Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study facts for kids
| Location | 1313 Vine Street, Los Angeles, California |
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The Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study is an important building in Hollywood, California. It's one of three places in Los Angeles used by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is the group that gives out the famous Oscars every year!
The center is located at 1313 Vine Street. It has a long and interesting history. In fact, it's the oldest building still standing in Hollywood that was built especially for television. Inside, you'll find the 286-seat Linwood Dunn Theater. Many public events and film screenings happen here. The building also holds several important departments of the Academy, like the Academy Film Archive.
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Discovering the Pickford Center's Past
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started saving film prints and old papers way back in 1929. This was right after the very first Oscar ceremony! Members of the Academy began donating their film materials to the organization.
How the Film Archive Began
Even though the Academy Film Archive didn't officially start until 1991, the idea of saving films was always important. In 1948, a group of Academy members launched a project. They wanted to collect all the films that had won or been nominated for an Oscar. By 1994, this became an official rule. All Oscar-winning and nominated films are now stored safely at the Archive.
The Building's Early Days
The Archive was first located at the Margaret Herrick Library. But in 2002, it moved to the Vine Street building when the Pickford Center opened. This building was constructed in 1948. It was originally a radio and television studio. It's the oldest studio building still around in Los Angeles!
It was first called the Don Lee Mutual Broadcasting Building. It opened on August 18, 1948, as studios for the Mutual-Don Lee Broadcasting System. Later, it was owned by CBS and then by ABC. Many famous TV shows were taped there, like The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and Barney Miller.
Renaming the Center
The Academy bought the building in 2000. After some big updates, it was renamed in 2002. It was named after Mary Pickford, who was a very famous actress and one of the founding members of the Academy.
The updates included special storage rooms. These rooms keep films at the right temperature to protect them. They also added a modern fire safety system. A new theater was also built, called the Linwood Dunn Theater. It's named after a pioneer in visual effects. This theater is used for public events and for showing films to Academy members.
The building also has offices for different Academy programs. These include the Student Academy Awards, the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, and the Academy Gold internship program.
What the Pickford Center Does Today
Today, the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study is home to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Archive. This Archive is huge! It holds over 230,000 items. This makes it one of the largest and most varied film collections in the world.
Protecting Film History
The Archive keeps all the films that have won an Academy Award for Best Picture or Best Documentary. It also has many other films that were nominated for Oscars. The Archive also stores the personal film collections of many famous filmmakers. These include Alfred Hitchcock, Jim Jarmusch, and Gus Van Sant.
Supporting the Oscars
The Pickford Center is a key part of the Academy's work. It helps with research and preserving films. It also plays an important role in getting ready for every Academy Awards ceremony.
