Universal Weekly (1933-1935)

1 <V UNIVERSAL WEEKLY = Mar. 16, 1935 Universal City 20 Years Old How They Started Presenting Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Pictures and the daddy of ’em all in the "How They Started" series. Carl Laemmle broke in as an exhibitor in Chicago. In 1906 he opened his first theater, “The White Front,” with the feature “From Newsboy to Judge.” The admission was a nickel and the business sensational. , . . Blame it all on that unusual artist, "Hap” Hadley, for he is doing the dirty work One of a series of drawings in a recent issue of the Film Daily by artist “Hap” Hadley. (Continued from Page 13) The San Fernando Valley was quiet again until Universal City was founded. Through Stanley Anderson, the developer of Beverly Hills, Carl Laemmle acquired title to the Taylor ranch and commissioned Isidore Bernstein to prepare the plans for a sudio adequate to the present need and capable of being expanded to take care of any future needs. Bernstein designed the buildings and acted as contractor with William Horsley in charge of construction. Work was begun on Universal City in the fall of 1914. The main street is Laemmle Boulevard, a paved street a mile long leading from the admission gate to the back door of the back ranch. By November, there were nearly five hundred inhabitants of Universal City, and buildings began to grow up like mushrooms. The Back Ranch saw the construction of typical western streets, a New England street, a church, banks, ranch houses, Northwest cabins, African kralls, a street patterned after New York, and about thirty foreign sets. Nearly fifty pictures were completed at Universal City before the grand opening. By that time also filmland's finest zoo had been established at Universal City, with elephants, camels, lions, tigers, monkeys, snakes and every imaginable wild animal for use in pictures in permanent residence. March 15, 1915, had been heralded all over America as the opening day for this wonder city. Colored posters were tacked in every railway station in the country and newspaper advertisements and stories promised thrills that the previous California visitor never knew when Universal City was to open. A special train from New York picked up Universal branch office managers and leading exhibitors at Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, (where the passengers met Buffalo Bill) and Grand Canyon. The train was met at San Bernardino by Isadore Bernstein and other studio officials and the 100 passengers motored to Los Angeles. Early next morning, Monday, March 15, the visitors headed a motor caravan through Hollywood over Cahuenga Pass and down into the valley to the main gate of Universal City. Here more than 20,000 persons were assembled to watch Police Chief Laura Oakley (the only woman police chief the West had known up to that time) present President Carl Laemmle with the golden key to the chain lock. A band played the national anthem as the flag was pulled to the top of the flag pole and with a grand gesture and broad smile, Mr. Laemmle opened the studio, assisted by R. H. Cochrane, vice-president, P.A. Powers, Treas., Joe Brandt, and Isadore Bernstein, the proud general manager and designer of the big studio. U. K. Whipple (later famous war photographer) ground off newsreel scenes of the grand opening and events that followed and throughout the entire day and most of the night everywhere the executive party went they were showered with carnations, poppies, daisies and roses. As visitors entered the grounds on their first tour of inspection, cowboys, mounted actors dressed as Confederate and Union soldiers, Indians in their war paint and full regalia acted as guides and guards. During the lunch hour the guests of honor were served in the studio restaurant and speeches of greeting and of well wishing were interspersed with introductions of famous players. After luncheon (to quote the Motion (Continued on Page 26)