 Culver
City History: Harry H. Culver, a native of Milford, Nebraska,
arrived in Southern California in 1910 from the Philippines, where
he worked in the mercantile business, as a reporter for the Manila
Times. In 1913, at a luncheon at the downtown California Club,
he announced his plans for a city between the growing Los Angeles
and the resort of Venice. The following year, the last try by
Los Angeles to augment its westside only netted the annexation
of "The Palms," and in September 1917, Culver City became an incorporated
city of its own.
Culver earned a
national reputation as an innovative promoter. He marketed his
little city by busing people in for a "free lunch" and offered
a piece of land to the winner of the prettiest baby contest,
started a marathon race, and he established a real estate force
of 150 headquartered in Main Street. His next brainstorm altered
forever the future of Culver City. After watching Thomas Ince
make a movie on location on the banks of the La Ballona Creek,
Culver convinced the movie maker to relocate his Sunset Boulevard
facilities to 10202 Washington Boulevard and by 1919 director
Hal Roach built the second major motion picture facility in
what became known as the "Heart of Screenland." Culver
City, through a series of 37 annexations over the years, grew
from 1.2 square miles to nearly five miles. Today, there are
many fine Culver City hotels and restaurants, and the population
is approximately 40,000. However, its entertainment expenditures
are higher than the entire San Francisco Bay area.
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