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The Warner Bros. Ranch (formerly the Columbia Ranch) is a
movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. Movi ...
located at 411 North Hollywood Way in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
. Opened in the 1930s, it was used as the backdrop for films and television shows by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
and
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
The majority of the houses and buildings were originally just facades; Columbia owned and operated the Ranch from 1934 to 1971, when they merged with Warner Bros. Studios. When Warner Bros. became sole owner of the Lot in 1989, all of the structures were inclosed, with some getting a full interior.


History

Columbia Pictures, with limited space at its Hollywood headquarters at Sunset and Gower, had been forced to rent neighboring movie studios'
backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...
s for outdoor shooting. By the end of 1934, this problem was solved when studio head
Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...
acquired a lot in
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
at the corner of Hollywood Way and Oak Street. The site was an ideal
movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. Movi ...
as it was rural enough at the time to be landscaped as the studio wished. Columbia Pictures used the ranch as a backdrop for almost all of its outdoor scenes. Many television and film serials, such as ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', '' Captain Midnight'', '' Blondie'' and ''
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...
'', were filmed on the lot. In the 1960s, Columbia's television division
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
used the Ranch to film numerous shows. Most interiors were shot at Columbia's main studio at Sunset & Gower, and sometimes other locations or studios. The streets were constructed and arranged to allow shooting at multiple angles to create the illusion of a much larger area, which was quite significant for the small studio at the time. Some of the sets on New York Street and Western Streets had actual interiors, called 'Practical Sets' which allowed for a single camera movement from outside to inside, or vice versa. In 1970, a catastrophic fire destroyed a quarter of the lot. Half of the Western set, the Colonial/European set and parts of the ''Blondie'' street burned, including the ''Blondie'' house (which was also used as the ''Father Knows Best'' home). Although the sets were quickly rebuilt, two additional fires destroyed much of the original features of the ranch, including New York Street, Modern Street and half of the Boston townhouses. In 1972, Columbia and Warner Bros., both in financial trouble, entered into a joint venture to form
The Burbank Studios The Burbank Studios (formerly known as NBC Studios) is a television production facility located in Burbank, California, United States. The studio is home to ''Days of Our Lives'', ''Extra (American TV program), Extra'', the ''IHeartRadio Thea ...
on the site of the massive Warner lot, one mile south of the ranch. In 1990, Columbia moved its production facilities to the historic
MGM studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro ...
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. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...
. As a result, Warner gained ownership of the lot and renamed it Warner Ranch. The fountain in the park, built around 1935, was seen in the opening credits of ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
'', as well as in '' Hocus Pocus'', ''
1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January ...
'', '' Bewitched'', and various other Screen Gems television shows from the 1960s. The Ranch lot had served as the headquarters of
Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...
from 2007 to 2023.


Sale of ranch, redevelopment, and lease back

In 2019, it was announced that Warner Bros. would sell the Ranch property to Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Fund as part of a larger deal to be completed in 2023 in time to mark its 100th anniversary. WB will assume occupancy of the redeveloped parcel in 2025 following the transfer of ownership in 2023 and subsequent $500 million redevelopment led by Worthe. Another nearby campus has plans to include two office buildings built by Frank Gehry with Warner as long-term tenants. In early 2019, the ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
'' fountain was moved to the WB main lot and became a part of its studio tour since 2020. In October 2023, the ''Blondie'' street homes and park featuring brownstone facades and swimming pool were demolished to be replaced by a parking area, offices and 16 new stages as part of the lot remodel & completion by 2025. On September 7, 2023, it was announced that investment firms Worthe and Stockbridge completed their acquisition of Warner Bros. Ranch. This was possible after obtaining a loan of $480 million obtained from companies belonging to
Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capita ...
. On October 26, 2023, the demolition was completed on the backlot, with Blondie Street and Park Blvd leveled. All that remains are the sound stages at the back of the lot and the church façade near where the '' Bewitched'' house stood. During demolition, an episode of ''
Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro which aired on CBS from September 25, 2017, to May 16, 2024. The series is a Spin-off (media), spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' that ...
'' was filmed depicting a tornado causing damage.


List of films and shows

The list of Columbia films and
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
/
Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems ...
shows produced at the ranch include: ''
Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...
'', ''
The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...
'', '' Dennis the Menace'', ''
Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...
'', '' Bewitched'', '' Gidget'', ''
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...
'', ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'', ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...
'', '' Here Come the Brides'', ''
The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...
'', ''
The Hathaways The Hathaways may refer to: * ''The Hathaways'' (TV series), a 1961–1962 American sitcom * ''The Hathaways'' series, a historical romance novel series by Lisa Kleypas See also *'' The Haunted Hathaways'', a 2013–2015 American television si ...
'', ''
The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...
'', '' F Troop'' (for Warner Bros.), '' Lost Horizon'', ''
High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western (genre), Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in Real time (media), real time, centers ...
'', '' Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'', ''
You Were Never Lovelier ''You Were Never Lovelier'' is a 1942 American musical romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth. The supporting cast also features Adolphe Menjou, Xavier Cugat and Adele Mara. The music ...
'', '' Tokyo Joe'', ''
Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...
'', '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'', ''
WandaVision ''WandaVision'' is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series i ...
'', ''
The Wild One ''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the ...
'', '' The Middle'', '' The Wrecking Crew'' and '' Autumn Leaves.''


References


External links


The Unofficial Columbia Ranch site


from the collection of Stephen Lodge, film industry crew member {{Burbank, California, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Burbank, California Movie ranches Backlot sets Ranches in California 1934 establishments in California 2023 mergers and acquisitions