Culver City Tour: A Guide to the Heart of Los Angeles’ Dreamland

Some say that the real Hollywood is found in Culver City, the Californian suburb where film royalty have worked and played since the 1920s. It’s been one of the Los Angeles film industry’s best-kept secrets for over 100 years. On this walking tour, you’ll hear about the highs, lows and scandals of America’s most wealthy and creative celebrities and see where Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Terminator, A Few Good Men, Star Trek and 20,000 other screen titles were shot.

You’ll begin at the heart of the matter, next to the Culver Hotel where I’ll tell you the story of the visionary developer after whom this suburb is named, Harry Culver. You’ll wind your way through the downtown area, past Culver City Studios and the Actors Gang Theatre in Media Park. There, I’ll compare the entertainment approaches of a large corporate and a small actors’ coalition that includes Jack Black, Gina Belafonte and Eddie Vedder, among others. I’ll show you the intersection where Laurel and Hardy shot their 1927 short film Hats Off and point out local watering holes like the Seventy 7 Speakeasy and the Backstage Bar where stars still sneak off for some lunch-time liquor and a moment of respite from demanding directors. Along the way, you'll also stop at the famous MGM / SONY Pictures' front gate, which stars like Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio drove through on their way to work, and you’ll learn about the careers, private lives, and – sometimes illegal – activities of many of the other film greats, both on the screen and off it.

If that’s not enough, on this walking tour of the city, you’ll also have the chance to:

• Visit the Kirk Douglas Theater, once used for secret and unannounced previews to gauge audience reactions
• Learn about the symbolism and backstory of murals dedicated to great acts like Lucy and Desi, and Laurel and Hardy
• See the Citizen Public Market and other local dining spots along the route
• Take in architecturally significant buildings like the historical Hull Building, the Thalberg Building and the Washington Building

And hear the answers to questions like:

• Which films have featured the façade of the City Hall Monument, and why was the original City Hall demolished?
• Which celebrities have stayed in the Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence and Apartments, affectionately known as Hobbit Houses?
• Which 2014 Sony film almost took the US to war with North Korea?
• Which famous film felines are represented in the Lion’s Fountain?

Join film-industry veteran Manny Greenfield on this 75-minute tour, where he’ll give you the inside scoop and also share stories from his father’s studio - where Elvis had a number of recording sessions. You’ll wrap it all up back where you started, at the hotel where Manny will bring you back to the suburb’s humble beginning as one man’s vision of a place that the American film industry could call home.