Metromedia Square
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Metromedia Square (later known as Fox Television Center from 1986 to 1996) was a
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
and
television studio A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...
facility located at 5746 Sunset Boulevard in
Hollywood, Los Angeles Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
on the southeastern corner of Sunset and Van Ness Avenue in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. For decades, it was recognizable by the white, ladder-like snake on the building's roof. This work of art was called "Starsteps" and was dismantled when ownership of the building changed hands in 2000. It was one of the Los Angeles landmarks that had previous landmark status in the late 20th century.


Landmark status

Metromedia Square was one of the Los Angeles landmarks that had previous landmark status in the late 20th century, until demolition in the first couple of years in the 21st century; 14 years before the demolition of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, another last Los Angeles landmark demolished to make way for the
Banc of California Stadium Banc of California Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC. Opened o ...
in 2016. The lattice steel, truss-like sculpture on top of the building, "Starsteps" was what made Metromedia Square a Los Angeles landmark in the 1980s and 1990s.


History


Origins

The site was first known as the Nassour Studios, built in 1946 and opened January 1, 1947 by brothers William and
Edward Nassour Edward Nassour (April 7, 1911 – December 15, 1962) was an American film producer, businessman, and special effects animator. He was the brother and business partner of William Nassour (1903–1987). Biography Edward Nassour was born in Colorado ...
(1911–1962). Over 100 independent films were shot there under the Nassour Studio banner. Originally, there were four sound stages ranging in size from around to just over . Nassour's modern
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
-styled projection room and modern offices were located in the buildings fronting Sunset Boulevard. Dressing rooms were constructed adjacent to stages 1 and 2. An old converted two story apartment building located down the street on Van Ness housed producers and writers. The big stage (4) had removable panels that hid a water tank. It was used to film the jungle river scenes in ''
Africa Screams ''Africa Screams'' is a 1949 American adventure comedy film directed by Charles Barton and starring Abbott and Costello that parodies the safari genre. The title is a play on the title of the 1930 documentary ''Africa Speaks!'' The supporting ...
'' (1949). The lot was very small (about four acres) so an underground facility for storage was necessary. A large freight elevator was installed for access.


A major television facility

In 1950, the Nassour brothers sold their studio to the
Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
, publisher of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
''. Times-Mirror was looking for a facility to permanently house KTTV (channel 11), its new television station (at the time, owned jointly with CBS) which commenced broadcasting the previous year. The facility was later renamed KTTV Studios. The
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based firm Metromedia purchased the property along with KTTV in 1963. In 1967 Metromedia undertook an extensive renovation and expansion of the facility, which included a new office tower and building housing various Metromedia enterprises, including the
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...
, the
Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Olympic and US National Champion figure skaters who had retired from formal competition. Started in 1940, the Ice Capa ...
, the Foster & Kleiser advertising firm and Wolper Productions, the latter of which was purchased by the company in 1964. The renovation also brought about a name change, from KTTV Studios to Metromedia Square. Los Angeles radio stations KLAC and KMET (now
KTWV KTWV (94.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. KTWV has studios ...
), which Metromedia purchased in separate 1963 and 1965 transactions, moved there in 1976. The truss-like, lattice steel work of art sculpture, "Starsteps" was added to the building's roof on the north side of the property above the 101 freeway in 1981. Television producer
Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning '' All in the Fami ...
moved into the property in 1973 and headquartered his company,
Tandem Productions Tandem Productions, Inc. (a.k.a. Tandem Enterprises, Inc.) was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by television director Bud Yorkin and television writer/producer Norman Lear. History Tandem Productions In the e ...
, in the building. Lear started videotaping his television series here in the fall of 1975, including but not limited to: '' All in the Family''; '' Diff'rent Strokes''; '' The Jeffersons''; '' Maude''; ''
Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...
''; ''
Hello, Larry ''Hello, Larry'' is an American sitcom television series created by Dick Bensfield and Perry Grant, starring McLean Stevenson. It aired on NBC from January 26, 1979, to April 30, 1980. Its broadcast run consisted of 38 episodes over two seasons ...
''; '' One Day at a Time''; and '' The Facts of Life''. One of his other shows, ''
Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the Unit ...
'', remained taped at
NBC Studios NBC Studios may refer to: * NBC Studios (New York City), 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, home of NBC TV, NBCUniversal, MSNBC, WNBC * 10 Universal City Plaza in Los Angeles, home of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment * NBC Tower, office building i ...
in Burbank; its 1980 revival, ''Sanford'', was videotaped at Metromedia. Shows such as ''Diff'rent Strokes'', ''The Facts of Life'', ''One Day at a Time'', and ''The Jeffersons'' later relocated to Universal City Studios by 1982.


Later incarnation

In 1986, Metromedia sold most of its television interests to News Corporation, and KTTV became a cornerstone station of the new
Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
. As a result, the studios became the Fox Television Center, though Metromedia continued to own the building and the land on which it was situated, leasing the property to Fox and KTTV. The Fox Broadcasting Company launch announcement was made from the property, and on October 9, 1986, the flagship show was broadcast live, '' The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers''. Shows like the Metromedia and then Fox-produced '' Small Wonder'' and NBC's '' Saved by the Bell'' as well as the sketch comedy series '' In Living Color'', and the first season of '' MAD TV'' were among the last series to be taped at this complex. Ironically, very few Fox television shows were actually taped at the Fox Television Center. The direct-to-syndication seasons (1986-1990) of '' Mama's Family'' were also filmed here. KTTV and the Fox network operations moved to their own new building (the present-day Fox Television Center) in
West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...
in 1996, which is the corporate home of the Fox Television Stations group. Meanwhile, the radio stations' studios remained there, even long after they were no longer owned by Metromedia. KTWV, now owned by Audacy, moved to new studios in
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
in 1997, and then Miracle Mile neighborhood on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard on February 18, 2013. KLAC eventually became acquired by
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
(now iHeartMedia) and moved to studios shared with Clear Channel's other AM and FM stations, which are now located in Burbank. The Fox Broadcasting Company, which had maintained some business offices at the
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
studios in Los Angeles'
Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...
neighborhood while at the Television Center, moved its complete base of operations to the Century City studio lot shortly after the KTTV move. This new facility, known as the Fox Network Center, is the home to the network's live studio productions, such as '' Fox NFL Sunday''. Metromedia sold the land to the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2000. The building was demolished by the school district in 2003 and replaced with Helen Bernstein High School, which opened in 2008.


