Culver City Now!
On a recent trip to Los Angeles I explored Culver City to see where the Hal Roach Studios had been, and where the wonderful short subjects of the 1920's & 1930's had been filmed. Click on any of the photos below to see a larger image. Be patient!
Welcome to Culver City!
This photo is comprised of three photos together. At the far left is a small corner park where there is a stone marker commorating the Hal Roach Studios. In the center of the photo are train tracks, and the actual site of the studios is on the right side of the picture, where the Mazda dealership now stands. According to Hal Roach historian Richard Bann, Hal Roach's office was right next to these tracks, about where it says Culver City Mazda. These tracks were used to film any train sequences necessary for the Hal Roach films, such as Berth Marks, Railroadin', and Choo-Choo!
The stone marker commorating the Hal Roach Studios.
Taken from the front of the Mazda dealer where the Hal Roach studios used to be on the left. Straight ahead about 1 mile down the road on the right side of the yellow divider is the Culver City Hotel, and Main Street where many of the outdoor sequences were shot for Hal Roach Productions.
The Culver City Hotel. Built in 1924, this building can be seen in many of the Hal Roach comedies, such as Putting Pants On Phillip and Leave 'Em Laughing. This building is about 1 mile down Washington Blvd from the original site of the Hal Roach Studio. The streets on the left and directly in front of the building are now gone. Hotel parking is on the left and there is a small park in front of this hotel. This hotel has been beautifully restored, and I highly recommend a stay there!
View taken from the top (6th) floor of the Culver City Hotel. The first photo shows Main Street. In the second photo you can see the intersection of Main & Culver Blvd. The buildings across the street seen in many Hal Roach films such as Liberty & Kid From Borneo have been torn down and replaced with a parking lot. The Hal Roach Studio was about 1 mile down the street in the third photo, on the right side of Washington Blvd. On the right near the front you can see the Culver Studios, which used to be the David O. Selznik Studios, home of King Kong, Gone With The Wind and many others. It is now used to film sitcoms such as Mad About You, and The Nanny.
Front view of the Culver Studios. It still looks the same as it did 70 years ago. Too bad the Hal Roach studios weren't kept up too.
Facing Main Street from the corner of Culver & Main Streets. The Culver City Hotel is directly behind me. Main Street was used to film many of the Hal Roach comedies that needed a view of a small city with storefronts. Angora Love, Leave 'Em Laughing, Liberty, and many others were filmed here. It is only one block long!
Main Street from the other end, facing the Culver City Hotel.
The large Laurel & Hardy mural behind the True Value store on Main Street! This store used to be the Culver City Department Store. The crowd is the Sons Of The Desert on a Hal Roach tour. Thanks to Alison Grimmer in London for this photo!
All that's left of the original Culver City Hall are the gray stonework and marker at the top of this facade. City Hall was used in County Hospital, and Going Bye Bye with Laurel & Hardy. The original building was torn down and replaced. You can see the new building in the background of this picture.
I was able to find all of these sites (and more!) thanks to Bob Satterfield (left) and Jim Wiley (right) of the Sons of the Desert - Way Out West tent. They provided me with an issue of Pratfall that details the many sites related to Hal Roach short subjects! Buy yours today from their site!!
These are MUST HAVE books for any Hal Roach Comedy Fan!
Click on the books to read reviews, and to order!
If you are a fan, PLEASE BUY THESE BOOKS!
I know you'll love them!
Write to:
Patrick@Picking.com
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