Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, now known as Radford Studio Center.
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History
Originally known as Laurelwood, the area that Studio City occupies was formerly part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a 116,858-acre (472.91 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California, granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio F. de Celis. This land changed hands several times during the late 19th century, and eventually passed into the ownership of James Boon Lankershim (1850–1931) and eight other developers, who organized the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company. In 1899, the area lost most water rights to Los Angeles, so subdivision and sale of land for farming became untenable.
Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct began in 1908, and water reached the San Fernando Valley in November 1913. Real estate boomed, and a syndicate led by Harry Chandler, business manager of the Los Angeles Times, with Hobart Johnstone Whitley, Isaac Van Nuys, and James Boon Lankershim acquired the remaining 47,500 acres (192 km2) of the southern half of the former Mission lands—everything west of the Lankershim town limits and south of present-day Roscoe Boulevard excepting the Rancho Encino. Whitley platted the area of present-day Studio City from portions of the existing town of Lankershim, as well as the eastern part of the new acquisition.
In 1927, Mack Sennett began building a new studio on 20 acres (81,000 m2) donated by the land developer. The area around the studio was named Studio City.
In 1955, Studio City's Station 78 became the first racially integrated station in the Los Angeles City Fire Department.
A house fire that soon spread to surrounding homes broke out in Studio City on January 8, 2025 as part of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.
Geography
The Los Angeles River and Tujunga Wash flow through Studio City. The two concrete-lined channels merge just west of Colfax Avenue and north of Ventura Boulevard adjacent to Radford Studio Center.
Demographics
The 2000 U.S. census counted 34,034 residents in the 6.31-square-mile (16.3 km2) Studio City neighborhood—5,395 people per square mile, among the lowest population densities for the city but about average for the county. In 2008, the city estimated that the resident population had increased to 37,201.
In 2000, the median age for residents, 38, was considered old for city and county neighborhoods; the percent of residents age 19 and older was among the county's highest.
The ethnic breakdown was Whites, 78%; Latinos, 8.7%; Asians, 5.4%; Blacks, 3.7%; and others, 4.1%. Iran (7%) and the United Kingdom (6.7%) were the most common places of birth for the 21.1% of the residents who were born abroad—a low percentage for Los Angeles.
The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $75,657, considered high for the city. The percent of households earning $125,000 and up was high for Los Angeles County. The average household size of 1.9 people was low when compared to the rest of the city and the county. Renters occupied 55.9% of the housing stock and house- or apartment-owners held 44.1%.
In 2000, there were 837 families headed by single parents, the rate of 11.2% being low for the city of Los Angeles. There were 2,591 veterans, 8.8% of the population, a high figure for the city.
Arts and culture
Notable places
Radford Studio Center
North Valleyheart Riverwalk
Exterior of Brady Bunch house
Campo de Cahuenga
Several buildings by Rudolph Michael Schindler
Studio City Theatre
Studio City Walk of Fame
Library
The Studio City branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is at the corner of Moorpark Street and Whitsett Avenue
Parks and recreation
The Studio City Recreation Center (commonly known as Beeman Park) is in a residential neighborhood on Rye Street at Beeman Avenue. It has an auditorium, barbecue pits, a lighted baseball diamond, an outdoor running and walking track, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, picnic tables, unlighted tennis courts, and many programs and classes including the second-largest youth baseball program in the public parks.
Moorpark Park, an unstaffed pocket park at the corner of Moorpark Street and Laurel Canyon Boulevard, has a children's play area and picnic tables.
Woodbridge Park, on Elmer Avenue at Moorpark Street, on the eastern border of Studio City has a children and toddler's play area.
Wilacre Park, a 128-acre natural mountain park with the lower trailhead for the Betty B Dearing hiking trail, is on Fryman Road at Laurel Canyon Boulevard. It has a large parking lot, restrooms and a picnic area. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and is managed by the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority.
Fryman Canyon Park is a 122-acre nature park accessed via the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook on Mulholland Drive with the upper trailhead of the Betty B Dearing hiking trail. The park is part of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and is managed by the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority.
Coldwater Canyon Park is a nature park adjacent to Wilacre Park and Fryman Canyon Park. It contains an amphitheater and the headquarters for the conservation group TreePeople. It can be accessed via a parking lot near the corner of Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon Avenue and via the Betty B Dearing Trail. The park is managed by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (LA Parks). This park is not to be confused with an unrelated park with the name Coldwater Canyon Park, three miles to the south on North Beverly Drive in the city of Beverly Hills.
In addition, Studio City has the Studio City Mini-Park, an unstaffed pocket park.
Government
The northeast part of Studio City is in City Council District 2, represented by Adrin Nazarian, and the southwest section is in District 4, represented by Nithya Raman. The community is represented within the city of Los Angeles by the Studio City Neighborhood Council.
The area is represented by Los Angeles County District 3 Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and District 5 Supervisor Kathryn Barger, State Senator Henry Stern, California Assemblyman Nick Schultz, and U.S. Representative Brad Sherman.
Education
Almost half of Studio City residents aged 25 and older (49.4%) had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high percentage for both the city and the county. The percentage of those residents with a master's degree was also high for the county.
Schools
Schools within the Studio City boundaries are:
Bridges Academy, private, 4–12, 3921 Laurel Canyon Boulevard
Campbell Hall School, private, K–12, 4533 Laurel Canyon Boulevard
Carpenter Community Charter School, LAUSD, K–5, 3909 Carpenter Avenue
Harvard-Westlake School, private, 10–12, 3700 Coldwater Canyon Avenue
Walter Reed Middle School, LAUSD, 6–8, 4525 Irvine Avenue
Oakwood School, private, K–6, 11230 Moorpark Street
Rio Vista Elementary School, LAUSD, K–5, 4243 Satsuma Avenue
St. Charles Borromeo School, private, K–8, 10850 Moorpark Street
Notable people
Film and television
Leon Ames, film and television actor
Ernie Anderson, television and radio announcer/voiceover artist
Paul Thomas Anderson, film director
Dana Andrews, film actor and past president of the Screen Actors' Guild
R. G. Armstrong, actor and playwright
Ed Asner, film, television, stage, and voice actor, past president of the SAG
Gene Autry, actor, singer-songwriter, businessman and owner of the California Angels baseball team
Elizabeth Banks, actress and director
Joe Barbera, animator, director and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera studios
Bonnie Bartlett, television and film actress
Ed Begley Jr., actor and environmentalist
Joseph Benti, television news anchor
Mayim Bialik, film and television actress
Robert Blake, actor
Julie Bowen, actress
Clancy Brown, actor
Smiley Burnette, comedic actor, singer-songwriter and inventor
George Clooney, actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter
Literature
Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, journalist and playwright
Jerry Pournelle, science-fiction author and blogger
Israel Regardie, occultist
Sports
Zack Greinke, Major League Baseball pitcher
Joc Pederson, Major League Baseball outfielder
Justin Turner, Major League Baseball player
Jrue Holiday, National Basketball Association player
Other
David Burtka, chef and actor
Cara Delevingne, actress and model
Peter Hurkos, allegedly manifested extra-sensory perception
James B. Potter Jr., Los Angeles City Council member
Jerome Vered, record-setting contestant on the game show Jeopardy!
Joel Wachs, Los Angeles City Council member
Sam Yorty, mayor of Los Angeles