Universal Studios Lot
View over the backlot soundstages of Universal Studios Lot
General information
TypeFilm and television complex
LocationUniversal City, California
Address100 Universal City Plaza
Inaugurated1915
OwnerUniversal Studios
(NBCUniversal/Comcast)
Website
https://www.universalstudioslot.com

Universal Studios Lot is a television and film studio complex located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California and is part of the entire Universal Studios complex, which also includes the adjacent Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. It is the production site of Universal Studios and is owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal.[1] The lot officially opened the gates of Universal City on March 15, 1915.[2] The lot began offering its modern studio tour in 1964, which eventually evolved into the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.[3] Today the Universal Studios Lot is made up of 400 acres, which includes more than 30 sound stages, the Brokaw News Center and 165 other separate structures.[4]

Background

On March 15, 1915, Carl Laemmle opened Universal City Studios on a 230-acre ranch in the San Fernando Valley and called it "Universal City". The site later became known as Universal Studios Lot and Universal City was considered the first self-contained community dedicated to making films.[5]

In 1950, Universal Studios Lot increased its overall size to 400 acres after Universal acquired additional land at the southern border of the studio. Music Corporation of America (MCA Inc.) bought the Universal Studios Lot in 1958. Universal then leased back its property from MCA until MCA and Universal merged in 1962.[6]

Shortly after the MCA–Universal Pictures merger, accountants suggested that a new tour in the studio commissary would increase profits. On July 15, 1964, the modern Universal Studios tour was established to include a series of dressing room walk-throughs, peeks at actual production, and later, staged events. This grew over the years into a full-blown theme park now known as Universal Studios Hollywood.[3]

Over the next decades, numerous television shows and movies were filmed in Universal Studios Lot, notably at the Courthouse Square and Colonial Street sets. This includes Psycho (Paramount Pictures), Back to the Future (Universal Pictures), The Perfect Storm (Warner Bros.), War of the Worlds (Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks), Desperate Housewives (ABC), and The Good Place (NBC). Today, Universal Studios Lot is one of the largest full-service production facilities. It has continued to modernize and grow with plans to expand by adding additional soundstages and building facilities.[7]

Since 2016, the NBC show American Ninja Warrior has filmed their Los Angeles city qualifiers and finals courses on the lot.

Studio stages

Current studio stages

Studio Production Notes Area[8]
Stage 1 The Jack Benny Show, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Chelsea Lately, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon LA Shows, Steve, The Kelly Clarkson Show[9] among many others[10] 10,635 sq ft (988.0 m2)
Stage 3 Desperate Housewives, Heartbeat[11] 12,237 sq ft (1,136.9 m2)
Stage 4 The Incredible Hulk, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Desperate Housewives[12] 10,534 sq ft (978.6 m2)
Stage 5 Dragnet, Desperate Housewives, Ghost Whisperer[13] 8,919 sq ft (828.6 m2)
Stage 12 Production stopped in 2020 due to redevelopment of area.[14] 29,070 sq ft (2,701 m2)
Stage 16
  • Jurassic Park (1993)
  • Meet the Fockers (2004)[15]
 11,553 sq ft (1,073.3 m2)
Stage 17 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Leave It To Beaver[16] 10,090 sq ft (937 m2)
Stage 18 10,669 sq ft (991.2 m2)
Stage 19 10,032 sq ft (932.0 m2)
Stage 20 10,640 sq ft (988 m2)
Stage 21 19,701 sq ft (1,830.3 m2)
Stage 22 Hairspray Live!, Will & Grace reboot, 17,582 sq ft (1,633.4 m2)
Stage 23 Hairspray Live!, America's Got Talent Judge Cuts and 2020 Live Shows, Will & Grace reboot, 18,170 sq ft (1,688 m2)
Stage 24 17,452 sq ft (1,621.3 m2)
Stage 25 Quincy, M.E. 17,469 sq ft (1,622.9 m2)
Stage 26 17,523 sq ft (1,627.9 m2)
Stage 27 Die Hard 2, Jurassic Park, Apollo 13 [17] 17,515 sq ft (1,627.2 m2)
Stage 30 17,452 sq ft (1,621.3 m2)
Stage 31 34,921 sq ft (3,244.3 m2)
Stage 32 17,523 sq ft (1,627.9 m2)
Stage 33 7,200 sq ft (670 m2)
Stage 34 7,181 sq ft (667.1 m2)
Stage 35 7,208 sq ft (669.6 m2)
Stage 36 7,181 sq ft (667.1 m2)
Stage 37 13,763 sq ft (1,278.6 m2)
Stage 41 14,246 sq ft (1,323.5 m2)
Stage 42 14,252 sq ft (1,324.1 m2)
Stage 43 14,253 sq ft (1,324.1 m2)
Stage 44 McMillan & Wife (1971-1977) 14,253 sq ft (1,324.1 m2)
Stage 747 Die Hard 2[18] Formerly an interior mockups of a Boeing 707 and a 747[18] 8,201 sq ft (761.9 m2)
1220 Studio 5,800 sq ft (540 m2)
Studio K Digital Studio 1,000 sq ft (93 m2)
Aerial view of soundstages
The exterior of Soundstage 28 at Universal Studios Lot, commonly called the "Phantom Stage" after the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera which was filmed there

