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{{Infobox Historic Site
[[Image:Columbia square.jpg|thumb|300px|CBS Columbia Square]]
| name = CBS Columbia Square
'''CBS Columbia Square''' at 6121 [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Hollywood, California]] has been home to a group of [[radio]] and [[television studio]]s since 1938. The radio stations [[KNX (AM)|KNX]], [[KCBS-FM]] (formerly KNX-FM), and television stations [[KCBS-TV]] (Channel 2, formerly KNXT and KTSL) have had their studios there. Independent television station [[KCAL-TV]] (formerly KHJ-TV) moved to the Square in 2002 from studios adjacent to CBS' then-corporate sibling [[Paramount Pictures]]. The CBS Television Network, originally based at Columbia Square, built a new facility to handle its larger production needs, and its [[CBS Television City|Television City]] studios and offices opened in November 1952.
| native_name =

| image = CBS ColumbiaSquare01.jpg
Columbia Square was built for KNX and as the Columbia Broadcasting System's West Coast operations headquarters on the site of the Nestor Film Company, Hollywood's first movie studio. The [[Christie Film Company]] eventually took over operation of [[Nestor Studios]] and filmed comedies on the site, originally the location of an early Hollywood roadhouse. Prior to moving to Columbia Square, KNX had been situated at several Hollywood locations.
| caption = CBS Columbia Square in April 2007

| locmapin = Los Angeles
KNX began as a 5-watt radio station operating from the Hollywood bedroom of Fred Christian, a former Marconi wireless operator and radio salesman who wanted to provide broadcast content for customers who purchased his wireless sets. He played records borrowed from stores and became LA's first deejay. The station was briefly owned by the ''Los Angeles Evening Express.'' Its signal was boosted to 50,000 watts in 1934 and was purchased by CBS founder [[William S. Paley]] in 1936 at a cost of $1.25 million to expand his fledgling network's California presence and to tap into Hollywood's talent pool. Principal competitor NBC was on the same track. NBC's Radio City studios were also opened in 1938, two blocks away at Sunset and Vine.
| latitude = 34.098293
| longitude = -118.323087
| coord_display=inline,title
| location = 6121 [[Sunset Boulevard]], [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]], [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]
| area =
| built = 1938
| architect = [[William Lescaze]]
| architecture = [[International style (architecture)|International Modernism]]
| governing_body =
| designation1 = LAHCM
| designation1_offname = CBS Columbia Square Studios
| designation1_date = March 10, 2009
| designation1_number = 947
}}
'''CBS Columbia Square''', located at 6121 [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]], [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], was the home of [[CBS]]'s Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. The building housed the [[CBS Radio Network]]'s West Coast facilities, as well as CBS's original Los Angeles radio stations, [[KNX (AM)|KNX]] and [[KCBS-FM]]. KNXT-TV, Channel 2 (now [[KCBS-TV]]) moved into the complex in 1960, and the [[CBS Television Network]]'s West Coast operations were based there until it moved to the larger [[CBS Television City]] in November 1952. After its purchase by CBS in 2002, [[KCAL-TV]] moved to the Square from studios adjacent to CBS's then-corporate sibling [[Paramount Pictures]]. Between 2004 and 2007 all of these operations moved to other facilities in the Los Angeles area.


==Architecture and dedication==
==Architecture and dedication==
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Columbia square.jpg|left|thumb|300px|A postcard drawing of CBS Columbia Square, c. 1938.]] -->
Columbia Square was designed by Swiss-born architech [[William Lescaze]] in the style of International Modernism and built over a year at a cost of two million dollars — more money than had ever been spent on a broadcasting facility.
Columbia Square was built for KNX and as the Columbia Broadcasting System's West Coast operations headquarters on the site of the Nestor Film Company, Hollywood's first movie studio. The [[Christie Film Company]] eventually took over operation of [[Nestor Studios]] and filmed comedies on the site, originally the location of an early Hollywood roadhouse. Prior to moving to Columbia Square, KNX had been situated at several Hollywood locations.


