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Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United Statesmarker. The estimated population in 2007 was 107,921.

Burbank is located in two distinct areas, with its downtown, civic center and key neighborhoods nestled on the slopes and foothills that rise to the Verdugo Mountainsmarker, and other areas located in flatlands at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valleymarker, north of Downtown Los Angelesmarker.

Billed as the "Media Capital of the World," many media and entertainment companies are headquartered or have significant production facilities in Burbank, including Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Music Group, NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Company,Cartoon Network, Viacom, and PBS.

At one time it was referred to as "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" on Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

The city was named after David Burbank, a New Hampshiremarker-born dentist and entrepreneur.

Early history

Olive Ave, Burbank, 1889


The city of Burbank occupies land that was originally part of two Spanishmarker and Mexicanmarker-era colonial land grants, the Rancho San Rafaelmarker, granted to Jose Maria Verdugo by the Spanishmarker Bourbon government in 1784, and the Rancho Providenciamarker created in 1821. Historically, this area was the scene of a military skirmish which resulted in the unseating of the Spanish Governor of California, and his replacement by the Mexican leader Pio Pico. Remnants of the military battle reportedly were found many years later in the vicinity of Warner Brothers Studio when residents dug up cannon balls.

Dr. David Burbank purchased over of the former Verdugo holding and another of the Rancho Providencia in 1867 and built a ranch house and began to raise sheep and grow wheat on the ranch. By 1876, the San Fernando Valleymarker became the largest wheat-raising area in Los Angeles County. But the droughts of the 1860s and 1870s underlined the need for steady water supplies.

A professionally trained dentist, Dr. Burbank began his career in Waterville, Mainemarker. In 1853 he moved to San Franciscomarker and resumed his dental practice until 1866. In 1867 he purchased Rancho Providencia from David W. Alexander and Francis Mellus, and he purchased the western portion of the San Rafael Rancho (4,603 acres) from Jonathon R. Scott. Dr. Burbank's property reached nearly at a cost of $9,000.

Dr. Burbank also later owned the Burbank Theatre, which opened on November 27, 1893 at a cost of $150,000. The theater was intended to be an opera house, instead it staged plays and became known nationally. The theatre featured famous actors of the time including Fay Bainter and Marjorie Rambeau, until it had deteriorated into a burlesque house.

When the area that became Burbank was settled in the 1870s and 1880s, the streets were aligned along what is now Olive Avenue, the road to the Cahuenga Passmarker and downtown Los Angeles. These were largely the roads the Indians traveled and the early settlers took their produce down to Los Angeles to sell and to buy supplies along these routes.

At the time, the primary long-distance transportation methods available to San Fernando Valleymarker residents were stagecoach and train. Stagecoaching between Los Angelesmarker and San Franciscomarker through the Valley began in 1858. The Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in the Valley in 1876, completing the route connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles.

A shrewd businessman, foreseeing the value of rail transport, Burbank sold Southern Pacific Railroad a right-of-way through the property for one dollar. The first train passed through Burbank on April 5, 1874. A boom created by a rate war between the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific brought people streaming into Californiamarker shortly thereafter, and a group of speculators purchased much of Dr. Burbank's land holdings in 1886 for $250,000.

Burbank as envisioned by Providencia Land and Water Development Co.


The speculators formed the Providencia Land, Water, and Development Company and began developing the land, calling the new town "Burbank" after its founder, and began offering farm lots on May 1, 1887. The establishment of a water system in 1887 allowed farmers to irrigate their orchards and provided a stronger base for agricultural development.

At the same time, the arrival of the railroad provided immediate access for the farmers to bring crops to market. Packing houses and warehouses were built along the railroad corridors. The railroads also providedaccess to the county for tourists and immigrants alike. A Southern Pacific Railroad depot in Burbank was completed in 1887.

Burbank's first telephone exchange, or telephone switch, was established in August 1900, becoming the first in the San Fernando Valley. Within 5 years, there were several telephone exchanges in the Valley and became known as the San Fernando Valley Home Telephone Company, based in Glendale. Home Telephone competed with Tropico, and in 1918 both were taken over by Pacific Telephone Company. At this time, there were an estimated 300 hand-cranked telephones in Burbank.

