From the moment it opened on March 15, 1915, Universal City Studios set out to live up to the ambition and grandeur of its name.
Universal City was built to be a classic ‘company town,’ but for the most thoroughly modern of industries: filmmaking. The studio—at the time, the world’s largest—was located on 230 acres in mostly unincorporated Los Angeles County, north of Hollywood Hills and far from LA’s civic and commercial epicenter. Universal City had its own fire and police departments, hospital, and housing for 500 people working on the many films being shot concurrently.
Universal City Studios’ logo features a spinning globe and, like Earth itself, the studio had its own gravitational pull. The studio was cultivated as a tourist attraction starting with studio owner and president Carl Laemmle using a gold key to open the site. The adage “if you build it they will come” from Field of Dreams (1989) (a Universal Pictures–distributed film) seems particularly apt here. Lines of cars arrived at the grand opening of Universal City Studios. An estimated 10,000–20,000 people paid a quarter to tour the lot and watch silent films being shot outdoors in the LA sunshine, viewing the action (like a Western’s saloon scene) from grandstands. There was even a water hazard that soaked some of the visitors. Precedent set, a flash flood attraction is part of the backlot Studio Tour the company offers today.
The visionary Laemmle, a German immigrant who got his start owning a nickelodeon theater in Chicago, was widely known as “Uncle Carl” for his sense of moral obligation and kindness; he saved the lives of more than 1,000 European Jews during the rise of the Nazis, providing jobs for many. He lost control of his company in 1935, however, after defaulting on a loan he’d taken out to fund a big-budget picture, Show Boat (1936), that was championed by his son, Carl Jr., the studio’s head of production.
In 1950, the property expanded to 400 acres. From the beginning, though, the vast acreage allowed for scope and scale. Damon & Pythias (1914) was filmed here, with its cast of 1,000, prior to the studio’s formal opening. Other early projects included The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) with its outdoor set re-creating much of the Paris cathedral; Erich von Stroheim’s Foolish Wives (1922) with its massive Monte Carlo set; and The Phantom of the Opera (1925), its multi-level opera house remaining such a production staple that until its recent removal, for decades it was still known as the “Phantom Stage.” There was also a zoo with elephants and camels, though it closed when talkies began and loud noise on the lot was verboten. For the same reason, public tours went on hiatus for about 35 years. Universal generally focused on populist fare. For example: Abbott and Costello comedies, Flash Gordon serials, and monster movies, where actors Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff brought to life Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931). Later popular classics included Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), as well The Fast and The Furious (2001), Despicable Me (2010), and all their sequels.
Universal City Studios remains in operation; it is said to be the world’s fourth oldest studio. Various corporate entities have owned it, including Comcast since 2011. Just like Carl Laemmle imagined, it remains known as a combination tourist attraction and center for film production. The location’s theme park opened in 1964. Attractions as of this writing are based on the likes of Mario Kart, The Simpsons, and Harry Potter. A Metro Los Angeles rail station serves the area, and Universal CityWalk is home to restaurants and, of course, movie theaters.