In its heyday, the MGM studio lot in Culver City covered more than the triangular site that grew out of the old Triangle Film Corporation facilities. Across Overland Ave, MGM’s vast backlot sprawled across what was known as Lot Two. This aerial shot shows us how big it was. For scale, look at the white house on the empty land to the left. Castles, harbors, New York city streets, whatever the script required, they had it. Or could build it. This shot shows us that it was all just a bunch of realistic looking facades. At the top of the photo, we can see the huge sound stages where indoor filming took place. This photo is from 1949, the year that the studio celebrated its 25^th anniversary.