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Culver City
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Studios · Easy

Culver City

The little town that made The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, and most of Hollywood's golden age.

Culver City sits between Hollywood and the ocean, and for a few decades in the mid-20th century it was where most of the movies actually got made. MGM, Hal Roach, Selznick, and Desilu all shot here. This hunt traces the studio gates, the Art Deco theaters, and the hotel where the cast of Gone With the Wind drank between takes.

The Map

Your route

Offline directionsOpen in Maps

Pinch to zoom. Tap a marker to see the stop name. The dashed line traces the suggested walking order.

The Hunt

Turn-by-turn stops

Each stop shows the walking distance and direction from the previous one, plus a tap-through to your phone's maps for step-by-step directions.

  1. 01

    Sony Pictures Main Gate

    "Begin at the gate that used to say MGM. Find the Madison Avenue entrance and look for the colonnade."

    34.0179, -118.4011Start walking here
  2. 580 m~8 min walkhead NE from stop 1
    02

    Culver Hotel

    "Six-story flatiron Renaissance Revival. Find the brass plaque about the Munchkins."

    34.0211, -118.3961Walk from stop 1
  3. 520 m~7 min walkhead WNW from stop 2
    03

    Culver Studios Mansion

    "Walk Washington Boulevard. Find the white colonial mansion behind the gate."

    34.0233, -118.4011Walk from stop 2
  4. 560 m~7 min walkhead ESE from stop 3
    04

    Town Plaza Fountain

    "Triangular plaza, water feature, palm trees. Find the bronze pavers naming local film history."

    34.0219, -118.3953Walk from stop 3
  5. 0.6 mi~14 min walkhead ENE from stop 4
    05

    Helms Bakery District

    "Long horizontal Art Deco block. Find the original neon sign that says 'Olympic Games 1932'."

    34.0258, -118.3853Walk from stop 4
  6. 2.2 mi~47 min walkhead SW from stop 5
    06

    Culver City Stairs (lower)

    "Find the trailhead at Hetzler & Jefferson. Climb the first hundred steps. Turn around for the view."

    34.0014, -118.4097Walk from stop 5
  7. 2.1 mi~46 min walkhead NE from stop 6
    07

    Hal Roach Studios Marker

    "Where Laurel and Hardy worked. There's no studio anymore — just a plaque on the corner of National and Washington."

    34.0269, -118.3886Walk from stop 6
  8. 800 m~11 min walkhead SW from stop 7
    08

    Kirk Douglas Theatre

    "Restored 1947 movie palace, now a live theater. Find the year carved above the marquee."

    34.0214, -118.3942Walk from stop 7
  9. 370 m~5 min walkhead NNW from stop 8
    09

    Ivy Substation

    "A small Spanish Revival building converted to a black box theater. Find the old electrical insulators on the roof."

    34.0247, -118.3950Walk from stop 8
  10. 370 m~5 min walkhead S from stop 9
    10

    The Cabrillo Plaza

    "Bronze relief mural showing Culver's film history. Find the panel with the lion."

    34.0214, -118.3956Walk from stop 9
  11. 1.2 mi~25 min walkhead SSW from stop 10
    11

    Vets Auditorium

    "Spanish-style civic auditorium. Find the year carved on the corner."

    34.0067, -118.4061Walk from stop 10
  12. 1.1 mi~25 min walkhead NNE from stop 11
    12

    Jazz at the Culver Hotel (return)

    "End where you began. Inside the lobby, in the velvet booth in the back corner."

    34.0211, -118.3961Walk from stop 11