Culver City is a city inLos Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded byLos Angeles, but also shares a border with theunincorporated area ofLadera Heights to the east. The city was named after its founder,Harry Culver, who first attempted to establish it in 1913.

Culver City, California
City
Culver City sign based on the marquee of the Culver Theatre (nowKirk Douglas Theatre)
Flag Seal
Motto:  "The Heart of Screenland"
Location within Los Angeles County
Coordinates:34°0′28″N118°24′3″W / 34.00778°N 118.40083°W /34.00778; -118.40083
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated	September 20, 1917[1]
Named after	Harry Culver
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Mayor	Dan O'Brien
• Vice Mayor	Freddy Puza
• City Council	Bryan "Bubba" Fish Yasmine-Imani McMorrin Albert Vera
• City Manager	John M. Nachbar[2]
Area [3]
• Total	5.14 sq mi (13.31 km2)
• Land	5.11 sq mi (13.24 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.07 km2)  0.54%
Elevation [4]	95 ft (29 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	40,779
• Density	7,977.11/sq mi (3,080.15/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	90230–90232, 90066[5]
Area codes	310/424[6]
FIPS code	06-17568
GNIS feature IDs	1652695,2410276
Website	www.culvercity.org

In the 1920s, Culver City became a center for film and later television production. It was best known as the home ofMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios from 1924 to 1986. From 1932 to 1986, it was the headquarters for theHughes Aircraft Company.National Public Radio West andSony Pictures Entertainment have headquarters in the city.

Archaeological evidence suggests a human presence in the area of present-day Culver City since at least 8000 BCE.^[7] The region was the homeland of theTongva-Gabrieliño Native Americans. For centuries, native people lived in areas currently part of and surrounding Culver City.^[8][9][10] California's native people were massacred by waves of Spanish, Mexican and Euro-American invaders through a combination of slavery, disease, relocation, forced labor, imprisonment, broken treaties and a genocidal war of extermination, including paid bounties for dead "Indians".^[11]The Spanish and Mexican governments offered concessions and land grants from 1785 to 1846 forming theRanchos of California. Culver City was founded on the lands of the formerRancho La Ballona andRancho Rincon de los Bueyes.^[12] When Culver City was founded, native Latino people were not allowed to buy property.^[13]

During the American Civil War, a U.S. Army post calledCamp Latham was established from 1861 to 1862 on the south bank ofBallona Creek.

Harry Culver first attempted to establish Culver City in 1913. It was officiallyincorporated on September 20, 1917, and named after its founder.^[14] The area benefited from pre-existing transportation links; Culver's first ads read "All roads lead to Culver City".^[8] The city was explicitly founded as a whites-onlysundown town, as were most of the suburbs and towns outside the downtown and Central Avenue districts ofLos Angeles.^[15][16] Culver ran ads promoting "this model little white city", while his close associate, Guy M. Rush, promoted lot sales "restricted to Caucasian race".^[17][18] The city also at times excluded people of non-Christian religious faiths.^[13]

The weeklyCulver City Call was the first newspaper in the community. The paper was founded in 1915.

The first film studio in Culver City was built byThomas Ince in 1918 forThe Triangle Motion Picture Company.Silent film comedy producerHal Roach built his studios there in 1919, andMetro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) took over the Triangle studio complex in 1924.^[19] DuringProhibition,speakeasies and nightclubs such as the Cotton Club linedWashington Boulevard.

Culver Center, one of Southern California's first shopping malls, was completed in 1950^[20] on Venice Boulevard near the Overland Avenue intersection.^[21]

Hughes Aircraft opened its Culver City plant in July 1941. There the company built theH-4 Hercules transport (commonly called the "Spruce Goose"). Hughes was also an active subcontractor during World War II. It developed and patented a flexible feed chute for faster loading of machine guns onB-17 bombers, and manufactured electric booster drives for machine guns. Hughes produced more ammunition belts than any other American manufacturer, and built 5,576 wings and 6,370 rear fuselage sections forVulteeBT-13 trainers.^[22][23]

Hughes grew after the war, and in 1953Howard Hughes donated all his stock in the company to theHoward Hughes Medical Institute. After he died in 1976, the institute sold the company, which made it the second-best-endowed medical research foundation in the world.^[24]

The Hal Roach Studios were demolished in 1963. In the late 1960s, much of the MGM backlot acreage (lot 3 and other property on Jefferson Boulevard), and the nearby 28.5 acres (11.5 ha) known asRKO Forty Acres, once owned by RKO Pictures and laterDesilu Productions, were sold by their owners. In 1976 the sets were razed to make way for redevelopment. Today, the RKO site is the southern expansion of the Hayden Industrial Tract, while the MGM property has been converted into a subdivision and a shopping center known as Raintree Plaza.

In October 1975,Fox Hills Mall opened in the place of a golf course.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1990s, Culver City launched a successful revitalization program in which it renovated its downtown as well as several shopping centers in theSepulveda Boulevard corridor nearWestfield Culver City. Around the same time,Sony's motion picture subsidiaries,Columbia Pictures andTriStar Pictures, moved into the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot which was renamed Columbia Studios in 1990 and took on its current name, Sony Pictures Studios, a year later.