In 1911, wealthy farmer Joseph Fawkes settled in the burgeoning town of Burbank. He grew apricots and owned a house on West Olive Avenue. But he also had a fascination for machinery, and soon began developing what became known as the "Fawkes Folly" aerial trolley. He and E.C. Fawkes, likely a relative, secured a patent for the nation's first monorail. The two formed the Aerial Trolley Car Company and set about building a prototype they believed would revolutionize transportation.

Joseph Fawkes called the trolley his Aerial Swallow, a cigar-shaped, suspended monorail driven by a propeller that he promised would carry passengers from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles in 10 minutes. The first open car accommodated about 20 passengers and was suspended from an overhead track and supported by wooden beams. In 1907, the monorail car made first and only run through his Burbank ranch, with a line between Lake and Flower Streets. The monorail was considered a failure after gliding just a foot or so and falling to pieces. Nobody was injured but Joseph Fawkes pride was badly hurt as Aerial Swallow became known as "Fawkes' Folly." City officials viewed his test run as a failure and focused on getting a Pacific Electric Streetcar line into Burbank.

Laid out and surveyed with a modern business district surrounded by residential lots, wide boulevards were carved out as the "Los Angeles Express" printed:
"Burbank, the town, being built in the midst of the new farming community, has been laid out in such a manner as to make it by and by an unusually pretty town. The streets and avenues are wide and, all have been handsomely graded. All improvements being made would do credit to a city ... Everything done at Burbank has been done right."


Burbank, 1922


The citizens of Burbank had to put up a $48,000 subsidy to get the reluctant Pacific Electric Streetcar officials to agree to extend the line from Glendale to Burbank. The first Red Car rolled into Burbank on Sept. 6, 1911, with a tremendous celebration. That was about two months after the town became a city. The Burbank Line was completed through to Cypress Avenue in Burbank, and by mid-1925 this line was extended about a mile further along Glenoaks Boulevard to Eton Drive. A small wooden station was erected in Burbank in 1911 at Orange Grove Avenue with a small storage yard in its rear. This depot was destroyed by fire in 1942 and in 1947 a small passenger shelter was constructed.

On May 26, 1942, the California State Railroad Commission proposed an extension of the Burbank Line to the Lockheed plant. The proposal called for a double track line from Arden Junction along Glenoaks to San Fernando Road and Empire Way, just northeast of Lockheed's main facility. But this extension never materialized and the commission moved on to other projects in the San Fernando Valley. The Red Car line in Burbank was abandoned and the tracks removed in 1956.

At the time of cityhood, Burbank had a voluntary fire department. Fire protection depended upon the bucket brigade and finding a hydrant. It wasn't until 1913 that the city created its own fire department. By 1916, the city was installing an additional 40 new fire hydrants but still relying on volunteers for fire fighting. In 1927, the city switched from a volunteer fire department to a professional one. The city marshal's office was changed to the Burbank Police Department in 1923. The first police chief was George Cole, who later became a U.S. Treasury prohibition officer.

In 1928, Burbank was one of the first 13 cities to join the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the largest suppliers of water in the world. By 1937, the first power from Hoover Dam was distributed over Burbank's own electricity lines. The city purchases about 55% of its water from the MWD.

The City of Burbank

The town grew steadily, weathering the drought and depression that hit Los Angelesmarker in the 1890s and in 20 years, the community had a bank, newspaper, high school and a thriving business district with a hardware store, livery stable, dry goods store, general store, and bicycle repair shop. The city's first newspaper, Burbank Review, established in 1906.
First city seal of Burbank, California


The populace petitioned the State Legislature to incorporate as a city on July 8, 1911, with businessman Thomas Story as the mayor. Voters approved incorporation by a vote of 81 to 51. At the time, the Board of Trustees governed the community which numbered 500 residents. The first city seal adopted by Burbank featured a cantaloupe, which was a crop that helped save the town's life when the land boom collapsed.

