, The Thin Man, Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, the Tarzan series, and the original King Kong. More recent films made in Culver City include Grease, Raging Bull, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Man with Two Brains, City Slickers, Air Force One, Wag the Dog and Contact. Television series made on Culver City sets have included Jeopardy!, Las Vegas, Gunsmoke, Cougar Town, Mad About You, Lassie, Hogan's Heroes, Batman, The Green Hornet, Arrested Development, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Nanny, Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef, the syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune and Tosh. O. The television series The Green Hornet featured Bruce Lee as Kato; he resided in Culver City during its production.

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. It served as a set for many other films, including Pee-wee's Big Adventure. The theatre was closed in 1993 and demolished in 1998; it is now a housing subdivision featuring large homes on small lots, as well as the Kayne-ERAS center, a school and community center for the disabled and mentally challenged.

The historic [http://www.culvercityhistoricalsociety.org/historic-sites/site2/ Hull Building], 9543 Culver Boulevard at the northwest corner of Washington Boulevard and Watseka Avenue featured as Flynn's Arcade in the 1982 movie, Tron.

Culver City's streets have been featured in many films and television series. Since much of the architecture has not changed in decades, particularly in residential areas, the nostalgic sitcom The Wonder Years set many of its outdoor scenes in Culver City. The 1970s–80s series CHiPs produced at nearby MGM studios, also featured many chase scenes through the streets. The Nicolas Cage film Matchstick Men included scenes made at Veterans Memorial Park, which was also featured in the opening scenes of the sitcom The Hogan Family.

The Aviator, a film about Howard Hughes, featured several mentions of Culver City in connection with Hughes. Scenes from Bewitched (2005) with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell were also filmed in the Culver City streets. The film Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) starring Jim Carrey was filmed there. The closing aerial sequence of Get Shorty (1995) starring John Travolta and Danny DeVito is also filmed in Culver City, at Sony Pictures Studios. Additionally, scenes of Superbad (2007) starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera were filmed in areas surrounding Culver City High School.

In 2010, the films Killers and Dinner for Schmucks were filmed in Culver City. In 2011, Lincoln Lawyer, Moneyball, Horrible Bosses and Jack and Jill were released, all of which were filmed in Culver City. Think Like a Man and The Campaign were filmed in Culver City and released in 2012.

In 2017 Amazon Studios announces plans to occupy 280,000 SF at the studios by 2020, and in 2018 Hackman Capital Partners begins construction at the studios, a transformation that will more than double its size to 720,850 SF. Amazon Studios has taken approximately 530,000 square feet at The Culver Studios, including the company’s existing space in the historic Mansion and bungalows.

Businesses

Arts and culture

At least two Culver City landmarks, the Douglas Olmsted Freeman-designed Lion’s Fountain in Town Plaza (adjacent to the Culver Hotel) and the 94-foot high “Rainbow” sculpture by Tony Tasset at the Sony lot nod to The Wizard of Oz (1939), which was filmed in Culver City.

Theaters

Museums

thumb|right|Piece of the Berlin Wall outside the Wende Museum on Culver Blvd.

Cemeteries

Churches

Library

The County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Julian Dixon Culver City Branch on Overland Ave.

Parks and recreation

List of Culver City municipal parks

The City of Culver City Parks and Recreation department operates 14 outdoor parks within city limits.

# Blair Hills Park

# Blanco Park

# Carlson Park

# Coombs Parkette

# Culver City Park

# Culver West Alexander Park

# El Marino Park

# Fox Hills Park

# Fox Hills Parkette

# Lindberg Park

# Outdoor Play Area at Linwood Howe

# Syd Kronenthal Park

# Tellefson Park

# Veterans Memorial Park

Government

Culver City has a five-member city council.

In Los Angeles County, Culver City is in the 2nd Supervisorial District, represented by Holly Mitchell.

In the California State Legislature, Culver City is in , and in .

In the United States House of Representatives, Culver City is in .

