Miller: No, before the war it was the Hal Roach Studios, you know, where Laurel & Hardy and the Our Gang films were made. When the Army took it over, Fort Roach seemed appropriate...
The home of the USAAF First Motion Picture Unit during the war, the “Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as The Laugh Factory to the World, it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on July 23, 1914.[1][2] The studio lot, at 8822 Washington Boulevard in Culver City, California was built in 1920, at which time Rolin was renamed to Hal E. Roach Studios.” Wikipedia
Located at the intersection of Washington and National Boulevards, the studio was demolished in August, 1963 and no longer exists. The only sign left of it is the historical markerin the photo below.
Because of its mansion facade, the Hal Roach Studios is often confused with the Culver Studios, which is famous for its 1920s Colonial Revival administration building modeled after George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, Virginia. That still extant studio, now the home of Amazon Studios, is a half mile to west on Washington Boulevard.
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