In 1931, the original city seal was replaced and in 1978 the modern seal was adopted. The new seal shows City Hall beneath a banner but no cantaloupe. An airplane symbolizes the city's aircraft industry, the strip of film and stage light represent motion picture production. The bottom portion depicts the sun rising over the Verdugo Mountains.

In 1915, major sections of the Valley capitulated, helping Los Angeles to more than double its size that year. But Burbank was among a handful of towns with their own water wells and remained independent. By 1916 Burbank had 1,500 residents. In 1927, five miles (8 km) of paved streets had increased to . By 1930, as First National Studio, Andrew Jergens Company, The Lockheed Company, McNeill and Libby Canning Company, the Moreland Company, and Northrop Aircraft Corporation opened facilities there, the population jumped to 16,662. Following a Valleymarker land bust during the Depression, real estate began to bounce back in the mid-1930s. In Burbank, a 100-home construction project began in 1934. By 1936, property values in the city exceeded pre-Depression levels. By 1950, the population had reached 78,577.

In 1922, the Burbank Chamber of Commerce was organized. The Federal government officially recognized Burbank's status in 1923 when the United States Postal Service reclassified the city from the rural village mail delivery to city postal delivery service.

In the late 1970s, Burbank became part of the Verdugo Fire District under a joint communications agreement with nearby cities, including Glendale and Pasadena. Under contract, Burbank provides a Hazardous Materials team, Glendale provides an Air andLighting unit as well as the dispatch center, and Pasadena provides a Heavy – Urban Search and Rescue team. The three city fire departments are all dispatched from the Verdugo Communications Center, located in Glendale. Each of the three cities shares the cost of operating and maintaining this dispatch facility.

As of June 2008, the city employee population in Burbank stood at 1,683. Of the total, 1,253 were full-time, 217 part-time, and 213 temporary employees. The Burbank City Employees Association represents workers in the city. The organization dates back to 1939, and its primary role was to secure civil service status for city workers. The BCEA, representing more than 750 city employees, is one of six bargaining unions in Burbank city government. Others include: the Burbank Fire Fighters Association, the Burbank Police Officers’ Association, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 18, the Burbank Fire Fighters-Chief Officer’s Unit, and the Burbank Management Association.

Early manufacturing

In 1887, the Burbank Furniture Manufacturing Company was the town's first factory. After the land boom downturn in 1888, the building was abandoned and transients slept in the empty factory. In 1917, the arrival of the Moreland Motor Truck Company changed the town and resulted in a manufacturing and industrial workforce begin to take root in the city. Within a few years Moreland trucks were seen bearing the label, "Made in Burbank." Watt Moreland, its owner, had relocated his plant to Burbank from Los Angeles. He selected at San Fernando Road and Alameda Avenue. Moreland invested $1 million in the factory and machinery, and employed 500 people.

The Moreland Motor Truck Company in Burbank
Within the next several decades, factories, both large and small, would dot the area landscape. What had mainly been an agricultural and ranching area would get replaced with a variety of manufacturing industries. Moreland operated from 1917 to 1937. Aerospace supplier Menasco Manufacturing Company would later purchase the property. Menasco's Burbank landing gear factory closed in 1994 due to slow commercial and military orders, affecting 310 people. Within months of Moreland's arrival, Community Manufacturing Company, a $3 million tractor company, arrived in Burbank.

In 1920, the Andrew Jergens Company factory, located at Verdugo Avenue near the railroad tracks in Burbank. They began with a single product, coconut oil soap, but would later make face creams, lotions, liquid soaps and deodorants. Andrew Jergens Jr. along with his father, Cincinnati businessman Andrew Jergens, and business partners Frank Adams and Morris Spazier, purchased the site and built a single-story building. Despite the Depression, the Jergens company experienced an expansion. In 1931, new offices and shipping department facilities were built. In 1939, the Burbank corporation was dissolved and merged with his father's Cincinnati company. It then became known as the Andrew Jergens Co. of Ohio. The company closed its Burbank plant in 1992 after renovations to improve its productivity were deemed unworthy of the money. The closing affected nearly 90 employees.