Columbia Square was designed by Swiss-born architect [[William Lescaze]]<ref name=schmitt>{{cite journal |last= Schmitt |first= F.E. |date= January 5, 1939 |title= Design for Broadcasting |journal=Engineering News-Record |volume= 122 |issue= 1 |pages= 12–15 |publisher= McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc. |location= New York |url= http://books.google.com/?id=48ojAAAAMAAJ |accessdate= 2014-06-12}}</ref> in the style of [[International style (architecture)|International Modernism]] and built over a year at a cost of two million dollars — more money than had ever been spent on a broadcasting facility.
Lescaze's sweeping streamline motifs, porthole windows and glass brick were true to Modernist design, though Paley insisted the Square's form follow function. In his dedicatory speech, he remarked, "It is because we believe these new Hollywood headquarters, reflecting many innovations of design and acoustics and control, will improve the art of broadcasting that we have built them and are dedicating them here tonight."


Lescaze's sweeping streamline motifs, porthole windows and glass brick were true to Modernist design, though CBS President William Paley insisted the Square's form follow function. In his dedicatory speech, he remarked, "It is because we believe these new Hollywood headquarters, reflecting many innovations of design and acoustics and control, will improve the art of broadcasting that we have built them and are dedicating them here tonight."
Columbia Square opened on April 30, [[1938]] with a full day of special broadcasts culminating in the star-studded evening special, "A Salute to Columbia Square" featuring [[Bob Hope]], [[Al Jolson]] and [[Cecil B. DeMille]]. Crowds thronged Sunset Boulevard and a blimp bathed in searchlights hovered overhead as the program was carried coast-to-coast on the Columbia Broadcasting System, beamed to Europe via short wave, and carried across Canada on the [[CBC]]. On that premiere broadcast, Hope joked that Columbia Square looked like "the [[Taj Mahal]] with a permanent wave." Jolson quipped, "It looks like [[Flash Gordon]]'s bathroom."


Columbia Square opened April 30, 1938, with a full day of special broadcasts culminating in the star-studded evening special, "A Salute to Columbia Square" featuring [[Bob Hope]], [[Al Jolson]] and [[Cecil B. DeMille]]. Crowds thronged Sunset Boulevard and a blimp bathed in searchlights hovered overhead as the program was carried coast-to-coast on the Columbia Broadcasting System, beamed to Europe via short wave, and carried across Canada on the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]. On that premiere broadcast, Hope joked that Columbia Square looked like "the [[Taj Mahal]] with a permanent wave." Jolson quipped, "It looks like [[Flash Gordon]]'s bathroom."
The Square's original configuration included eight studios. Studio B held 400 seats. Nearby, the Square's large auditorium was capable of seating 1,050 audience members. The complex included Brittingham's Radio Center Restaurant and a branch of the [[Bank of America]]. Tours of the studios cost 40 cents and passed by a glass-windowed control room housing Columbia's West Coast master control.

The Square's original configuration included eight studios. Studios 1 through 4 were to the left of the main entrance. Upstairs were Studios 5 through 7 and at the rear of the forecourt was the large auditorium referred to as the "Columbia Playhouse" that seated 1050. In 1940, two new audience theatres were added to the east of the auditorium called "Studio B" and "Studio C" each seating approximately 350 people. Shows such as Jack Benny's ''[[The Jack Benny Program|Lucky Strike Program]]'' and ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'' originated from Studio B. Lucille Ball's ''[[My Favorite Husband]]'', ''[[Blondie (1968 TV series)|Blondie]]'', and ''[[Dr. Christian]]'' are a few of the shows that broadcast from Studio C. When B and C were built, the Columbia Playhouse then took the letter designation of "Studio A". Studio A was home to "The Silver Theatre", "The Swan Show starring George Burns and Gracie Allen", "The Lady Esther Screen Guild Players" and countless others. The complex included Brittingham's Radio Center Restaurant, a men's clothing store, and a branch of the [[Bank of America]]. Tours of the studios cost 40 cents and passed by a glass-windowed control room housing Columbia's West Coast master control.


