The Media Capital of the World

by Josh Marks, June 14, 2007

When “Laugh In” hosts Dan Rowan and Dick Martin sarcastically coined the phrase “beautiful downtown Burbank” in the late 1960s they could never have imagined the city on the eastern edge of the San Fernando Valley might live up to the moniker.

Fast forward to 2007 and visitors actually now have a reason to venture beyond NBC’s “Tonight Show” and VIP tours of the Warner Bros. lot. A lot of money has been poured into developing shopping, dining, residential and cultural opportunities and it has transformed Burbank into a desirable place to live, work and play.

The formation in 2003 of the Downtown Burbank Partnership and a business-friendly tax structure has helped revitalize the area. The old Media City Center at Magnolia and San Fernando was given a $50 million facelift and transformed into Burbank Town Center with hundreds of shops and restaurants.

New condo developments such as the Village Walk and San Fernando Walk projects have lured some of the over 30,000 entertainment industry employees who work in the city.

The appropriately billed “Media Capital of the World” traces its roots back to a man who chose a very different profession than the media. The city is named for a New Hampshire dentist by the name of Dr. David Burbank who in 1867 purchased parts of two Spanish ranches on the land where the city now stands. The town was incorporated in 1911.

Burbank really began to take off with the arrival of the aviation and entertainment industries in the 1920s. Lockheed Aircraft Company built a plant for the production of its planes and by World War II employed around 94,000 people and made a major contribution to the war effort. Lockheed closed its aircraft operations in 1990.

The movie business came to Burbank in the 1920s when First National Pictures moved to the area. The company was soon taken over by the Warner brothers and the rest is history. Disney’s 51-acre studio opened for business in 1939. Today in addition to NBC, WB and Disney the city is home to ABC, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Warner Music Group and many other media companies.

One of the most impressive landmarks in Burbank is City Hall. The art deco structure opened in 1943 and in 1996 was named to the National Register of Historic Buildings. The building is located at 275 East Olive Avenue, a short walk from the San Fernando Boulevard shopping district

While Burbank is still the butt of jokes in some circles, it has come a long way in establishing its own identity as a place to explore beyond the front gates of the major studios that reside there.