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Culver City has its own school district, Culver City Unified School District. It has five elementary schools, a middle school, two high schools (regular and continuation), a Community Day School, an Office of Child Development, and an Adult School. There are three elementary schools that are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. In addition, there is an Independent Study program where students of elementary, middle school, or high school age can make a weekly appointment to drop off and pick up homework, which is to be completed throughout the week.

STAR Prep Academy, a private middle and high school, was established in 2004 and shares its campus with the STAR ECO Station, an exotic wildlife rescue center. It is one of the few schools in the United States where students can work with exotic and endangered animals daily as part of their curriculum.

The Willows Community School is a private primary, elementary and middle school, grades DK through 8, established in 1994 on Higuera Street.

Turning Point School is an independent primary, elementary and middle school, serving students from 2 years 9 months through grade 8, on National Blvd.

Kayne Eras Center is on Machado Road. In July 2008, the Kayne Eras Center merged with the Exceptional Children's Foundation, creating the only agency in Southern California that provides a continuum of services to individuals with disabilities from birth through adulthood..

Wildwood School is a private primary, elementary, middle and high school, grades K through 12, established in 1971 on McManus Avenue.

Echo Horizon School is a private primary, elementary, and middle school, grades Pre-K through 6, established in 1985 on McManus Avenue.

Culver City High School's Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA) is a "specialized secondary program" created in 1996 through a grant from the state of California with major support from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The program offers classes in departments of Music, Theatre, Visual Art, Film, and Dance that occur after the regular school day at Culver City HS has ended.

Colleges and universities

Other

The Los Angeles County Probation Department's Training Academy is on the campus of West L.A. College.

Culver City has the Los Angeles area campus of the Gemological Institute of America.

Transportation

Transit

The Culver City station of the Los Angeles Metro E Line sits at the Culver Junction near Venice and Robertson Boulevards in Culver City. The E Line provides a light rail connection from Culver City to Downtown Los Angeles to the east and Downtown Santa Monica to the west, mostly following the right-of-way that the Pacific Electric Santa Monica Air Line used, also known as the Exposition Blvd line by PE. Culver City Station was the western terminus of what was then known as the Expo Line from its opening on June 20, 2012, to the opening of Expo Line phase two on May 20, 2016.

Culver CityBus was founded on March 4, 1928, making it the second oldest municipal bus line in California and the oldest public transit bus system still operating in Los Angeles County. Big Blue Bus was founded on April 14, 1928. Culver CityBus operates seven regular bus lines as well as a short-term downtown circulator shuttle.

The Culver City Transit Center in the Westfield Culver City parking serves as a bus depot for three Culver CityBus lines and two Metro Los Angeles bus lines. The Washington Fairfax Hub just outside city limits under the 10 freeway connects residents to seven bus lines, two operated by Culver CityBus and five operated by Metro.

The Baldwin Hills Parklands Link is a shuttle service operated by Los Angeles County that stops at Stoneview Nature Center on weekends only.

Bike routes

The city is served by multiple separated bike paths:

Air travel

The city is served by the Los Angeles International Airport, about south of the city.

Freeways

Culver City is served by Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway), Interstate 10 (Santa Monica Freeway), and California State Route 90 (Marina Freeway).

Public services

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Culver City. The department operates the Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center in Santa Monica, serving Culver City.

The United States Postal Service operates locations at 6695 Green Valley Circle in the Fox Hills neighborhood and at 9942 Culver Boulevard in downtown Culver City.

Culver City is served by its own police force, the Culver City Police Department, at 4040 Duquesne Avenue.

Culver City's fire department (ISO class 1), the Culver City Fire Department, has its headquarters at 9600 Culver Boulevard. CCFD operates three stations and a fire training facility.

Neighborhoods

The City of Culver City recognizes 15 neighborhoods within city limits.

#Blair Hills

#Blanco-Culver Crest

#Clarkdale

#Culver West

#Downtown Culver City

#Fox Hills

#Jefferson

#Lucerne-Higuera

#McLaughlin

#McManus

#Park East

#Park West

#Studio Village

#Sunkist Park (El Marino)

# Washington Culver (Veterans Park)

See also: Hayden Tract and Culver City Arts District

Sister cities

Notable people