When CBS Radio opened their new Columbia Square studios at 6121 Sunset Blvd on April 30, 1938, they invited as many as would fit into their forecourt. Or maybe that crowd was just the public hoping to glimpse a celebrity or get a balloon. I gave a photo of the opening with five searchlights lighting up the sky, so I’ve always assumed the celebrations took place in the evening. But this photo shows they went all afternoon and well into the night. The people who worked there must have been dead on their feet by the time they got home. (Interestingly, 6 months later NBC opened their studios at Sunset and Vine to no fanfare. But sitting on a more prominent corner, they’re the studios people remember more.)
Here is an “x-ray” illustration from the back cover of the 1939 Columbia Square Studios tour brochure:
This is how those studios (which is now NeueHouse, a shared working space for creatives) looked in November 2021.
There’s a man on the roof in that photo! Also, interesting to see trees in the grassy area of the forecourt. I’m sure they didn’t stay there very long because it obscured CBS’s marquee.
Good view of the neighborhood area to the north side.