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The Culver Studios Innovation Plan
The Culver Studios Innovation Plan project strikes a balance between the needs of a 21st Century studio and historic preservation. The project supports the creation of a state-of-the-art studio campus to foster current and future content creation while upgrading and rehabilitating the historic buildings to protect their eligibility as historical resources.
Why does this project matter?
The Culver Studios is continuing its role as a leader in the entertainment industry by spurring economic opportunity and growth in Culver City while preserving the iconic Mansion, DeMille Theatre Mansion, the studio lot’s historic core and early sound stages. Now more than double in size, the Innovation Plan has completely transformed the industry-treasured film and television studio into a world-class campus anchored by Amazon Studios as a hub for creating and producing award-winning movies and shows.
What is ESA doing to help?
ESA provided a full set of services to support preparation of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report to support redevelopment on the approximately 14-acre downtown Culver Studios campus.
ESA’s historic resources team played a critical role in formulating approaches to historic preservation, including preparation and oversight of a bungalow relocation and rehabilitation plan, upgrades to the Mansion Building and landscape, and coordination with architects to ensure compatibility of new construction with historical resources on the campus. Historic Preservation experts worked with City staff and the Project design team during the EIR process to inform the project approach and protect the integrity of the historic buildings to reflect the period of historic significance from the early years of the Studio in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.
Because Culver Studios has significant associations with historic events like the transition from silent film productions into the era of the “Talkie,” and historical figures, such as Cecil B. DeMille, David O. Selznik, and Thomas Ince, several structures were eligible for national, state, and local historic designations.
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The historic core of the Studio is preserved for the public’s benefit for current and future generations. The existing historic buildings were rehabilitated including the Mansion, Building D, DeMille Theatre, and several bungalows were restored while others were relocated on-site. The Mansion’s historic front lawn landscape was also restored based upon our meticulous research and landscape preservation consultation.
ESA also provided historic preservation design and treatment consultation to ensure that seismic, ADA, and security upgrades to all the historic buildings were undertaken in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Necessary changes were limited in nature to support continued use as office space and protect the historic integrity of the resources to retain and preserve all character-defining features.
Working under an aggressive schedule, ESA, in collaboration with restoration contractor Spectra Company, completed the preservation work in less than a year, concluding in March 2018. The extensive rehabilitation project was one of the largest preservation projects completed in California at the time.
Connect with our team
These buildings have been associated with Culver Studios since the 1920s and 1930s so the project was important for maintaining the historic significance of Culver Studios. It could not have been a more complex, intricate project and we had to be very precise about what we were doing. I appreciate the sincere effort The Culver Studios and our incredible project team made to do everything right to make this a beautiful project that is a “win-win” for history and innovation.
Details
Client The Culver Studios, Hackman Capital Partners
Location Culver City, California
Market Community Development
Services
Cultural & Historic Resources
Archaeology
Historic Preservation
Environmental Review & Documentation
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Planning
Community Engagement
Community Planning & Design
Notable
The Culver Studios Innovation Plan EIR received an Award of Excellence from the American Planning Association in 2020.
The Culver Studios Historic Building Rehabilitation received a 2024 Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation.
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ESA led the preparation and oversight of a bungalow relocation and rehabilitation plan.
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