"Columbia Square was one of the glories of radio. It was somewhat sacred to those in the industry. There was nothing comparable to its splendor in New York" says writer-producer [[Norman Corwin]] whose most famous broadcast, ''On a Note of Triumph,'' originated from the Square on VE Day, 1945.
"Columbia Square was one of the glories of radio. It was somewhat sacred to those in the industry. There was nothing comparable to its splendor in New York" says writer-producer [[Norman Corwin]] whose most famous broadcast, ''On a Note of Triumph,'' originated from the Square on VE Day, 1945.


In early 2009, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission and the [[Los Angeles City Council|City Council]] designated CBS Columbia Square Studios as a [[Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument|historic-cultural monument]].
==The Programs==
[[Image:Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy.jpg|thumb|125px|right|Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy]]Columbia Square became home to some of the best-known comedies of radio's golden age. [[Jack Benny]], [[Burns and Allen]], [[Edgar Bergen]], [[Red Skelton]], [[Eve Arden]] "([[Our Miss Brooks]])," "[[Blondie]]," [[Jack Oakie]] and [[Steve Allen (comedian)|Steve Allen]] sparked to the airways from the Square.


==Programs==
Dramas included "Suspense," "[[Gunsmoke]]," "Dr. Christian," "[[The Whistler]]," "[[Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar]]," "The CBS Radio Workshop" (author Aldous Huxley introduced a production of "Brave New World") and "Columbia Presents Corwin" (dramas produced by [[Norman Corwin]].)
Columbia Square became home to some of the best-known comedies of radio's golden age. [[Jack Benny]], [[Burns and Allen]], [[Edgar Bergen]], [[Red Skelton]], [[Eve Arden]] ("[[Our Miss Brooks]]"), [[Jack Oakie]] and [[Steve Allen]] sparked to the airways from the Square.


Dramas included "Suspense"; "[[Gunsmoke]]"; and "Man Behind the Gun", written, directed and produced by William N. Robson; "Dr. Christian", "[[The Whistler]]", "[[Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar]]", "The CBS Radio Workshop", where author Aldous Huxley introduced a production of "Brave New World" and "Columbia Presents Corwin" dramas produced by [[Norman Corwin]].
Musical acts performing at Columbia Square included [[Eddie Cantor]], [[Rosemary Clooney]], [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Gene Autry]]. Composer [[Bernard Hermann]] frequently scored and conducted Columbia Square broadcasts. Through the facilities of KNX, the Columbia network broadcast big band music from nearby ballrooms including the [[Hollywood Palladium]] and the Earl Caroll Theater.


Musical acts that performed at Columbia Square included [[Eddie Cantor]], [[Rosemary Clooney]], [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Gene Autry]]. Composer [[Bernard Hermann]] frequently scored and conducted Columbia Square broadcasts. Through the facilities of KNX, the Columbia network broadcast big band music from nearby ballrooms including the [[Hollywood Palladium]] and the Earl Caroll Theater.
In the 2005 KNX broadcast, "A Salute to Columbia Square," announcer George Walsh recalled crowds jamming the Square's forecourt for tickets to live broadcasts. (Ushers would sometimes walk down Sunset Blvd. to NBC's studios at Vine Street to urge audience members to watch a Columbia Square broadcast instead.) After their on-air appearances, actors would dash to the Radio Actors Telephone Exchange in the Square's lobby to check with their agents about their next bookings.


In the late 1940s and early 1950s Columbia Square also served as a CBS television facility. In 1948, the first West Coast-based variety program, The Ed Wynn Show, was produced on Stage A. Lucille Ball's first national TV appearance took place on The Ed Wynn Show in December 1949 (aired on the East Coast just after New Year). Within the year Stage A would be the location of the shooting of the pilot episode of [[I Love Lucy]].
[[Bob Crane]] was a top-rated KNX deejay at Columbia Square in the 1960s. [[James Dean]] was an usher. The pilot for [[I Love Lucy]] was filmed on the Square's stages in TV's early years. Some of the Square's once-luxurious radio theaters were converted to recording studios for [[Columbia Records]] where [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Barbra Streisand]], among many top stars, recorded albums.


