Tag Archives: Culver City
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio Commissary menu, 1957
What to choose? What to choose?
Waterfront Street on the MGM backlot during the filming of “An American in Paris” (1951)
Spoiler alert: “An American in Paris” wasn’t actually filmed in Paris. It was filmed, of course, on the MGM backlot in Culver City. This production shot shows us what it actually looked like. Known as Waterfront Street, we can see … Continue reading
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio Lot One showing the back lot, Culver City, Los Angeles, 1932
In this glorious aerial shot, we’re treated to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio’s Lot One showing the back lot where all that movie magic was shot. European castles, wild west streets, Anytown USA store fronts, and pirate ships, it was all there … Continue reading
Triangle Studios, 10202 West Washington Blvd, Culver City, Los Angeles, circa mid 1910s
Before it became the most famous movie studio in the world – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – the studio lot on Washington Blvd, Culver City was home to Triangle Film Corporation where the giants of the mid-1910s film industry, Thomas Ince, Mack Sennett, … Continue reading
Aerial view of the Goldwyn Studios (later MGM) in Culver City, California, 1918
This aerial shot of the Goldwyn Studios was taken in 1918, the year that Sam Goldwyn bought Triangle Studios on Washington Blvd in Culver City. We can see that it was a significant studio with many filming stages and lots … Continue reading
Dick Powell arrives at the old entrance to the MGM Studios, Washington Blvd, Culver City in his custom 1937 Ford
In this photo we’re treated the sight of Dick Powell driving through the entrance of MGM Studios with the iconic columns. My friend at the Petersen Automotive Museum tells me that it’s Powell because he recognized his custom-made 1937 Ford. … Continue reading
Hoosegow Cafe, 7732 Washington Blvd, Culver City, California, circa late 1920s
The word “hoosegow” was a popular slang term in the 1920s and 30s meaning “jail.” But why anybody thought a jail-themed café would make a fun night out is a mystery to me. But the owner of the Hoosegow Café … Continue reading
Fatty Arbuckle’s Plantation Club, 10920 Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1928
Poor ol’ Fatty Arbuckle. In the early 1920s, a series of highly publicized rape trials in which he was found innocent irreparably damaged his reputation and he was held up but the more conservative elements as an example of the … Continue reading
King’s Tropical Inn, 5741 West Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA, circa 1926
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I have an extensive list of restaurants and bars from L.A. in the 1920s through 1950s) on my website – https://martinturnbull.com/hollywood-places/ – but the one that gets the most reaction is this place: King’s Tropical Inn … Continue reading
Culver City-Palms train station, 9013 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, circa 1940
These days, Angelenos are getting used to seeing light rail stops around town but this one was a double-whammy. It was known as the Culver City-Palms station, serving both the Pacific Electric Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Railroad. At … Continue reading