Title supplied by cataloger. The vast studios of Metro Goldwyn Mayer first began as Triangle Pictures in 1915. The first building on the lot was the huge white edifice with classical colonnades fronting Washington Street and was built even before MGM owned the lot. Metro Goldwyn Mayer was founded in 1924 when entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures (founded in 1916), Goldwyn Pictures Corporation (founded in 1917) and Louis B. Mayer Pictures (founded in 1918). During its heyday, MGM was the most powerful studio in Hollywood and produced approximately fifty pictures a year. It bragged that it had "More stars than there are in the heavens", with such names as Clark Gable, Jimmy Steward, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Frank Sinatra, Jane Powell, Jean Harlow, Robert Young, Buster Keaton, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Elizabeth Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Hedy Lamarr, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, just to name a few. It produced many box office hits such as "Ben Hur", "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz", "Boys Town", "Doctor Zhivago", "The Dirty Dozen", as well as spectacular musicals such as "Meet Me In St. Louis", "Singing in the Rain", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Guys & Dolls", as well as numerous others. Unfortunately, audiences drifted away after the war and MGM found it difficult to attract them; by 1948, due to the introduction of television and changing public tastes, MGM suffered a considerable dropoff in its success. In 1957 the studio lost money for the first time in its 34-year history, and by 1960, it had released all of its contract players with many either retiring or moving on to television. In 1969 the company was bought out by millionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who then auctioned off the studio's prized possessions and sold 38 acres of the studio's legendary back lots to housing developers, as the main appeal for Kerkorian was the Culver City real estate and the value of 45 years' worth of glamour associated with the MGM name. In 1986, the MGM sign and its lion logo were removed from atop the Culver City studio. In 1990, the grand old studio was purchased by Sony Entertainment of Japan, and is currently the home to both Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures. The once-famous home of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, and current home of Sony Pictures Studios, is located at 10202 Washington Boulevard in Culver City. It bounded by Washington Boulevard (on the north), Culver Boulevard (on the south), Madison (on the east) and Overland (on the west). The old main gate with its classical Greek columns is located at Jasmine Avenue and Washington Boulevard. Aerial view of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studio lot, located at 10202 Washington Boulevard in Culver City; view is looking southwest. Venice Boulevard is vertically along the right; Washington Boulevard runs parallel to Venice, zig-zagging at middle; Culver Boulevard is vertically along the left; the San Diego (405) Freeway is horizontally in the distance; Overland Avenue is horizontally at middle, behind the studios; St. Augustine Catholic Church is visible at center. The large white building at lower left is the new Administration Building at MGM studios, also called the Irving Thalberg Building, which was built in 1938-1939 in a classical modern style designed by architect Claude Beelman. Photograph was taken for Flintkote. Photograph dated February 26, 1960.
Type
image
Format
1 negative :safety ;11 x 14 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion picture industry--California--Culver City Motion picture studios--California--Culver City Church buildings--California--Culver City Industries--California--Culver City Dwellings--California--Culver City Streets--California--Culver City Express highways--California, Southern Culver City (Calif.)--Aerial views Interstate 405 (Calif.) Culver City (Calif.) Aerial photographs
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