In the 2005 KNX broadcast, "A Salute to Columbia Square," announcer George Walsh recalled crowds jamming the Square's forecourt for tickets to live broadcasts. (Ushers would sometimes walk down Sunset Boulevard to NBC's studios at Vine Street to urge audience members to watch a Columbia Square broadcast instead.) After their on-air appearances, actors would dash to the Radio Actors Telephone Exchange in the Square's lobby to check with their agents about their next bookings.
==Columbia Square's Future==
KNX moved into new studios in the [[Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California|Miracle Mile]] neighborhood on L.A.'s [[Wilshire Boulevard]] which it shares with CBS Radio stations [[KFWB]], [[KTWV]], [[KCBS-FM]] and [[KLSX]]. KNX, the last radio station to operate in Hollywood, moved after 67 years of operation at the Square just after 11pm on August 12, 2005 following a [http://linder.com/columbiasquare farewell broadcast] from its Columbia Square studios.


[[Bob Crane]] was a top-rated KNX deejay at Columbia Square in the 1960s and [[James Dean]] worked as an usher. Some of the Square's once-luxurious radio theaters were converted to recording studios for [[Columbia Records]] where [[Bob Dylan]], [[Barbra Streisand]] and many other top stars recorded albums.
The Square fell into disrepair during the years in which Lawrence Tisch was at the helm of CBS, and asbestos problems have been cited as a reason to demolish the broadcasting venue. Columbia Square was acquired for $15 million by Sungow Corp in 2003. In August, 2006, the property was acquired by Las Vegas-based developer Molasky Pacific LLC, for $66 million. It plans to redevelop the 125,000-square-foot comlex to continue to attract entertainment industry tenants. It is considering options that would include adding some residential units to the office and broadcasting facility once KCBS-TV and KCAL move into a new facilities at [[CBS Studio Center]] in [[Studio City]] in 2006.


==Today==
Helmi Hisserich, regional administrator for the City of Los Angeles’ Community Redevelopment Agency, says redevelopment of Columbia Square will provide new housing, office and entertainment uses “while preserving the key historical elements of the property.”
KNX moved into new studios in the [[Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California|Miracle Mile]] neighborhood on L.A.'s [[Wilshire Boulevard]] which it shares with CBS Radio stations [[KFWB]], [[KTWV]], and [[KRTH]]. KNX, the last radio station to operate in Hollywood, moved after 67 years of operation at the Square just after 11:00 p.m. August 12, 2005, following a farewell broadcast from its Columbia Square studios. On April 21, 2007, KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV left the building and moved their operations to the [[CBS Studio Center]] in [[Studio City]], thus ending Columbia Square's status as a broadcast facility, one of a very few remaining in Hollywood.<ref name=schneider>{{cite news| title=Columbia Square closes Friday| url=http://variety.com/2007/tv/news/columbia-square-closes-friday-1117963553/#| last=Schneider| first=Michael| work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| date=20 April 2007| accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref>