There was an influx of art galleries and restaurants on the eastern part of the city, which was formally designated the Culver City Art District.^[25]

The city is surrounded by the Los Angeles neighborhoods ofMar Vista andPalms to the north;Westchester to the south;Mid-City,West Adams, andBaldwin Hills to the east; theLadera Heights unincorporated area to the southeast; and the L.A. neighborhoods ofVenice andPlaya Vista to the west, along with the unincorporated area ofMarina del Rey.

Culver City's major geographic feature isBallona Creek, which runs northeast to southwest through most of the city before it drains intoSanta Monica Bay in Marina Del Rey.

According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²), over 99% of which is land. Over the years, it has annexed more than 40 pieces of adjoining land.

The city recognizes 15 neighborhoods within city limits:^[26]

According to the 2020 Census, the population of Culver City was 46.5% Non-Hispanic White, 16.1% Asian, 15.2% Hispanic White, 8.24% Black or African American, and 5.57% Other Hispanic.^[33][34]

According toMapping L.A.,Mexican andGerman were the most common ancestries in 2000.Mexico and thePhilippines were the most common foreign places of birth.^[35]

Corporations with headquarters in Culver City includeBeats Audio,MedMen,NantHealth,Sweetgreen andSony Pictures Entertainment.

According to the city's 2020–21 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[37] the top employers in the city were:

Hundreds of movies have been produced on the lots of Culver City's studios:Sony Pictures Studios (originally MGM Studios),Culver Studios, and the formerHal Roach Studios. In 2017,Amazon MGM Studios announced plans to build a studio in Culver City.^[38]

• Westfield Culver City, a shopping mall.
• Beats Electronics
• Disney Digital Network
• MedMen
• NPR West^[39]
• Sony Pictures Studios
• The Ripped Bodice, one of the firstromance novel bookstores in the northern hemisphere^[40]

TheWende Museum possesses a collection ofSoviet andEast German visual art and everyday artifacts to promote an understanding of Soviet art, history and culture between 1945 and 1991.^[41] Additionally, theMuseum of Jurassic Technology, founded in 1988 byDavid Hildebrand Wilson and Diana Drake Wilson, provides over 30 permanent exhibits displaying an eclectic mix of items that blend fact and fiction.^[42]

TheCounty of Los Angeles Public Library operates theJulian Dixon Culver City Branch.

The architecture of Culver City reflects its history as an early location for film studios and, more recently, as a site for architectural experimentation, particularly for the projects ofEric Owen Moss at the Hayden Tract. The architecture office ofMorphosis headquartered here. Styles represented includeMission Revival andColonial Revival from the city's early days, to thePWA Moderne of the 1930s, to modern, postmodern, and deconstructivist styles from the past few decades. Notable architectural landmarks include:^[43]

• Ivy Substation (1907), a Mission Revival building that housesThe Actors' Gang^[44]
• Culver Studios (1918–1920), offices in the style of a Colonial Revival mansion
• Culver Hotel (Curlett andBeelman, 1924), a six-story brick flatiron^[45]

• Helms Bakery (1930), in PWA Moderne style
• Kirk Douglas Theatre (1946)^[46]
• St. Augustine Catholic Church (1957), a Gothic Revival church
• Robert Frost Auditorium, at Culver City High School, 4401 Elenda St. Constructed in 1963-64, its unique scallop shell design became an instant modern architectural landmark for the city. Its original 1,250-seat design was the inspiration of then 26-year-old Andrew Nasser, a consulting structural engineer with Johnson & Nielsen. Credit was claimed, however, by Ralph Flewelling of Flewelling & Moody, the project architects. The record was set straight 54 years later at the unveiling of a $16.3M renovation in 2018. Capacity was increased to 1,300 seats, acoustics improved, and a new 40-foot high steel proscenium arch supports catwalks, lighting, and air conditioning (Hodgetts + Fung architects).^[47][48]
• Platform (2016)

The City of Culver City Parks and Recreation department operates 14 outdoor parks within city limits.^[49]

Culver City has a five-member city council.

InLos Angeles County, Culver City is in the 2nd Supervisorial District, represented byHolly Mitchell.^[50]

In theCalifornia State Legislature, Culver City is inthe 28th Senate District, represented byDemocratLola Smallwood-Cuevas, and inthe 55th Assembly District, represented byDemocratIsaac Bryan.^[51]

In theUnited States House of Representatives, Culver City is split betweenCalifornia's 36th congressional district, represented byDemocratTed Lieu,^[52] andCalifornia's 37th congressional district, represented byDemocratSydney Kamlager-Dove.^[53]

TheCulver City Unified School District administers the following public schools:^[54]

• STAR Prep Academy, a middle and high school that shares its campus with an exotic wildlife rescue center.^[55]
• The Willows Community School (elementary and middle school).
• Turning Point School (elementary and middle school).
• Kayne Eras Center (school for disabled).
• Wildwood School (primary through high school).
• Echo Horizon School (primary through middle school).