Aviation

The establishment of the aircraft industry and a major airport in Burbank during the 1930s set the stage for major growth and development, which was to continue at an accelerated pace into World War II and well into the postwar era. Brothers Allan Loughead and Malcolm Loughead, founders of the Lockheed Aircraft Company, opened a Burbank manufacturing plant in 1928, and a year later famed aviation designer Jack Northrop built his historic Flying Wing airplane in his own plant nearby.

Dedicated on Memorial Day Weekend (May 30– June 1), 1930, the United Airportmarker was the largest commercial airport in the Los Angeles area until it was eclipsed in 1946 by the Los Angeles Municipal Airportmarker (now Los Angeles International Airportmarker) in Westchestermarker when that facility (the former Mines Field) commenced commercial operations. Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post and Howard Hughes were among the notable aviation pioneers to pilot aircraft in and out of the original Union Air Terminal. By 1935, Union Air Terminal in Burbank ranked as the third-largest air terminal in the nation, with 46 airliners flying out of it daily. The airport served 9,895 passengers in 1931 and 98,485 passengers in 1936.

Vega Aircraft plant in Burbank, 1942
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. in Burbank, 1945


In 1931, Lockheed was then part of Detroit Aircraft Corp., which went into bankruptcy with its Lockheed unit. A year later, a group of investors acquired assets of the Lockheed company. The new owners staked their limited funds to develop an all metal, twin engine transport, the Model 10 Electra. It first flew in 1934 and quickly gained world wide fame.

Moreland's truck plant was later used by the Lockheed's Vega Aircraft Corporation, which made what was widely known as "the explorer's aircraft." Amelia Earhart flew one across the Atlantic Oceanmarker. In 1936, Lockheed officially took over Vega Aircraft in Burbank.

During World War II, the entire area of Lockheed's Vega factory was camouflaged to fool an enemy reconnaissance effort. The factory was hidden beneath a complete suburb replete with rubber automobiles and peaceful rural neighborhood scenes painted on canvas. Hundreds of fake trees and shrubs were positioned to give the entire area a three dimensional appearance. The fake trees and shrubs were created from chicken wire that had been treated with an adhesive and then covered with chicken feathers to provide a leafy texture. Air ducts disguised as fire hydrants made it possible for the Lockheed-Vega employees to continue working underneath the huge camouflage umbrella designed to conceal their factory.

Burbank's airport has undergone several name changes since opening in 1930. It had five runways that radiated in varying directions, each wide and long. It remained United Airport until 1934, when it was renamed Union Air Terminal (1934–1940). Boeing built planes on the field. Lockheed Aircraft had its own nearby airfield. Lockheed bought the airport in 1940 and renamed it Lockheed Air Terminal, which it was known as until 1967, when it became Hollywood-Burbank Airport. In 1978 it was renamed Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978–2003) after Lockheed sold it to the three California cities for $51 million. In December 2003, the facility was renamed Bob Hope Airportmarker in honor of the comedian who lived in nearby Toluca Lakemarker. In 2005, the city of Burbank and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which owns and operates the airport, reached a development agreement. The agreement forbids further airport expansion until 2009. Unlike most other regional airports in California, Burbank's airport sits on land that was specifically zoned for airport use.

The growth of companies such as Lockheed, and the burgeoning entertainment industry drew more people to the area, and Burbank's population doubled between 1930 and 1940 to 34,337. Burbank saw its greatest growth during World War II due to Lockheed's presence, employing some 80,800 men and women producing aircraft such as the Hudson, P-38 Lightning, PV-1 Ventura and America's first jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star. Lockheed later created the U2, SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk at its Burbank-based "Skunk Worksmarker".

Dozens of hamburger stands, restaurants and shops appeared around Lockheed to accommodate the employees. Some of the restaurants operated 24 hours a day. At one time, Lockheed paid utility rates representing 25% of the city's total utilities revenue, making Lockheed the city's cash cow. When Lockheed left, the economic loss was huge. At its height during World War II, the Lockheed facility employed up to 98,000 people. Burbank's growth did not slow as war production ceased, and over 7,000 new residents created a postwar real estate boom. Real estate values soared as housing tracts appeared in the Magnolia Park area of Burbank between 1945 and 1950.