The Square fell into disrepair during the years in which [[Laurence Tisch]] chaired CBS, and [[asbestos]] problems were cited as a reason to demolish the venue. Sungow Corp acquired Columbia Square in 2003 for $15 million. [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]]-based developer Molasky Pacific LLC, acquired the property in August 2006 for $66 million. It planned to redevelop the {{convert|125000|sqft|m2|-2|sing=on}} complex to continue to attract entertainment industry tenants and is considering options that would add some residential units to the office and broadcasting facility. The project is valued at $850-million and is the largest development project in Hollywood, California. The redevelopment of the historic CBS Studios on Sunset was approved in 2009 with a controversial 28-story tower. Developer Kilroy Realty Group acquired the project in 2012 and changed plans — when completed the new Columbia Square will feature a 20-story residential tower with 200 apartments, {{convert|33000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of retail, three renovated historic structures, two new office buildings with an additional {{convert|330000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of space, and four and a half levels of underground parking.<ref name=broverman>{{cite web| title=Hollywood's Columbia Square Downsized and Ready to Go| url=http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/04/hollywoods_columbia_square_a_little_shorter_and_about_to_begin.php| last=Broverman| first=Neal| date=19 April 2013| publisher=Curbed Los Angeles| accessdate=2014-06-11}}</ref><ref name=vincent>{{cite news| title=Kilroy buys Columbia Square in Hollywood, plans revival| url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/07/business/la-fi-mo-kilroy-hollywood-20121007| last=Vincent| first=Roger| date=7 October 2012| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]| accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Communal office space firm rents CBS building in Hollywood| url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-property-report-hollywood-20140731-story.html| last=Vincent| first=Roger| date=30 July 2014| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Viacom signs 12-year lease at Columbia Square in Hollywood| url=http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-columbia-square-viacom-20141120-story.html| last=Vincent| first=Roger| date=19 November 2014| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The development is currently under construction as of 2014.
The [http://www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/archives/arc_news_2005/103105.htm National Trust for Historic Preservation] and [http://www.laconservancy.org/issues/issues_list.php4 Los Angeles Conservancy] have been actively engaged in efforts to preserve the Hollywood landmark.


In fall 2007, producer [[Viacom]], owner of CBS until 2006, chose the site for [[MTV]]'s ''[[The Real World: Hollywood]]''.
==See also==
[[CBS]]


The [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] and [[Los Angeles Conservancy]] have been actively engaged in efforts to preserve the Hollywood landmark.<ref name=preservation>{{cite journal| title=Unknown| url=http://www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/archives/arc_news_2005/103105.htm| work=[[Preservation (magazine)|Preservation]]| publisher=National Trust for Historic Preservation}}{{dead link|date=June 2014}}</ref><ref name=lac>{{cite web| url=https://www.laconservancy.org/content/advocacy| title=Advocacy| publisher=Los Angeles Conservancy| accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref>
[http://www.cbscorporation.com/ CBS] corporate Web site

[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/columbiabroa/columbiabroa.htm Columbia Broadcasting System] at the Mueseum of Broadcast Communications.
==See also==
*[[CBS]]


==References==
[http://www.cbsradio.com/] CBS Radio web site
<references/>


==External links==
[http://www.linder.com/columbiasquare/] The 2005 KNX farewell broadcast, "A Salute to Columbia Square" streams at linder.com.
*[http://www.cbscorporation.com/ CBS corporate website]
*[http://www.cbsradio.com/ CBS Radio website]
*[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/columbiabroa/columbiabroa.htm Columbia Broadcasting System] at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
*[http://linder.com/knx/KNX.mp3 2005 KNX farewell broadcast, "A Salute to Columbia Square"( audio) from Michael Linder]
*[http://cbstv.wmod.llnwd.net/fc/a716/e1/n3c/0009/16280020050812_000325p5000701p4.wmv KNX 1070 moving from Columbia Square in Hollywood, KCBS 2's Lisa Sigell reports] [[Advanced Systems Format|ASF]] [[Windows Media Video|WMV]] [[Streaming media]]
{{LAHMC}}


[[Category:History of Radio]]
[[Category:CBS television studios|Columbia Square]]
[[Category:Radio Networks]]
[[Category:Culture of Los Angeles, California]]
[[Category:Radio Programs]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio Stations]]
[[Category:Television studios in the United States]]
[[Category:CBS television network|Columbia Square]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Hollywood]]
[[Category:Los Angeles culture]]
[[Category:Recording studios in California]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures of the United States]]
[[Category:Television studios]]

Revision as of 17:54, 14 September 2015

CBS Columbia Square
CBS Columbia Square in April 2007
Location6121 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Built1938
ArchitectWilliam Lescaze
Architectural style(s)International Modernism
Official nameCBS Columbia Square Studios
DesignatedMarch 10, 2009
Reference no.947
CBS Columbia Square is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
CBS Columbia Square
Location of CBS Columbia Square in the Los Angeles metropolitan area