• Antioch University Los Angeles, a nonprofit liberal arts college in Culver City's Corporate Pointe district.

• Culver City Call

Movies filmed or partially filmed in Culver City include:

Television shows filmed or partially filmed in Culver City include:

TheCulver City station of the Los AngelesMetro E Line sits at the Culver Junction near Venice and Robertson Boulevards in Culver City. The E Line provides alight rail connection from Culver City to Downtown Los Angeles andEast Los Angeles to the east and DowntownSanta Monica to the west, mostly following theright-of-way that thePacific ElectricSanta Monica Air Line used, also known as the Exposition Boulevard line. Culver City station was the western terminus of what was then known as the Expo Line from its opening on June 20, 2012, to the opening of Expo Line phase two on May 20, 2016.^[57]

Culver CityBus was founded on March 4, 1928, making it the second oldest municipal bus line in California^[58] and the oldest public transit bus system still operating in Los Angeles County.^[59]Big Blue Bus was founded on April 14, 1928.^[59][60] Culver CityBus operates seven regular bus lines as well as a short-term downtown circulator shuttle.

The Culver City Transit Center in theWestfield Culver City parking serves as a bus depot for three Culver CityBus lines and twoMetro bus lines. The Washington Fairfax Hub, just across the border of the City of Los Angeles under theI-10 freeway, connects residents to seven bus lines, two operated by Culver CityBus and five operated by Metro.

The Baldwin Hills Parklands Link is a shuttle service operated by Los Angeles County that stops atStoneview Nature Center on weekends only.

The city is served by multiple separated bike paths:

• Culver Boulevard Median bike route
• Ballona Creek bike path, connecting to thePark to Playa Trail
• Elenda Street bikeway, 12-block route between Ballona Creek Pedestrian Bridge andWashington Boulevard^[61]
• Separated bike and bus lanes through downtown Culver City, part of the MoveCulverCitycomplete streets initiative^[62]

The city is served by theLos Angeles International Airport, about 7 miles (11 km) south of the city. Smaller nearby airports includeSanta Monica Airport andHawthorne Municipal Airport.

Culver City is served byInterstate 405 (San Diego Freeway),Interstate 10 (Santa Monica Freeway), andCalifornia State Route 90 (Marina Freeway).California State Route 187 runs alongVenice Boulevard in Culver City.

Culver City is served by theCulver City Police Department, and the Culver City Fire Department, which operates three stations and a fire training facility.^[63][64]

• Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
• Holy Cross Cemetery

• Art Alexakis, musician, founder and lead singer of the bandEverclear^[65]
• Drew Barrymore, actress^[66]
• Shayla Beesley, actress
• Big Boy, radio host
• Jack Black, actor
• Jackson Browne, singer, songwriter, and musician
• Michael Bumpus, NFL player, Seattle Seahawks^[67]
• Dean Byington, visual artist^[68]
• Gary Carter (1954–2012), Major League Baseball player, Hall of Famer^[69]
• Michael Chacon, professional fixed-gear bike rider
• Tiffany Cohen, double-gold champion in swimming at the1984 Summer Olympics
• Glenn Cowan (1952–2004), table tennis player
• Carolyn Craig, actress
• Dee Dee Davis, actress^[70]
• Jeff Fisher, NFL coach^[71]
• Tim Foli (born 1950), Major League Baseball player^[72]
• Dick Gautier, actor
• Kron Gracie, son ofRickson Gracie, teachesBrazilian Jiu Jitsu in town
• Linda Gray, film, stage, and television actress, director, and producer
• Charles Herbert, actor^[73]
• Win Headley, NFL and CFL player
• Kelly Lytle Hernández, professor and Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History atUCLA, author, and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
• Howard Hughes, founder of Hughes Aircraft^[24]
• Helen Hunt, Oscar-winning actress^[74]
• HuskyStarcraft, aka Mike Lamond, YouTube commentator
• Darrin Jackson, Major League Baseball player and MLB sportscaster
• Taran Killam, actor and comedian
• Tim Layana (1964–1999), Major League Baseball player
• Merry Lepper, set world record marathon time for women, December 16, 1963, in Culver City.^[75]
• Masiela Lusha,Albanian-American actress and poet
• Ron Mael, musician, member ofSparks
• Bill Monning, California State Senator^[76]
• Michael Richards, actor and comedian^[77]
• Michelle Horn, actress
• Michael Ruppert, journalist and former LAPD officer
• Ryan Sherriff (born 1990), Major League Baseball player
• Dick Stuart (1932–2002), Major League Baseball player^[78]
• Robert Trujillo, bass player withSuicidal Tendencies,Ozzy Osbourne, andMetallica^[79]
• Gwen Verdon, four-time Tony Award-winning actress^[80]
• Michael Whelan, artist and illustrator

Culver City has fivesister cities, as designated bySister Cities International:

•  Capo d'Orlando,Messina,Sicily,Italy^[81]
•  Iksan,South Korea
•  Kaizuka,Japan
•  Lethbridge,Alberta,Canada
•  Uruapan,Michoacán,Mexico

• List of sundown towns in the United States
• Westside (Los Angeles County)

• Official website