Studio City
North of Mulholland, nestled between Sherman Oaks to the west and Hollywood to the east, the area we now know as Studio City was called Laurelwood in 1927 when film producer Mack Sennet then known as the “King of Comedy” and creator of the popular Mack Sennett Bathing Beauties short reels established his 20-acre studio there.
By the 1940s, the area became known as Studio City, in part because developers created attractive, accessible housing for the scores of residents drawn to the area to work in entertainment, including nearby Universal Studios and the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank. Today, Studio City proves to be an ideal location for residents who commute to work in other parts of Los Angeles, thanks to easy access to the 101 and 134 freeways, as well as a direct route over the hill to business centers in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.
From the 1950s through the late 1990s, the renamed Radford Studios came under the mantle of CBS Television and served as the venue for the production of scores of iconic television shows including Leave It To Beaver, Gunsmoke, My Three Sons, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Lou Grant and American Gladiators.
Today, this comfortable enclave supports a thriving economy bisected by the Ventura Boulevard corridor, making Studio City a suburban nucleus where shoppers, strollers, stargazers (celeb-spotters, not astronomers) and grazers can find literally anything from a trendy tattoo to a designer wedding dress, passing an organic juice-bar to a cell-phone repair shop to a priceless antiquity, all within the same often leafy, tree-lined city block, many streets made convenient and inviting to pedestrians with well-maintained sidewalks.
The area’s modern history formally began with a Mexican land-grant in 1846 as part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. The land changed hands several times, including the hands of developers Lankershim, Chandler and Whitley whose names persist on landmarks throughout the area on major thoroughfares. Water being at a premium then as it is today, the building of the Los Angeles aqueduct in 1908 with water supply ultimately extending into the arid San Fernando Valley by the early teens of the 20th century made Studio City ideal for development.
Today, many hillside properties to the south offer inspiring canyon and valley views, while the exclusive Las Doñas retains mid-century architectural charm. Other areas including Colfax Meadows, Wrightwood Estates, and the Silver Triangle offer a tasteful mix of Spanish and modern mid-century architecture, with Modern farmhouse styles emerging on redeveloped properties.
The Sportsmen’s Lodge, once a trout-fishing destination for Gable, Bogie and Baby, Bette Davis (who baited her hooks with liverwurst) and Lena Horne among other luminaries of Hollywood’s Golden Era where the day’s catch was cooked on-site, has traded its tacklebox for elegant apartments and premium retail including Fred Segal, part of the Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge. In decades past, showbiz royalty including Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Lucille Ball called Studio City home. More recently, contemporary A-Listers including George Clooney, Selena Gomez, William Shatner, Bruno Mars, Charlize Theron, Leo DiCaprio, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato have added 91602, 91604, 91607 and 91614 to their mailing addresses, and Dakota and Elle Fanning grew up in the community.
Families are easily drawn here by many features including a superb Saturday farmers market, and access to excellent hikes and trails in Fryman Canyon and Wilacre Park, as well as Laurel Canyon Dog Park, Woodbridge Park, Beeman Park, and many safe, green spaces to romp, sun, visit, read and just chill. Parents appreciate excellent public schools including Carpenter Elementary and Colfax Elementary in Valley Village, which is the only Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school with a fully operational farm, including a friendly Pig named Peppa. Excellent private schools Harvard Westlake, Buckley, Campbell Hall, The Country School, and St. Charles Borromeo are also nearby.
The appeal of Studio City continues to evolve to meet the demands of modern buyers and sellers. A versatile mix of single-family homes, original and new construction, a pleasing and friendly array of cafes, shopping, restaurants and services and numerous walkable amenities give the community a relaxed, breath-of-fresh-air vibe. But here’s the twist: Studio City first flourished around the then-young film industry and continues to expand and refine itself as a living experience to meet the needs of today’s most discerning Angeleno.
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