CBS Columbia Square, located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. The building housed the CBS Radio Network's West Coast facilities, as well as CBS's original Los Angeles radio stations, KNX and KCBS-FM. KNXT-TV, Channel 2 (now KCBS-TV) moved into the complex in 1960, and the CBS Television Network's West Coast operations were based there until it moved to the larger CBS Television City in November 1952. After its purchase by CBS in 2002, KCAL-TV moved to the Square from studios adjacent to CBS's then-corporate sibling Paramount Pictures. Between 2004 and 2007 all of these operations moved to other facilities in the Los Angeles area.

Architecture and dedication

Columbia Square was built for KNX and as the Columbia Broadcasting System's West Coast operations headquarters on the site of the Nestor Film Company, Hollywood's first movie studio. The Christie Film Company eventually took over operation of Nestor Studios and filmed comedies on the site, originally the location of an early Hollywood roadhouse. Prior to moving to Columbia Square, KNX had been situated at several Hollywood locations.

Columbia Square was designed by Swiss-born architect William Lescaze[1] in the style of International Modernism and built over a year at a cost of two million dollars — more money than had ever been spent on a broadcasting facility.

Lescaze's sweeping streamline motifs, porthole windows and glass brick were true to Modernist design, though CBS President William Paley insisted the Square's form follow function. In his dedicatory speech, he remarked, "It is because we believe these new Hollywood headquarters, reflecting many innovations of design and acoustics and control, will improve the art of broadcasting that we have built them and are dedicating them here tonight."

Columbia Square opened April 30, 1938, with a full day of special broadcasts culminating in the star-studded evening special, "A Salute to Columbia Square" featuring Bob Hope, Al Jolson and Cecil B. DeMille. Crowds thronged Sunset Boulevard and a blimp bathed in searchlights hovered overhead as the program was carried coast-to-coast on the Columbia Broadcasting System, beamed to Europe via short wave, and carried across Canada on the CBC. On that premiere broadcast, Hope joked that Columbia Square looked like "the Taj Mahal with a permanent wave." Jolson quipped, "It looks like Flash Gordon's bathroom."

The Square's original configuration included eight studios. Studios 1 through 4 were to the left of the main entrance. Upstairs were Studios 5 through 7 and at the rear of the forecourt was the large auditorium referred to as the "Columbia Playhouse" that seated 1050. In 1940, two new audience theatres were added to the east of the auditorium called "Studio B" and "Studio C" each seating approximately 350 people. Shows such as Jack Benny's Lucky Strike Program and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet originated from Studio B. Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband, Blondie, and Dr. Christian are a few of the shows that broadcast from Studio C. When B and C were built, the Columbia Playhouse then took the letter designation of "Studio A". Studio A was home to "The Silver Theatre", "The Swan Show starring George Burns and Gracie Allen", "The Lady Esther Screen Guild Players" and countless others. The complex included Brittingham's Radio Center Restaurant, a men's clothing store, and a branch of the Bank of America. Tours of the studios cost 40 cents and passed by a glass-windowed control room housing Columbia's West Coast master control.

"Columbia Square was one of the glories of radio. It was somewhat sacred to those in the industry. There was nothing comparable to its splendor in New York" says writer-producer Norman Corwin whose most famous broadcast, On a Note of Triumph, originated from the Square on VE Day, 1945.

In early 2009, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission and the City Council designated CBS Columbia Square Studios as a historic-cultural monument.

Programs

Columbia Square became home to some of the best-known comedies of radio's golden age. Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Edgar Bergen, Red Skelton, Eve Arden ("Our Miss Brooks"), Jack Oakie and Steve Allen sparked to the airways from the Square.

Dramas included "Suspense"; "Gunsmoke"; and "Man Behind the Gun", written, directed and produced by William N. Robson; "Dr. Christian", "The Whistler", "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", "The CBS Radio Workshop", where author Aldous Huxley introduced a production of "Brave New World" and "Columbia Presents Corwin" — dramas produced by Norman Corwin.

