Courthouse Square

On June 1, 2008, a fire broke out on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood, an American film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. The fire began when a worker used a blowtorch to warm asphalt shingles that were being applied to a facade. He left before checking that all spots had cooled, and a three-alarm fire broke out. Nine firefighters and a Los Angeles County sheriffs' deputy sustained minor injuries. The fire was extinguished after 24 hours.Universal Pictures said the fire destroyed a three-acre (1.2 ha) portion of the Universal backlot, including the attraction King Kong Encounter and 40,000 to 50,000 archived digital video and film copies. A 2019 exposé from The New York Times Magazine asserted that the fire also destroyed 118,000 to 175,000 audio master tapes belonging to Universal Music Group (UMG). This included original recordings belonging to some of the best-selling artists worldwide. UMG disputed the report, though the CEO, Lucian Grainge, acknowledged that "the loss of even a single piece of archived material is heartbreaking".

Universal City Zoo was a private animal collection in southern California that provided animals for silent-era Universal Pictures adventure films, circus pictures, and animal comedies, and to "serve as a point of interest" for tourists visiting Universal City. The animals were also leased to other studios. The zoo was closed in 1930, after cinema's transition to synchronized sound complicated the existing systems for using trained animals onscreen.

Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (1.7 km²) within and around the surrounding area is the property of Universal Pictures, one of the five major film studios in the United States: about 70 percent of the studio's property is inside this unincorporated area, while the remaining 30 percent is within the Los Angeles city limits. Universal City is primarily surrounded by Los Angeles with its northeastern corner touching the city of Burbank, making the unincorporated area a county island. Located within the area of Universal City is the Universal Studios Hollywood film studio and theme park, as well as the Universal CityWalk shopping and entertainment center. Within the Los Angeles city limits lies 10 Universal City Plaza, a 36-floor office building for Universal and NBC; the Sheraton Universal; and the Universal Hilton. The Metro B Line underground station of the same name is located opposite the 10 Universal Plaza. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) station is located at Universal CityWalk, and the community also houses the only government-funded fire station in the United States located on private property. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) Station 51 (formally Station 60 until the mid 1990s) is of special significance to Universal, as "Station 51" was the fictional setting of the Universal and Jack Webb television series Emergency!. However, the current Station 51 was not used for external shots, or used as a model for the interior shots seen on the show (LACFD Station 127 in Carson was used). Universal City's ZIP code is 91608, and the community is inside area code 818.

The Munster Mansion (a title never used in the series), is an exterior set located at Universal Studios. It is most famous for its use in the 1964–1966 sitcom The Munsters, but has appeared in several other productions, both before and after. According to The Munsters series, the mansion was built on the remains of an old fort, with Grandpa providing the down payment when Herman and Lily bought the home.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near Los Angeles. The area is themed to the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the film series and novels by J.K. Rowling. The attraction—the second Harry Potter-themed area to exist at a Universal resort—was designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment. After the successful debut of a similarly themed area at Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Parks & Resorts announced the construction of a second Wizarding World of Harry Potter on December 6, 2011. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood officially began operation on April 7, 2016. This attraction suspended operations on 14 March 2020 on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic.

Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. It was remodeled and converted into an indoor theatre in 1982 to improve acoustics. The amphitheater closed on September 6, 2013 and was demolished for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Colonial Street is one of the backlot street sets at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The street set has a long history, spanning over 60 years of movies and television. From 2004 to 2012, it was used in the filming of the TV series Desperate Housewives, in which the street was known as Wisteria Lane. After the production of Desperate Housewives ended, the street underwent a small makeover to remove the essence of Wisteria Lane, so that it could be used in other productions. As of May 2012, most of the iconic white fencing and wisteria has been removed. Colonial Street has since been used for the NBC comedy About a Boy and the NBC series Telenovela, featuring Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria.

Toluca Lake is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owners. Prior to the paving of the Los Angeles River in 1938 and L.A. well extraction in the late 19th and 20th century which lowered the water table, Toluca Lake was fed by artesian springs. The history of Toluca Lake can be traced to the days of the Tongva Indians, followed by Spanish colonization and Mexican independence. Toluca Lake was part of the early rancho system. The original Toluca Lake was divided, with the neighborhood being known as Forman Toluca Ranch. In 1923, investors bought and developed the land as "Toluca Lake Park". The neighborhood has had notable residents. Comedian Bob Hope was a longtime resident of Toluca Lake, as was Audie Murphy. Legendary film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold lived there from 1938 to 1957, right on the lake. Famed actress Bette Davis built a house there. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra also had houses there. More recently, it has been the home of entertainers such as Hilary Duff, Tara Strong, Steve Carell, Wayne Knight, Andy Garcia, and Melissa McCarthy.

Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketing headline is "The Entertainment Capital of LA". It was initially created to offer tours of the real Universal Studios sets and is the first of many full-fledged Universal Studios Theme Parks located across the world. Outside the theme park, a new, all-digital facility near the Universal Pictures backlot was built in an effort to merge all of NBCUniversal's West Coast operations into one area. As a result, the current home for KNBC, KVEA and NBC News with Noticias Telemundo Los Angeles Bureaus with new digital facility is on the Universal lot formerly occupied by Technicolor SA. Universal City includes hotels Universal Hilton & Towers, the Sheraton Universal Hotel, and Universal CityWalk, which offers a collection of shops, restaurants, an 18-screen Universal Cinema and a seven-story IMAX theater. In 2017, the park hosted 9.056 million guests, ranking it 15th in the world and 9th among North American parks.

Theatre West is a theatre company in Hollywood, California, the oldest continually-operating theatre company in Los Angeles, Originally conceived as a venue for working professional actors in the film and television industries to exercise their artistic skills in roles and material far different from what they were called upon to do in front of the camera, Theatre West first came together as an informal workshop led by Curt Conway. Among its early members were Joyce Van Patten, Naomi Caryl, Betty Garrett, Charles Aidman, Philip Abbott, Richard Dreyfuss, Jack Nicholson, Lee Meriwether, Martin Landau, Earl Holliman, Harry Dean Stanton, Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Carroll O'Connor, Harold Gould, and Marvin Kaplan. (More recent members include Chazz Palminteri, Ray Bradbury, Jim Beaver, John Cygan, Sherwood Schwartz, Pat Harrington, Cecily Adams, Bridget Hanley, Anne Haney, Leslie Caveny, and William Blinn.) One of the company's earliest and most successful productions went on to become a Broadway hit and a treasured perennial of the American theatre. Spoon River Anthology, Charles Aidman's dramatization of poetry of Edgar Lee Masters, was developed in the Theatre West workshop, was transferred to television, and since 1963 has been performed in thousands of productions around the world. More recently, Chazz Palminteri's A Bronx Play was developed in the Theatre West workshop, produced by the company, moved to Off-Broadway and then became a feature film, A Bronx Tale, directed by and starring Robert De Niro. John Gallogly adapted and directed two poems by Poet Laureate James Dickey, author of 'Deliverance', that starred Bridget Hanley. May Day Sermon was nominated as Best of the Fest by BBC Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival. Bronwen, the Traw, and the Shape-Shifter premiered after Mr. Dickey's death. Both plays were selected by the California Arts Council for inclusion in the Touring Artists Directory and played throughout California as well as in Atlanta, South Carolina and other states. Love of a Pig by Leslie Caveny traveled to Dublin and is produced around the United States. A vital part of the company is Storybook Theatre, an acclaimed program of original musical plays for children. Begun in 1984, by Lloyd J. Schwartz and Barbara Mallory Schwartz, Storybook Theatre has been honored with commendations from the United States Senate and House of Representatives in addition to scores of local theatre and civic awards and commendations. Storybook Theatre presents interactive, non-threatening musicals with a message. The company is a democratic membership company, run by an artistic board of directors elected by the membership. In addition to producing plays, the theatre presents workshops for actors, writers, musical comedy performers, and students of William Shakespeare, and a special two-year free training class for young professionals, the associate membership. Membership is primarily by audition (for actors) and script submission (for writers). Current artistic moderators for the workshops are Arden Teresa Lewis (actors), Doug Haverty and Christine DiGiovanni (writers), Anthony Grupposo (musical comedy), and Nick McDow (Shakespeare). The managing director is Eugene J. Hutchins. The current Artistic Board of Directors is composed of established Los Angeles-based actors/writers/directors and includes Garry Kluger, Rick Simone, Ashlet Taylor, Ernest McDaniel, Michael Van Duzer, and Dina Morrone. Among Theatre West productions are Mornings at Seven with Betty Garrett, Marvin Kaplan, and Malachi Throne, Patrick Hamilton's Gaslight, an original adaptation, Acting - The First Six Lessons starring Beau Bridges and Emily Bridges, James Goldman's The Lion in Winter starring Jim Beaver and Bridget Hanley, Beaver's own play Verdigris, Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight, Charlie Mount's political thriller The Leather Apron Club, and Garry Michael Kluger's A Thorn In The Family Paw, Steve Nevil's comedy The Night Forlorn, or Waitin' on Godsford. Theatre West reopened on September 24 after being closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic with the world premiere of Our Man in Santiago by Mark Wilding.

The Battle of Cahuenga Pass of 1831 was fought at Cahuenga Pass near Los Angeles between the unpopular Mexican Governor of California (Manuel Victoria), and a force assembled by wealthy local landowners. Only two men, the lancer Pacheco on the government side and a rebel Jose Avila, were killed. Victoria was severely wounded.

The Campo de Cahuenga, ( (listen)) near the historic Cahuenga Pass in present-day Studio City, California, was an adobe ranch house on the Rancho Cahuenga where the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed between Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont and General Andrés Pico in 1847, ending hostilities in California between Mexico and the United States. The subsequent Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, ceding California, parts of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona (but not Texas since it had seceded from Mexico in 1836, declared itself a republic, and joined the union in 1845) to the United States, formally ended the Mexican–American War. From 1858 to 1861 the Campo de Cahuenga became a Butterfield Stage Station.