Fox Studios ~ Century City

Fox Studios ~ 10201 Pico Blvd. ~ Century City, CA 90064

From seeingstars.net

"At the southern edge of ultra modern Century City, you'll find what remains of the grand old studios of 20th Century Fox. Century City... was built on what used to be the back lot of the 20th Century Fox movie studio, which is why they called the new complex "Century City." The studio sold the land to developers in 1961, after losing a vast sum of money on the making of Elizabeth Taylor's "Cleopatra."

Founded in 1913 by William Fox, the studio had begun producing the famous Movietone Newsreels (the precursor of today's network newscasts) even before they moved to their current location.
Fox had opened their studios in Century City in 1928, on land which used to be the personal ranch of Western movie star Tom Mix. Seven years later, Fox merged with Twentieth Century Pictures (which had been founded in 1933 by Daryll Zanuck, after he left Warner Brothers), and the company became 20th Century Fox in 1935..."

"In 1960, at the height of the Cold War, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States and asked to see Disneyland. When they turned down his request to tour the Magic Kingdom, they brought the angry Khrushchev to the 20th Century Fox Studios for lunch instead, where they let him watch the making of the musical "Can Can" (starring Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine). He didn't seem to enjoy the experience... Actor Ronald Reagan was invited to the lunch, but refused to come.

If you head south down the posh Avenue of the Stars, you'll see the Twentieth Century Fox studios on your right side just before you turn right (west) onto Pico Boulevard. Most of the studio's back lot was sold off when Century City was developed, and some of the studio's facilities have been relocated elsewhere to make room for the shopping center. But a good part of the old Fox studios have survived and still remain busy making movies and TV dramas.

The studio is now owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also owns the Fox Television Network.

Despite a fire which ravaged the back lot a few years back, the studio even still retains some of the historic sets from the good old days. If you look carefully at the back lot as you drive by, you should be able to glimpse a portion of the colorful, turn of the century New York street set where "Hello Dolly" was filmed"