1970s - NBC Studios Corner of Alameda and Olive
Photo of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. studio building on 3000 W. Alameda in the early 1970s. "NBC sign, it was too tall, according to a new council ordinance, and was forced to come down"--back of photo. The over-sized KNBC-4 sign on the sidewalk and opposite building across the street both display the NBC snake logo. Promoting the company from 1959 to 1975, the animated snake logo accompanied the "in living color" peacock logo and appeared at the end of every NBC program. The NBC building facade stretches along the street opposite a row of blooming trees and extends towards Olive Avenue. With television's increasing popularity in the 40's and 50's, NBC looked to expand its West Coast operations for television production. Construction began from the ground up in 1951 after RCA, NBC's parent company, purchased land from both the city of Burbank and film executive, Jack Warner. The studios were originally nicknamed "NBC Color City" even though the first few years of programming were broadcast in black and white. With the original Studios 1 and 2 completed in 1952, two more studios were added to produce music and variety color specials featuring entertainers like Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. In 1962, KNBC-TV Channel 4 relocated from its Hollywood location on Sunset Boulevard to the Burbank facility. Housing a two-story newsroom, it was also home base to NBC News' Los Angeles Bureau which aired network news programs originating from California. The entire studio complex covered 35 acres and produced game shows, daytime dramas, and specials for over 50 years, including "The Tonight Show," brought to Burbank from New York City by Johnny Carson in 1972. From 1968 to 1973, the studios produced "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" known for coining the phrase, "Beautiful Downtown Burbank." NBC sold the studio complex in 2008 to a real estate developer and, over several years, moved its operations to nearby Universal Studios. The NBC building signage was replaced in 2014 with the new logo, The Burbank Studios.
3000 W. Alameda Blvd, Burbank, CA 91523
9 x 7 b&w print
Burbank Public Library, Burbank in Focus Office
cco01502
City Clerk's Office
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