STUDIO CITY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
- For the Media Free Zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, see Dubai Studio City.
Studio City is a four-square-mile district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. It is bounded roughly by Ethel Avenue to the west, Highway 101 to the north and east, and Mulholland Drive and the Santa Monica Mountains to the south.
Origin of Name
Studio City earned its name in the 1920s when Mack Sennett moved his studios from a neighborhood known as Edendale (near Echo Park) to a property near Colfax Avenue and Ventura Boulevard. His soundstages, Mack Sennett Studios, were later renamed Republic Pictures Studio, MTM Enterprises Studios and today are known as the CBS Radford Studios.[1]
Geography
Studio City is connected to Los Angeles's vast network of freeways by the 101. Access to other parts of the city is also provided by Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Coldwater Canyon Avenue, and Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevards. Its main thoroughfare is Ventura Boulevard, where the bulk of its commercial activity resides.
The area, like many parts of L.A., has seen a great deal of tear-down building, with large mostly condominiums, replacing single family homes or smaller dated more affordable apartments along major crossfares. Traffic and parking problems have worsened. A local golf and tennis facility is in danger of being displaced by a senior residential complex. A few blocks over, the historic Sportsman Lodge hotel/restaurant is dealing with similar issues.[citation needed]
Residents "south of the boulevard" are insulated from the non-stop development and have seen their home values soar in recent years.
Tujunga Avenue, a north-south street, also features Tujunga Village, a block-long area of charming shops and restaurants.
Population
According to the 2000 San Fernando Valley Almanac[2], Studio City has a population of 25,841 and 13,086 households. The median home price is $464,000. The population is 84% white, with Hispanics at 8%, African American at 3% and Asian American at 5%.
Studio City, similar to nearby Sherman Oaks and North Hollywood, became known for having a large Jewish population in the 1950s. The area still has a large Jewish presence (like Sherman Oaks but unlike contemporary North Hollywood) but is no longer as heavily Jewish as it was even as recently as the 1980s. Many Russians have moved into the area in recent years, and the boom in apartment complexes has brought a multi-ethnic feel to the city that wasn't there a few decades back. True to the city's name, many residents work in film, television and media.
The Valley's reputation for subpar dining doesn't extend to Studio City. Like its neighbor Sherman Oaks, the city has seen a surge in restaurants of note in past decades. The east end of Studio City's piece of Ventura Boulevard is known to diners as Sushi Row, with an usually high concentration of good-quality raw fish places (even for L.A.) Midtown, there is Art's Deli, a local institution for bagels and eggs. The west end has Pinot (part of the Patina group) and the Bistro Gardens. There are relatively few fast-food restaurants.
The area is served by two publications with local content. The Studio City Sun (part of a regional chain) covers issues such as development and traffic, and keeps up with local celebrities. Studio City Lifestyle is an advertiser-friendly magazine partial to profiles and pieces on merchants. Many are critical of the Los Angeles Times nor the Los Angeles Daily News for not covering the area.
Landmarks
Local Government Officials
Studio City is part of the 2nd City Council District of Los Angeles, represented by Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. The area is also represented by Los Angeles County District 3 Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, District 23 California state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, California state Assemblyman Paul Koretz and US Rep. Howard Berman.The district is also represented by the Studio City Neighborhood Council.
Education
Studio City is zoned to Los Angeles USD schools.
Carpenter Avenue Elementary School (located within the neighborhood), Walter Reed Middle School (in North Hollywood), and North Hollywood High School (in North Hollywood) serve the community.
Studio City is home to Bridges Academy, a private middle and high school for gifted students with learning disabilities.
Famous Studio City Residents
Trivia
The district is served by a Los Angeles Public Library branch.[5] A farmers market is held each Sunday on Ventura Place.
In September 2004, Britney Spears married Kevin Federline in a private house in Studio City.
Bonnie Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was found murdered near Vitello's Restaurant on Tujunga Avenue in Studio City in May 2001. [6]
On March 4, 1952, actor Ronald Reagan married Nancy Davis at the Little Brown Church in Studio City.[7]
External links
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