The Golden Era of Films lives on in Silver Lake, where photos, films
and even some of the original buildings and filming locations remain,
thanks to the efforts of locals who have worked to preserve a piece of
history that changed the world as we know it. This is where Roy and
Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in 1928, followed by Pluto, Goofy,
Donald Duck, and the rest of the Disney gang. From their Hyperion
Avenue offices built in 1925 as Disney Bros. Studio, two brothers
created an empire, working 14 years in the location. This is also where
Mack Sennett Studio produced classic films featuring Laurel and Hardy,
Keystone Cops and Charlie Chaplin.
Silver Lake is a community with a chamber of commerce and local
associations that work for the interests of this region which is a part
of the City of Los Angeles. It's located approximately five miles
northwest of downtown Los Angeles and just east of Griffith Park.
Originally called Ivanhoe, Scotsman Hugo Reid saw rolling hills that
reminded him of home so he named the area after a famous Scottish novel
Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott. Many of the streets in Silver Lake have
Scottish names, or names that are related to characters from the novel,
such as Ben Lomond, Hawick, Rowena and Kenilworth. The Department of
Water and Power established reservoirs in the early 1900s as part of
the city-wide system of water storage & delivery that today has 10
open reservoirs remaining. When Silver Lake Reservoir was built in the
early 20th century, the district changed its name after the Department
of Water and Power's Herman Silver, a member of Los Angeles? first
Board of Water commissioners.
Generally bounded by Sunset Boulevard on the south, Riverside
Drive on the north, Hyperion on the west, and the Glendale Freeway and
Glendale Boulevard on the east, the area features houses, shops, parks
and busy roadways and streets, plus the centerpiece Silver Lake
Reservoir, which is operated by a park district. At one time Pacific
Electric Red Car rail passed through the community and provided
transportation to Southern California beaches. While the Red Car train
system and many buildings from the early 1900's disappeared, an
involved community has succeeded in several efforts that restricted a
high density project slated for the area, saved the famed Max Sennett
Studio site and kept the beloved Silver Lake Reservoir from being
demolished and paved over. The community is alive with history in
buildings and houses that speak of a time when the likes of famed
architect Dion Neutra designed homes for the rich and famous. Highly
describable hillside neighborhoods contain houses diverse in style and
affordable to the tune of $500K upwards. The location is great for
access to downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena and the film studios in nearby
Burbank. There's a creative flair in shops and decor in a community
considered gay-friendly, sporting several nightclubs catering to same
sex audiences.
Like other regions of Los Angeles, Silver Lake feels like a city
unto itself. It has its own name, character and connection to a special
past uniquely its own. Silver Lake's "Early Film Connection" is
described in a wonderful web site, silverlake.org. According to this
web site- The Silver Lake and adjacent Edendale and Echo Park areas
were home to many early motion picture studios. The Mack Sennett
Studios, Tom Mix, Disney, Monogram (which is now KCET) Talmadge (ABC),
were located here and drew creative people to the area. Many locations
in Silver Lake and Edendale/Echo Park appeared in these early motion
pictures. For example the famous Laurel and Hardy short film "The Music
Box" was filmed here, and many of the Keystone Cops chase scenes were
shot along Glendale Blvd. Many of these early films are still showing
at nearby theaters. Mack Sennett worked with actors whose names are
still remembered today: Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Ford Sterling,
Harry Langdon, Mabel Normand, Slim Summerville, Fatty Arbuckle, and
scores more.
According to the Echo Park Historical Society, the Mack Sennett
studios were on both sides of Glendale Blvd and one of the old studio
buildings is now Public Storage building. The AM/PM gas station across
the street is where the "cyclorama" was located. This was a revolving
set which provided a moving landscape for the performers, who could run
in place. Not only was area home to many of the early studios, numerous
filmmakers, actors, directors, etc. also lived in Silver Lake. These
included Laurel and Hardy, Antonio Moreno and many more. Source:
silverlake.org
