Universal City, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Universal City, California
Unincorporated area
The Universal City sign, on the corner of Lankershim Boulevard and Universal Hollywood Drive, in 2005
Location within Los Angeles County
Universal City, California Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Named for	Universal Studios Hollywood
Population  (2000)
• Total	18
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	91608
Area codes	747/818
FIPS code	06-81232
GNIS feature ID	1661603

View across Universal City, with Burbank studio district in background

View of 10 Universal City Plaza alongside Universal Sheraton and Universal Hilton

Universal City is a special area in the San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles County, California. It's called an unincorporated area, which means it's not officially a city with its own local government. Instead, it's managed by the county.

This area is mostly owned by Universal Pictures, a famous movie studio. About 70% of the studio's land is in Universal City. The rest is inside the city of Los Angeles. Universal City is almost completely surrounded by Los Angeles, and it touches the city of Burbank in one corner.

Universal City is home to the Universal Studios Lot, where movies are made. It also has the fun Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. You can also find Universal CityWalk here, which is a popular place for shopping and entertainment. Nearby, in Los Angeles, are big office buildings like 10 Universal City Plaza, plus the Sheraton Universal and Universal Hilton hotels. You can easily get here by public transport using the Metro B Line station.

Universal City has its own Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) station. It also has a unique fire station, Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) Station 51. This is the only government-funded fire station in the United States that is located on private property! The station is famous because "Station 51" was the fictional setting for the TV show Emergency!

How Universal City Began

Carl Laemmle, who founded Universal Pictures, officially opened the second Universal City on March 15, 1915. This was on a large piece of land called the Taylor Ranch. At the grand opening, many people came to see movie sets and silent film stars. Laemmle wanted everyone to "See how slapstick comedies are made!" and "See your favorite screen stars do their work!"

Laemmle was an immigrant from Germany. He started his first movie theater in Chicago in 1906. Later, he moved to New York City and helped create Universal Pictures.

In 1912, Laemmle had a smaller studio and ranch called Oak Crest. He filmed westerns there. He called this first ranch "Universal City." But it was too small for his big ideas. So, he looked for a much larger property in the San Fernando Valley.

Building a Movie Town

In 1913, Laemmle decided to combine his studios. He leased more land in the San Fernando Valley. With nearly 300 movie workers and actors, he built temporary buildings and started making many silent western films.

Other studio bosses made fun of him, calling his new place "Laemmle's Folly." They thought it was too far from town. But Laemmle's idea was a success because the public loved watching movies being made. He even added a zoo to the Oak Crest Ranch to attract more visitors and get free advertising.

Because the Oak Crest ranch was still too small, Laemmle bought the 230-acre Taylor Ranch for $165,000. He called this his "New Universal City." In 1914, all the movie operations and the zoo moved to this new, bigger location.

A Place for Stars and Visitors

Before the grand public opening of the new Universal City, Laemmle went on a special tour across the country. His promoters even told a big, exciting (but not true) story that the Secretary of the Navy would send a battleship up the Los Angeles River to fire cannons on opening day!

After World War I, Laemmle helped many of his relatives move from Europe to America. He hired them to work at the studio, which was a kind and famous thing he did. A humorist named Ogden Nash even wrote a funny poem about it: Uncle Carl Laemmle has a very large faemmle. Carl Laemmle was also important for creating the "star system." Before him, actors were often anonymous. He made them famous!

In the 1920s, Laemmle had to stop the public tours. This was because "talkies" (movies with sound) became popular. It was too hard to keep the sets quiet with visitors around. He sold his movie empire in 1936. Before he passed away in 1939, he helped over 200 German-Jewish refugees come to Los Angeles.

Universal City didn't welcome tourists again until July 15, 1964. That's when the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park opened, which included the famous Studio Tour. In the years that followed, hotels, an amphitheater, and the popular Universal CityWalk were built.

Fires at Universal Studios

The Universal Studios property, including Universal City, has experienced several large fires over its history. These fires have caused damage to parts of the studio's backlot.

Weather in Universal City

Images for kids

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  Early map of Burbank, California, with Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills on the bottom left

See also

In Spanish: Universal City (California) para niños