Universal City, California
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Universal City is an unincorporated area within the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
. Approximately within and immediately outside the area is the property of
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
's film studio, one of the five
major film studios Major film studios are filmmaking, production and film distributor, distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American ...
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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
city limits. Universal City is nearly surrounded by Los Angeles, with the area's northeastern corner touching the city of
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. Located within the area of Universal City is the film studio complex
Universal Studios Lot Universal Studios Lot is a television and Film studio#Typical components, 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 adjacen ...
and the theme park
Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...
, as well as the Universal CityWalk shopping and entertainment center. Within the Los Angeles city limits lies 10 Universal City Plaza, a 36-floor office building for Universal and
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; the Sheraton Universal; and the Universal Hilton. The Metro B Line underground station of the same name is located opposite the 10 Universal Plaza. A
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(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 Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
. The
Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...
(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 John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''Dragnet'' franchise ...
television series ''
Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situatio ...
'' 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). Universal City's ZIP code is 91608, and the community is inside area code 818.


History

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) 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. Regarded as one of the ...
officially opened the Second Universal City (
Lankershim Boulevard Lankershim Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road the runs for in the eastern San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles, California. Geography Lankershim Boulevard's northern terminus is at San Fernando Road in Sun Valley, Los Angele ...
) on March 15, 1915, on the Taylor Ranch property. At the launch event, in what is now the
North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...
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!" Laemmle, a German immigrant, was Universal Pictures' founder who opened his first
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in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 1906. He moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where he soon joined half a dozen small motion picture companies to create the movie company he called
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
. In 1912, Laemmle briefly operated three small studios -
Bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...
, 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, 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: 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. In the meantime, Laemmle added a zoo to the Oak Crest Ranch, 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. The Oak Crest ranch being too small for his larger Universal City, Laemmle bought the Lankershim Land and Water property, the Taylor Ranch for $165,000, calling it his "New Universal City". In 1914, operations at The Oak Ranch (
Providencia Ranch 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 ...
) 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
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to
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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 The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
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 Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his Light poetry, light verse, of which he wrote more than 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyme, rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York T ...
'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. A nephew, Max, founded the local Laemmle Theatres chain. 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.


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 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 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.


Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) history before 1917

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 film about the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, ''
The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...
'' (1915).


Fires

More than a half-dozen major fires have impacted the Universal Studios property (and, accordingly, Universal City) during its history.


Climate


Government and infrastructure

Fire protection in Universal City is provided by the
Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...
(LACFD). The LACFD operates Station #51 at 3900
Lankershim Boulevard Lankershim Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road the runs for in the eastern San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles, California. Geography Lankershim Boulevard's northern terminus is at San Fernando Road in Sun Valley, Los Angele ...
as a part of Battalion 1. The
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(LASD) operates the West Hollywood Station in
West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...
, serving Universal City. 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. The
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
(LAPD) also shares jurisdiction with the LASD in providing protection to Universal City, operating the North Hollywood Community Police Station in
North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...
, whose responsibilities include Universal City.North Hollywood Community Police Station
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References

Universal City 1912 to 1914 * "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 hapter IX Universal City* "Building Universal City" ctober 3, 1914, The Moving Picture WorldMovie Making locations by Jerry L. Schneider * "Oak Crest," two articles quoted he Moving Picture Worldovie 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 rovidencia Ranch - Universal City Moves


External links


Oak Crest -Universal Ranch 1913
{{NBCUniversal 1915 establishments in California Communities in the San Fernando Valley Company towns in California Populated places established in 1915 Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County, California Universal Pictures NBCUniversal