List of shows recorded at Metromedia Square

*''
227 Year 227 ( CCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Fulvius (or, less frequently, year 980 ''Ab urbe condi ...
'' (1985–87; remainder of series taped at Sunset Gower Studios) *''All's Fair'' (1976-1977) *'' All in the Family'' (1975–1979) *''
Baby Makes Five ''Baby Makes Five'' is an American sitcom television series starring Peter Scolari. The series premiered April 1, 1983 on ABC. Plot Eddie (Scolari)is an accountant who married to Jennie (Louise Williams) and the father of three children, with twin ...
'' (1983) *'' Catchphrase'' (1985–86) *'' Celebrity Bowling'' (1971-1978) *'' College Football Saturday'' (studio portions of national telecasts on Fox Sports Net, 1997) *''
Concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', ...
'' (syndicated version; for its entire run, 1973–1978) *'' The Cross-Wits'' (1975-1980) *'' Diff'rent Strokes'' (1978–1982) *'' Divorce Court'' (1957–1966) *'' The Facts of Life'' (1979–1982) *'' Family Ties'' (pilot episode only, 1982) *'' Fernwood 2 Night''/'' America 2 Night'' (1977-1978) *'' Finders Keepers'' (1988-1989) *'' Fox Sports News'' (1996-1998) *'' The 5 Mrs. Buchanans'' (for its entire run, 1994–95) *'' Gimme a Break!'' (for its entire run, 1981–1987) *''
Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...
'' (1975–1979) *'' Highcliffe Manor'' (1979) *''Homeroom'' (1989) *'' The New Hollywood Squares'' (1987-1988) *''
I've Got A Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Li ...
'', hosted by Steve Allen (syndicated version; 1972–1973) *'' In Living Color'' (for its entire run, 1990–1994) *'' The Jeffersons'' (1975–1982) *''
Joe's World ''Joe's World'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from December 28, 1979 to July 26, 1980. Premise Joe is a hardworking house painter with a wife and five kids, yet he is deeply unhappy. Cast *Ramon Bieri as Joe Wabash *K Callan as Katie ...
'' (1979–1980) *''
Hello, Larry ''Hello, Larry'' is an American sitcom television series created by Dick Bensfield and Perry Grant, starring McLean Stevenson. It aired on NBC from January 26, 1979, to April 30, 1980. Its broadcast run consisted of 38 episodes over two seasons ...
'' (1979–1980) *''Hello Out There'' (1949) *''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' (current syndication version; first season, 1984–1985) *'' Liar's Club'' (1969-1970) *''The Last Word with Jim Rome'' (1998) *'' MAD TV'' (1995–1996) *'' Mama's Family'' (syndicated version, not the NBC seasons; 1986–1990) *'' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' (pilot episodes 1 and 2 only) *'' Maude'' (1975-1978) *''
MLB on Fox ''MLB on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox MLB'') is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. The broadcaster has aired the W ...
'' (studio portions, pregame and postgame shows, 1996-1997) *'' The $100,000 Name That Tune'' (1976–1978) *''
NFL on Fox The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox broadcast network. Game coverage is usually preceded by '' Fox NFL Kick ...
'' (studio portions, incl. Fox NFL Sunday, 1994-1998) *''
NHL on Fox The ''NHL on Fox'' is the branding used for broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games that were produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox network from the 1994–1995 NHL season until the 1998–1999 NHL season. NHL games continued ...
'' (studio portions, pregame and postgame shows, 1995-1998) *'' One Day at a Time'' (1975–1982, except the pilot) *'' Punky Brewster'' (1984-1986) *''Rosie'' (1984-1990, seasons 4-9) *''
Sanford Sanford may refer to: People *Sanford (given name), including a list of people with the name *Sanford (surname), including a list of people with the name Places United States * Sanford, Alabama, a town in Covington County * Sanford, Colorado ...
'' (for its entire run, 1980–1981) *'' Silver Spoons'' (pilot episode only, 1982) *'' Small Wonder'' (for its entire run, 1985–1989) *'' Soul Train'' (1971–1981) *'' Studs'' (1991-1993) *'' The Cheap Show'' (1978) * ''The Late Show'', with Joan Rivers through Ross Shafer (1986-1988) *'' The National Easter Seal Telethon'' (1979?-1984) *'' Three's Company'' (1977, 1982–1984) *'' Too Close for Comfort'' (syndicated version not the ABC years, (1984–1986) *'' Truth or Consequences'' (syndicated version for its entire run, 1966–1978) *'' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1978–1979) (Welcome Back, Kotter was taped at ABC - Prospect Avenue lot during these years) *''
The Woody Woodbury Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1967-1968)


Notes


External links


News on the center's demolition, by VarietyArticle on Metromedia Square at seeing-stars.com


{{coord, 34.096351, -118.315212, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Hollywood, Los Angeles Demolished buildings and structures in Los Angeles Fox Broadcasting Company Metromedia Sunset Boulevard (Los Angeles) Television studios in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 2003