Culver City

Culver City is a city on the Westside of Los Angeles County. It was given the moniker the "Heart of Screenland" during the 1930s and 1940s when it was responsible for half of America's motion picture production; today it remains home to Sony Pictures Studios (formerly MGM Studios) and Culver Studios. In addition to its role in the film and television industry the city has a reputation as a great food destination due to the huge number of trendy restaurants found in the downtown and elsewhere.

Understand


Harry Culver, a real estate developer, founded the city as a sundown town in 1913. Located along the roads and rail line that connected the beach resort city of Venice with downtown Los Angeles, the town grew fairly quickly. Culver attracted migrants from the Midwest by offering homes that included furniture and even appliances in exchange for a monthly mortgage payment.

In the 1920s the film industry arrived, with silent film comedy producer Hal Roach and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) building studios. From the 1930s through the 1940s Culver City was home to half of America's motion picture production and was dubbed the "Heart of Screenland", and MGM was the largest of the major film studios from the 1930s to the early 1950s. Today entertainment companies that call Culver City home include Sony Pictures Studios (formerly MGM), Culver Studios (formerly RKO-Pathé Studios, and future home of Amazon Studios), National Public Radio's "NPR West" facility, the NFL Network, and a handful of smaller media companies. In 2021 HBO will move its West Coast headquarters to Culver City, followed in 2022 by the opening of a new facility housing 1,000 employees working on Apple's entertainment offerings.

Movies that have been produced in Culver City include classics such as Citizen Kane, the original King Kong, and Gone With the Wind. The Wizard of Oz was filmed at MGM studios, and part of the original yellow brick road is still inside the lot on Stage 27 of Sony Pictures Studios. In addition to being the home of classic films, the television show I Love Lucy was produced at Desilu Studios. More recent productions include Grease, Raging Bull, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, City Slickers, Men in Black, Air Force One and Spider-Man. In addition to I Love Lucy, television shows made on Culver City sets include Lassie, Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

The city has other ties to the entertainment industry beyond the movies and television shows created at its studios. The iconic Culver Hotel was once owned by Charlie Chaplin and was later sold to John Wayne, allegedly for the price of $1 after a high-stakes poker game. The town's streets also reflect Culver City's entertainment history, with names such as (Mary) Pickford and (Douglas) Fairbanks.

Culver City was in a state of decline in the 1990s, but since that time has undergone a tremendous revival. The downtown area is now a bustling district that is home to dozens of restaurants and multiple theaters, while other districts throughout the city are gaining reputations for the culinary and artistic businesses that have set up shop.

Get in
The Metro light rail Expo Line stops in Culver City on its way between Santa Monica to the west and Exposition Park and Downtown LA to the east. The Culver City station is at the northern end of downtown Culver City, off National Blvd between Washington and Venice Blvds, approximately a five-minute walk from downtown Culver City. Metro bus lines 33/Rapid 733 run frequently along Venice Blvd past downtown Culver City, with service to Downtown LA and Venice Beach.

Culver CityBus has several bus lines that link Culver City and surrounding communities. Routes of particular use to visitors include Line 1 to Venice Beach via Washington Blvd and Fairfax Ave, with a stop at the Expo Line Culver City station; Line 3 between the Westfield Shopping Center and Century City, with stops at West LA College, the Westside Pavilion, and the Expo Line Westwood/Rancho Park station along the way; and Line 6 between Westwood/UCLA and the LAX City Bus Center via Sepulveda Blvd, with stops at the Westfield Shopping Center and the Expo Line Sepulveda station. Service on these three lines is daily and tends to run every 15-20 minutes for most of the day. Fare is $1, with transfers to another Culver CityBus costing $0.25 and inter-agency transfers $0.40, with TAP cards accepted.

Get around
Culver CityBus operates buses in and around Culver City.

There are red light cameras throughout Culver City, and at $490 per violation the fines are some of the highest in the country.

See
Despite having two movie studios and several television production facilities within the city limits, the only public tour is at Sony Pictures Studios, which offers a tour rather than a theme park attraction like Universal City. In addition, a handful of museums are scattered throughout the city, each one small and focused on a particular subject - those looking for large museums geared towards a general audience might want to take the Expo line to Exposition Park, but those with special interests will find Culver City's offerings to be excellent. Two highlights include the Wende Museum, which is highly regarded for its Cold War collection, and the Museum of Jurassic Technology, which has somewhat of a cult following for its general weirdness and for its willingness to mix truth and fiction.



Public art
The city has a wide array of sculpture, murals, and other installations that will be of interest to art lovers.



Buy
Culver City offers a bit of everything when it comes to shopping. The Westfield Malls, located just off of I-405 at Sepulveda, is a 200 store mega-mall. The district near the intersection of Washington Blvd and La Cienaga Blvd is a major art destination, featuring dozens of galleries. The downtown area is home to several smaller and more upscale shops, as well as the old Helms Bakery complex, now home to a variety of furniture stores. And for those looking for familiar shopping establishments, major chain stores such as Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Best Buy are also represented within the city limits.

Eat
Since the late 1990s Culver City has been undergoing a transformation and today is known as a destination for food lovers, with a huge number of unique and well-reviewed restaurants setting up shop in the city. The downtown area is home to dozens of restaurants opened by famous chefs or aspiring restaurateurs, while other foodie hotspots include the Helm's Bakery complex and the Culver West neighborhood along Washington Boulevard. For those who just need a quick bite, the standard chains are well-represented including Denny's, Chipotle, and dozens of other fast food restaurants. On a historical note, the steakhouse chain Sizzler, which today has hundreds of locations across the country, got its start in Culver City in 1958 as Del's Sizzler Family Steak House.

Bars
Most of the downtown restaurants also have a lively bar scene. Other bars located throughout the city include:



Sleep
Culver City has a handful of large hotels located near the intersection of I-405 and Sepulveda Blvd, with several cheaper but more rundown options located on Sepulveda near the intersection with Venice Blvd, and also along Washington Blvd. The historic Culver Hotel is located downtown and offers a more unique lodging option. Neighboring cities such as Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey and El Segundo have numerous options within a 10-15 minute drive of Culver City.



Connect
Culver City offers free internet access in several areas.

Go next
The cities and neighborhoods that border Culver City include the following:


 * - Culver City's western neighbor offers miles of sand, an eclectic nightlife, and the infamous Muscle Beach.
 * - Located west of Culver City, the "marina of the king" is home to a vast number of restaurants and hotels, and while not as touristy as some of the neighboring beach cities is nonetheless a fun spot to spend an evening.
 * - Culver City's southwestern neighbor is home to Los Angeles International Airport and a number of lodging options.
 * - Located east of Culver City, South Central has its rough parts but is definitely worth a visit to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center, as well as the campus of USC and the sights of Exposition Park.
 * - The west side of the sprawling city of LA forms Culver City's northern neighbor, and is home to UCLA and the Getty Museum.