The Burbank Studios (now Warner Bros. Studios)
4210 W. Olive Ave.
Burbank, CA 91505
[Gate 2 address, closest to the stages]
• Stage 12 – Constructed 1926 (GB1)
• Stage 15 – Constructed 1927 (GB1, GB2)
• Stage 16 – Constructed 1935-1936 (GB1, GB2)
• Stage 18 – Constructed 1926 (GB1)
* Google Maps aerial view [Stages 15 & 16]
* Google Maps street view [Gate 2 entrance]
History – written by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Studios is a 110-acre facility that is home to 30 sound stages and a 20-acre backlot that can double as almost anywhere, be it a bustling metropolitan city, a jungle in the rainforest, or Main Street, USA. The Studio was originally built on a plot of farmland in 1926 by First National Pictures, which Warner Bros. acquired in 1928 following the financial success of The Jazz Singer, the historic first “talking picture”.
By the late 1930s, business was booming, and Warner Bros. Studios had constructed nine new soundstages, all of which are still in use today. Stage 16, the largest sound stage at Warner Bros. and one of the tallest in the world, was completed in 1936. That same year, the entire structure was raised to its current height of 98 feet (65 feet to the permanents), using hand jacks and a lot of labor, to accommodate the Marion Davies/Clark Gable musical, Cain and Mabel. In addition to housing some of the grandest sets in the Studio’s history, it has been fitted with a tank that holds over two million gallons of water.
In 1967, an aging Jack Warner sold the Studio to Elliot and Ken Hyman, who renamed it Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. Two years later, in 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was purchased by Steve Ross and his Kinney Corporation, and the company became Warner Communications, Inc. In 1972, Warner Communications and Columbia Pictures joined forces to create a single production facility called The Burbank Studios. Serving two of Hollywood’s entertainment giants, the studio resembled, more than ever before, a small city with its own fire department, mail services, bank, restaurant and bicycle shop. Also at this time, The Burbank Studios acquired what is now the Warner Bros. Ranch. Adjacent to the Main Lot, the 32-acre facility houses five sound stages and exterior sets, including Park Boulevard and Blondie Street, a circle of residential houses which have hosted such beloved television classics as Bewitched, The Partridge Family, Dennis the Menace, and I Dream of Jeannie.
The 1990s were a seminal decade for the Studio, starting with the 1990 merger of Warner Communications, Inc. and Time Inc. to form TimeWarner, Inc. – one of the world’s largest communications and entertainment companies. In June of that year, the company acquired the entire studio lot when Columbia Pictures moved into the former MGM studio lot in Culver City, and celebrated its rededication as Warner Bros. Studios.
Fun Facts
