Dubbed "The Heart of Screenland," this quiet little town has made a big name for itself, attracting many leading entertainment, multimedia, and other creative firms, including Sony Pictures, Ogilvy and Mather, Smashbox, National Public Radio (NPR), and Eric Owen Moss Architects, to name a few.
It was Harry H. Culver, from Milford, Nebraska, who dreamed of a balanced city. He started plans for the city that carries his name in 1913, and it became an incorporated entity in 1917. He established the city in a temperate zone, along a transportation route, alongside railroad tracks, halfway between the growing pueblo of Los Angeles and Abbot Kinney''s resort of Venice.
Culver City began to do the business of developing itself, as a 1.2 square mile area, centered about our little Main Street. In the early days of the city, the trustees concentrated on the actions necessary to form the city. The economic balance had begun, with the studios forming the early economic base. Industry came in the form of Western Stove in 1922, then the Helms Bakeries in 1930, and then the Hayden Industrial Tract was established in the 1940s.
Over the years, more than forty annexations increased city size to about five square miles. Culver City transitioned from a general law city to a charter city in 1947. By 1971, the City Council became aware of the need for redevelopment, and formed the Culver City Redevelopment Agency. The first major project accomplished under the Agency was the Fox Hills Mall, which opened in 1975. Redevelopment is ongoing. By the year 2000, the city had quadrupled in size and became a community of nearly 40,000 residents.
Strategically located at the intersection of the 405 (San Diego) and 10 (Santa Monica) freeways, the City of Culver City is located 15 minutes north of Los Angeles International Airport, 15 minutes east of the Marina del Rey/Pacific Ocean, 20 minutes southeast of Santa Monica, 15 minutes south of Beverly Hills and 20 minutes west of Downtown Los Angeles.
Culver City ranks seventh of all California cities in total payroll and vendor expenditures in the entertainment industry! The industry's per capita expenditure is $5,700 per person in Culver City, a number exceeded by only three other cities nationwide.
Important Numbers
Culver City Chamber of Commerce
4249 Overland Ave.
Culver City CA 90230
(310) 287-3850 www.culvercitychamber.com
Culver City Unified School District
4035 Irving Place
Culver City CA 90232
(310) 842-4200 www.ccusd.k12.ca.us
Dubbed "The Heart of Screenland," this quiet little town has made a big name for itself, attracting many leading entertainment, multimedia, and other creative firms, including Sony Pictures, Ogilvy and Mather, Smashbox, National Public Radio (NPR), and Eric Owen Moss Architects, to name a few.