Following the World War II, homeless veterans lived in tent camps in Burbank, in Big Tujunga Canyon and at a decommissioned National Guard base in Griffith Parkmarker. The government also set up trailer camps at Hollywood Way and Winona Avenue in Burbank and in nearby Sun Valleymarker. But new homes were built, the economy improved, and the military presence in Burbank continued to expand. Lockheed employees numbered 66,500 and expanded from aircraft to include spacecraft, missiles, electronics and shipbuilding.

Lockheed's presence in Burbank attracted dozens of firms making aircraft parts. One of them was Weber Aircraft Corporation, an aircraft interior manufacturer situated adjacent to Lockheed at the edge of the airport. In 1988, Weber closed its Burbank manufacturing plant, which then employed 1,000 people. Weber produced seats, galleys, lavatories and other equipment for commercial and military aircraft. Weber had been in Burbank for 37 years.



By the mid-1970s, Hollywood-Burbank Airport handled 1.5 million passengers annually. Airlines serving Bob Hope Airport include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlinesmarker, and United Air Lines. , Southwest represents two-thirds of the airport's operations. In 2005, JetBlue Airways began the first non-stop coast-to-coast service out of the airport. Avjet Corporation, a private jet service, operates out of several hangars on the south side of the airport. Atlantic Aviation, (formerly Mercury Air Center) also provides jet services for several prominent companies. In 1987, Burbank's airport became the first to require flight carriers to fly quieter "Stage 3" jets.

Entertainment industry

The motion picture business arrived in Burbank in the 1920s. In 1926, First National Pictures bought a site on Olive Avenue near Dark Canyon. The property included a hog ranch and the original David Burbank house, both owned by rancher Stephen A. Martin. In 1928-29, First National was taken over by a company founded by the four Warner brothers.

Columbia Pictures purchased property in Burbank as a ranch facility, used primarily for outdoor shooting. Walt Disney's company, which had outgrown its Hollywood quarters, bought in Burbank. Disney's million-dollar studio, designed by Kem Weber, was completed in 1939 on Buena Vista Street. Disney originally wanted to build "Mickey Mouse Park," as he first called it, next to the Burbank studio. But his aides finally convinced him that the space was too small, and there was opposition from the Burbank City Council. One council member told Disney: "We don't want the carny atmosphere in Burbank."

Disney and Warner contributed to the war effort by producing both training and morale films for the armed services and cartoons promoting the sale of war bonds. Disney artists designed more than 1,000 unit mascot designs for the armed forces. Walt Disney had authorized that these insignias were to be designed at no charge. By war's end, the cost to Disney was over $30,000.

Burbank saw its first real civil strife as the culmination of a six month labor dispute between the set decorator's union and the studios resulted in the Battle of Burbank on October 5, 1945.

By the 1960s and '70s, more of the Hollywood entertainment industry was relocating to Burbank. The National Broadcasting Company moved its network television headquarters to its new location at Olive and Alameda avenues. The Burbank studio was purchased in 1951, and NBC arrived in 1952 from its former location at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood. Although NBC promoted its Hollywood image for most of its West Coast telecasts (such as Ed McMahon's introduction to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: "from Hollywood"), comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin began mentioning "beautiful downtown Burbank" on Laugh-in in the 1960s.

By 1962, NBC's multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art complex was completed. Rumors surfaced of NBC leaving Burbank after its parent company General Electric Company acquired Universal Studios and renamed the merged division NBC Universal. Since the deal, NBC has been relocating key operations to the Universal property located in Universal City, Los Angeles, Californiamarker, USA.

In the early 1990s, Burbank tried unsuccessfully to lure Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Columbia and TriStar studios owner based in Culver City, and 20th Century Fox, which had threatened to move from its West Los Angeles lot unless the city granted permission to upgrade its facility. Fox stayed after getting Los Angeles City approval on its $200 million expansion plan.