Former studio stages

Studio Production Notes
Stage 2 Studio Tour
Stage 6
Stage 7 renamed to Stage 747
Stage 8 renamed to 1220 Studio
Stage 9 renamed to Studio K Digital Studio
Stage 10 dubbing stage; ADR facility[19]
Stage 11 dubbing stage[19]
Stage 13 Universal's House of Horrors
Stage 14 Airwolf[20] no longer exists
Stage 15 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein no longer exists[21]
Stage 28 The Phantom of the Opera Also known as The Phantom Stage (1925 – 2014); demolished[22]
Stage 29
Stage 30 Now Transformers: The Ride attraction[23]
Stage 31
Stage 32 Demolished in 2010 to build Transformers: The Ride attraction[24]
Stage 50
Stage 52
Stage 55

Studio Tour

The Studio Tour is a public attraction both as a VIP and at the adjacent Universal Studios Hollywood theme park that offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the historic studio lot.[25] The tour first opened in 1915 when Carl Laemmle invited visitors to see the studio in action. The Universal Tour was halted in the late 1920s and revived in 1964.[2] Since then it has evolved through countless iterations, including new tour hosts, movie sets, and experiences.[26]

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Madeleine. "Your Complete Guide to Everything Owned by Comcast". Nasdaq. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b Strauss, Bob. "Universal City turns 100 years old". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Chronology & History of Universal Studios Hollywood". The Studio Tour. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Universal Studios Lot - Facility Operations". UniversalStudiosLot.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Universal Studios Lot - About". UniversalStudiosLot.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  6. ^ "The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, MCA and the Hidden History of Hollywood". Dennis McDougal. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  7. ^ Johnson, Ted. "Universal to Build New Soundstage Complex, Expand Theme Park in 5-Year Plan (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Universal Studios Lot | Stages". Universal Studios Lot. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  9. ^ "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 01". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  10. ^ "Filming Location Matching "Stage 1, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  11. ^ "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 03". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  12. ^ "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 04". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  13. ^ "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 05". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  14. ^ "Stage 12". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  15. ^ "Stage 16". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  16. ^ "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 17". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  17. ^ "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 27". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  18. ^ a b "the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - Stage 747". www.thestudiotour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  19. ^ a b "Stage 10". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  20. ^ "Stage 14". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  21. ^ "Stage 15". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  22. ^ "Stage 28". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  23. ^ "Stage 30". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  24. ^ "Stage 32". theStudioTour.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  25. ^ "Universal Studios Tour". UniversalStudiosHollywood.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Universal Studio's New Tram Host Jimmy Fallon Celebrates Debut". IBT. Retrieved 23 March 2017.

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