Los Angeles Center Studios, is a 20-acre film production studio located in the City West neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.[1]
Los Angeles Center Studios | |
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Location within Los Angeles | |
Former names | Union Oil Center |
General information | |
Address | 450 South Bixel Street Los Angeles, California 90017 |
Coordinates | 34°03′19″N 118°15′40″W / 34.055393°N 118.26109°W |
Groundbreaking | 1955 |
Completed | April 1958 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William Pereira |
Architecture firm | Pereira & Luckman |
Main contractor | Del E. Webb Construction Company |
The main building opened in April 1958 as the Union Oil Center and served as the headquarters of Union Oil Company of California. [2][3]The tower was designed by architect William Pereira. In 1996, Union Oil vacated the premises.
After the construction of six sound stages and renovation of the Unocal building, the studio opened in 1999. The 20-acre complex includes six film production sound stages, ten buildings, three streets and a private park. [2] The main gate is located at 450 South Bixel Street.[4]
In 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that with Dreamgirls and Numb3rs filming at the studio, the city’s decades-old vision for City West was finally being fulfilled.[1]
How the studios went from an abandoned corporate headquarters to a flourishing center of industry is a dramatic example of a transformation unfolding on the west side of Harbor Freeway. The wave of gentrification that started in the rest of downtown in the late 1990s has finally reached the area known as City West.
Los Angeles Center Studios is a multipurpose facility that includes the former Unocal Center building (opened as Union Oil Center in April 1958) and the surrounding area. In 1999, construction on the six large sound stages and renovation of the Unocal headquarters was complete. The new 20-acre entertainment campus includes 10 buildings and 3 streets. Situated on the west side of the Harbor Freeway, at 5th and Bixel streets, the studio has the amenities of a full-scale Hollywood studio, including office space, a commissary, fitness center, a 350-seat theater, car wash, electric car charging stations, and a private park.