Culver City, California

Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The current mayor is Gary Silbiger.

Since the 1920s, Culver City has been a significant center for motion picture and later television production, in part because it was the home of MGM Studios. It also was the headquarters for the Hughes Aircraft Company from the 1930s to the 1980s. National Public Radio West and Sony Pictures Entertainment now have headquarters in the city.

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 is part of Los Angeles.

1 History
2 Transportation
3 Points of interest
4 Geography
5 Schools
6 Demographics
7 Sister Cities
8 Famous Culver City natives
9 References
10 External links

[edit] History

The site of Culver City, 1913

Culver City was founded by Harry Culver in 1913, and the city was incorporated on September 20, 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) built studios there. During Prohibition, speakeasies and nightclubs such as the Cotton Club lined Washington Boulevard.

[edit] The Heart of Screenland

MGM Studios (now Sony Pictures Studios), 1922.

Home to Sony Pictures Studios (originally MGM Studios), Culver Studios, and the former Hal Roach Studios, hundreds of movies have been produced on the lots of Culver City's 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. Television shows made on Culver City sets have included Las Vegas, Mad About You, Lassie, Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, and Jeopardy!.

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 theater was closed in 1993 and was demolished in 1998; it is now a housing subdivision featuring large homes on small lots, as well as being home to the Kayne-ERAS center, a school and community center for the disabled and mentally challenged.

Culver Hotel

Culver City's streets may be familiar to many movie-goers. They have been featured in countless films and television shows. Since much of the architecture of the residential areas of the town has not changed in decades, the nostalgic sitcom The Wonder Years set many of its outdoor scenes in the timeless neighborhoods of Culver City. The 1970s show CHiPs 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 Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family).

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. The Hughes aircraft plant had a Culver City mailing address but was actually in the adjacent Los Angeles neighborhood of Westchester at a site now called Playa Vista.

[edit] Decline of the Studios (1960s & 1970s)

In the late 1960s, much of the MGM back lot, 28 acres (113,000 m²) of the "back forty" was sold. In 1976, the film sets on the property were razed to the ground to make way for re-development. Today it is known as the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract.

The 2005 film, Fun with Dick and Jane, starring Jim Carrey was filmed there.

[edit] Rebirth of Downtown (1990s & 2000s)

Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Hills.

Culver Center

In the 1990s, Culver City leaders 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)^[6] to the former MGM studios at Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue brought much-needed jobs to the city.

The influx of many art galleries to various parts of the city, formally designated as 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."

[edit] Transportation

The first phase of the Expo line, a Light Rail line from Downtown Los Angeles to a temporary terminus near Venice and Robertson Blvds. in Culver City started in 2006, with an estimated completion date in 2010. The line mostly follows the right of way which the Pacific Electric Santa Monica Air Line used. The stated intent of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is that the line eventually be extended westward to Santa Monica, again mostly along the existing right of way with the possible exception of going through the commercial strip of Venice Blvd.

Culver City Bus currently operates bus service within Culver City[1].

Since 1999, Culver City has set up red light cameras at 13 intersections. Fines for failing to stop at the signal is minimum $351.

[edit] Points of interest

Helms Bakery, now a center for restaurants, art galleries, The Jazz Bakery (a popular jazz club), and furniture display rooms.
Museum of Jurassic Technology [2]: An offbeat museum that is home to many bizarre relics and strange exhibits. Described by AOL City Guide as "what might have happened if Edgar Allan Poe and P.T. Barnum decided to have a garage sale, but then decided to call it a museum". The museum is actually in the community of Palms within the city of Los Angeles.
Center for Land Use Interpretation [3]: The CLUI's main exhibit space is next door to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. The CLUI is a research organization involved in exploring, examining, and understanding land and landscape issues. Exhibits have included an examination of submerged towns, explanations of how Los Angeles traffic is monitored, and a land use database touch-screen kiosk that was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial.
Tito's Tacos: This Mexican fast-food place is widely known in the area and is listed in restaurant guides.
Culver Hotel: A 1924 landmark pie-slice-shaped hotel in downtown. Much of the cast of The Wizard of Oz stayed here during filming of the movie in 1939. The hijinks of that period, including the hotel's being taken over by the "Munchkins," were featured in the 1981 movie Under the Rainbow. Formerly owned by John Wayne, the hotel has housed many stars including Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Red Skelton, Buster Keaton and Ronald Reagan.
Sony Pictures Plaza: This unusual, cantilevered building was featured as the headquarters of Wolfram & Hart, the demonic law firm that was the chief nemesis in the TV Show "Angel". The building is located across the street from the main gate of Sony Studios, which is at 10202 W. Washington Blvd.
Star Eco Station [4]: An environmental science and wildlife rescue center, the STAR ECO Station houses exotic animals that have been abandoned or confiscated and teaches learners of all ages about the environment. At 10101 W. Jefferson Blvd., it offers organized tours.
Culver City Art District [5]: A cluster of over 20 contemporary art galleries in the vicinity of Washington and La Cienega Boulevards.
Culver City Ice Rink is a public ice arena.
Actor's Gang at the Ivy Substation
Culver City Main Street and the Kirk Douglas Theater featuring the Center Theater Group
Culver City's Main Street is claimed to be the world's shortest Main Street.
Ballona Creek Bike Path, giant urn sculpture at Duquesne Ave.
Heritage Fountain at Culver City Hall
Veterans Memorial Building at Veterans Park; tower is 122 feet high

[edit] Geography

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

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

Culver City is served by the San Diego, Santa Monica, and Marina freeways.

Culver City is located at 34°0′28″N, 118°24′3″W (34.007761, -118.400905)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.3 km² (5.1 mi²). 13.2 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.39%) is water.

[edit] 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. In addition, there is an Independent Study program where students of elementary, junior high, 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, offers day classes, independent study and home school. It was established in 2004 and shares its campus with the STAR ECO Station, an exotic wildlife rescue center.[6]

West Los Angeles College is part of the Los Angeles Community College District.

Culver City is the location for the Los Angeles area campus of the Gemological Institute of America as well as Culver Beauty College and the Biofeedback Institute Of Los Angeles.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 38,816 people, 16,611 households, and 9,518 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,932.9/km² (7,589.8/mi²). There were 17,130 housing units at an average density of 1,294.3/km ² (3,349.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.24% White, 11.96% Black or African American, 0.71% Native American, 12.02% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 10.16% from other races, and 5.69% from two or more races. 23.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,611 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,792, and the median income for a family was $61,451. Males had a median income of $46,683 versus $41,478 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,025. About 5.5% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.