Musical acts that performed at Columbia Square included Eddie Cantor, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby and Gene Autry. Composer Bernard Hermann frequently scored and conducted Columbia Square broadcasts. Through the facilities of KNX, the Columbia network broadcast big band music from nearby ballrooms including the Hollywood Palladium and the Earl Caroll Theater.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s Columbia Square also served as a CBS television facility. In 1948, the first West Coast-based variety program, The Ed Wynn Show, was produced on Stage A. Lucille Ball's first national TV appearance took place on The Ed Wynn Show in December 1949 (aired on the East Coast just after New Year). Within the year Stage A would be the location of the shooting of the pilot episode of I Love Lucy.

In the 2005 KNX broadcast, "A Salute to Columbia Square," announcer George Walsh recalled crowds jamming the Square's forecourt for tickets to live broadcasts. (Ushers would sometimes walk down Sunset Boulevard to NBC's studios at Vine Street to urge audience members to watch a Columbia Square broadcast instead.) After their on-air appearances, actors would dash to the Radio Actors Telephone Exchange in the Square's lobby to check with their agents about their next bookings.

Bob Crane was a top-rated KNX deejay at Columbia Square in the 1960s and James Dean worked as an usher. Some of the Square's once-luxurious radio theaters were converted to recording studios for Columbia Records where Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand and many other top stars recorded albums.

Today

KNX moved into new studios in the Miracle Mile neighborhood on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard which it shares with CBS Radio stations KFWB, KTWV, and KRTH. KNX, the last radio station to operate in Hollywood, moved after 67 years of operation at the Square just after 11:00 p.m. August 12, 2005, following a farewell broadcast from its Columbia Square studios. On April 21, 2007, KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV left the building and moved their operations to the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, thus ending Columbia Square's status as a broadcast facility, one of a very few remaining in Hollywood.[2]

The Square fell into disrepair during the years in which Laurence Tisch chaired CBS, and asbestos problems were cited as a reason to demolish the venue. Sungow Corp acquired Columbia Square in 2003 for $15 million. Las Vegas-based developer Molasky Pacific LLC, acquired the property in August 2006 for $66 million. It planned to redevelop the 125,000-square-foot (11,600 m2) complex to continue to attract entertainment industry tenants and is considering options that would add some residential units to the office and broadcasting facility. The project is valued at $850-million and is the largest development project in Hollywood, California. The redevelopment of the historic CBS Studios on Sunset was approved in 2009 with a controversial 28-story tower. Developer Kilroy Realty Group acquired the project in 2012 and changed plans — when completed the new Columbia Square will feature a 20-story residential tower with 200 apartments, 33,000 sq ft (3,100 m2) of retail, three renovated historic structures, two new office buildings with an additional 330,000 sq ft (31,000 m2) of space, and four and a half levels of underground parking.[3][4][5][6] The development is currently under construction as of 2014.

In fall 2007, producer Viacom, owner of CBS until 2006, chose the site for MTV's The Real World: Hollywood.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Los Angeles Conservancy have been actively engaged in efforts to preserve the Hollywood landmark.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Schmitt, F.E. (January 5, 1939). "Design for Broadcasting". Engineering News-Record. 122 (1). New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc.: 12–15. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  2. ^ Schneider, Michael (20 April 2007). "Columbia Square closes Friday". Variety. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  3. ^ Broverman, Neal (19 April 2013). "Hollywood's Columbia Square Downsized and Ready to Go". Curbed Los Angeles. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  4. ^ Vincent, Roger (7 October 2012). "Kilroy buys Columbia Square in Hollywood, plans revival". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  5. ^ Vincent, Roger (30 July 2014). "Communal office space firm rents CBS building in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Vincent, Roger (19 November 2014). "Viacom signs 12-year lease at Columbia Square in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ "Unknown". Preservation. National Trust for Historic Preservation.[dead link]
  8. ^ "Advocacy". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved 2014-06-12.