| Universal Studios Lot | |
| Location: | Universal City, California |
| Address: | 100 Universal City Plaza |
| Inauguration Date: | 1915 |
| Owner: | Universal Studios (NBCUniversal/Comcast) |
| Building Type: | Film and television complex |
| Website: | https://www.universalstudioslot.com |
Universal Studios Lot is a television and film studio complex located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California and is part of the entire Universal Studios complex, which also includes the adjacent Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. It is the production site of Universal Studios and is owned by Comcast through its subsidiary NBCUniversal.[1] The lot officially opened the gates of Universal City on March 15, 1915.[2] The lot began offering its modern studio tour in 1964, which eventually evolved into the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Today the Universal Studios Lot is made up of 400 acres, which includes more than 30 sound stages, the Brokaw News Center and 165 other separate structures.[3]
On March 15, 1915, Carl Laemmle opened Universal City Studios on a 230-acre ranch in the San Fernando Valley and called it "Universal City". The site later became known as Universal Studios Lot and Universal City was considered the first self-contained community dedicated to making films.[4]
In 1950, Universal Studios Lot increased its overall size to 400 acres after Universal acquired additional land at the southern border of the studio. Music Corporation of America (MCA) bought the Universal Studios Lot in 1958. Universal then leased back its property from MCA until MCA and Universal merged in 1962.[5]
Shortly after the MCA–Universal Pictures merger, accountants suggested that a new tour in the studio commissary would increase profits. On July 15, 1964, the modern Universal Studios tour was established to include a series of dressing room walk-throughs, peeks at actual production, and later, staged events. This grew over the years into a full-blown theme park now known as Universal Studios Hollywood.[6]
Over the next decades, numerous television shows and movies were filmed in Universal Studios Lot, notably at the Courthouse Square and Colonial Street sets. This includes Psycho (Paramount Pictures), Back to the Future (Universal Pictures),The Perfect Storm (Warner Bros.), War of the Worlds (Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks), Desperate Housewives (ABC), and The Good Place (NBC). Today, Universal Studios Lot is one of the largest full-service production facilities. It has continued to modernize and grow with plans to expand by adding additional soundstages and building facilities.[7]
Since 2016, the NBC show American Ninja Warrior has filmed their Los Angeles city qualifiers and finals courses on the lot.
| Studio | Production | Notes | Area[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | The Jack Benny Show, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Chelsea Lately, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon LA Shows, Steve, The Kelly Clarkson Show[9] among many others[10] | 10635square feet | ||
| Stage 3 | Desperate Housewives, Heartbeat[11] | 12237square feet | ||
| Stage 4 | The Incredible Hulk, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Desperate Housewives[12] | 10534square feet | ||
| Stage 5 | Dragnet, Desperate Housewives, Ghost Whisperer[13] | 8919square feet | ||
| Stage 12 |
| Production stopped in 2020 due to redevelopment of area.[14] | 29070square feet | |
| Stage 16 |
| 11553square feet | ||
| Stage 17 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Leave It To Beaver[16] | 10090square feet | ||
| Stage 18 | 10669square feet | |||
| Stage 19 | 10032square feet | |||
| Stage 20 | 10640square feet | |||
| Stage 21 | 19701square feet | |||
| Stage 22 | Hairspray Live!, Will & Grace reboot, | 17582square feet | ||
| Stage 23 | Hairspray Live!, America's Got Talent Judge Cuts and 2020 Live Shows, Will & Grace reboot, | 18170square feet | ||
| Stage 24 | 17452square feet | |||
| Stage 25 | Quincy, M.E. | 17469square feet | ||
| Stage 26 | 17523square feet | |||
| Stage 27 | Die Hard 2, Jurassic Park, Apollo 13[17] | 17515square feet | ||
| Stage 30 | 17452square feet | |||
| Stage 31 | 34921square feet | |||
| Stage 32 | 17523square feet | |||
| Stage 33 | 7200square feet | |||
| Stage 34 | 7181square feet | |||
| Stage 35 | 7208square feet | |||
| Stage 36 | 7181square feet | |||
| Stage 37 | 13763square feet | |||
| Stage 41 | 14246square feet | |||
| Stage 42 | 14252square feet | |||
| Stage 43 | 14253square feet | |||
| Stage 44 | McMillan & Wife (1971-1977) | 14253square feet | ||
| Stage 747 | Die Hard 2[18] | Formerly an interior mockups of a Boeing 707 and a 747 | 8201square feet | |
| 1220 Studio | 5800square feet | |||
| Studio K Digital Studio | 1000square feet |
| Studio | Production | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 2 | Studio Tour | ||
| Stage 6 | |||
| Stage 7 | renamed to Stage 747 | ||
| Stage 8 | renamed to 1220 Studio | ||
| Stage 9 | renamed to Studio K Digital Studio | ||
| Stage 10 | dubbing stage
| ||
| Stage 11 | dubbing stage | ||
| Stage 13 | Universal's House of Horrors | ||
| Stage 14 | Airwolf[20] | no longer exists | |
| Stage 15 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | no longer exists[21] | |
| Stage 28 | The Phantom of the Opera | Also known as The Phantom Stage (1925 – 2014); demolished[22] | |
| Stage 29 | |||
| Stage 30 | Now Transformers: The Ride attraction[23] | ||
| Stage 31 | |||
| Stage 32 | Demolished in 2010 to build Transformers: The Ride attraction[24] | ||
| Stage 50 | |||
| Stage 52 | |||
| Stage 55 |
The Studio Tour is a public attraction both as a VIP and at the adjacent Universal Studios Hollywood theme park that offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the historic studio lot.[25] The tour first opened in 1915 when Carl Laemmle invited visitors to see the studio in action. The Universal Tour was halted in the late 1920s and revived in 1964. Since then, it has evolved through countless iterations, including new tour hosts, movie sets, and experiences.[26]