On September 10, 2007, NBC Universal management informed employees that the company planned to end its 56-year relationship with Burbank and sell much of the Burbank complex. NBC Universal will relocate its television and cable operations to the Universal City complex. Originally, management touted a major development located adjacent to the Universal City Red Line subway station. The company planned to take West Coast network and local news operations and other facilities such as the Access Hollywood set to the new broadcast facility across the street from Universal Studios by 2011. Those controversial plans were altered in fall 2009 when Ron Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer of Universal Studios, announced the so-called NBC Universal Evolution Plan as part of the studios's $3 billion makeover. The new plan includes new studio space as well as a residential component.

Arnold Schwarzenegger first announced his candidacy for governor of California on The Tonight Show at NBC Studios in Burbank. U.S. President Barack Obama made a visit to the set of The Tonight Show on March 19, 2009, becoming the first sitting U.S. President to do so on the NBC show. Comic Conan O'Brien took over hosting duties of NBC's iconic Tonight Show from Jay Leno on June 1, 2009, becoming the fifth host to lead the storied franchise and the first to host the show from Universal City. Leno's final Tonight Show marked an end of an era for Burbank hosting the long-running show.

When it was revealed NBC's "Tonight Show" was leaving Burbank, then-Mayor Marsha Ramos was quoted as saying she was sad to learn The Tonight Show is leaving the city. "The Tonight Show put us on the map", she told the Los Angeles Times. "Without that line from Johnny Carson about beautiful downtown Burbank, most people wouldn't even know that we exist."

"The Jay Leno Show" launched his new primetime show Sept. 14, 2009, films in Burbank on Stage 11 of the NBC lot, former home of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." An outdoor racing track for guests to drive alternative fuel vehicles is located adjacent to the studio.

Cinema history

Burbank has a rich cinematic history. Hundreds of major feature films have filmed in Burbank over the years, but perhaps none more famous than Casablancamarker (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart. The movie began production a few months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbormarker. Due to World War II, location shooting was restricted and filming near airports was banned. As a result, Casablanca shot most of its major scenes on Stage 1 at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios, including the film's famous airport scene. It featured a foggy Moroccan runway created on the stage where Bogart's character doesn't fly away with Ingrid Bergman. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) was also filmed at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios.

The Gary Cooper classic High Noon (1952) shot on a western street at the Warner Brothers "Ranch", then known as the Columbia Ranch. The ranch facility is situated less than a mile north of Warner's main lot in Burbank. The 1957 classic 3:10 to Yuma also filmed on the old Columbia Ranch, and much of the outdoor filming for the Three Stooges took place at Columbia Ranch, including most of the chase scenes. In 1993, Warner Bros. bulldozed the historic Burbank-based sets used to film High Noon and Lee Marvin's 1965 Oscar-winning Western comedy Cat Ballou, as well as several other features and television shows.

Other classic live-action films shot in Burbank include Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), filmed on Sound Stage 2 at the Walt Disney Studios. Julie Andrews returned 37 years later to make Disney's The Princess Diaries (2001). As a tribute to the actress, Disney renamed the sound stage "The Julie Andrews Stage" in 2001. In 2002, a fire broke out on the Disney's Burbank lot, damaging a sound stage where a set was under construction for Disney's feature film Pirates of the Caribbean (2003). No one was injured in the blaze.

During the filming of the movie Apollo 13 (1995) and also Coach Carter (2005), the producers shot scenes at Burbank's Safari Inn Motel. Quentin Tarantino's film True Romance (1993) also filmed on location at the motel. Back to the Future (1985) shot extensively on the Universal Studios backlot but also filmed band audition scenes at the Burbank Community Center.

The city's mall, Burbank Town Center, is a popular backdrop for shooting movies, television shows and commercials. Over the years, it was the site for scenes in Bad News Bears (2005) to location shooting for Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, ER and even Desperate Housewives.

Burbank today

A predominantly upper-middle class community, Burbank is home to many employees of the motion picture and television studios located in the area. As well as many affluent families from the same industry including but not limited to media empires, tv channels, etc. Furthermore there are some foreign socialites that reside in Burbank and call it their home.

Entertainment has generally replaced the defense industry as the primary employer, who are attracted by the relative safety and security offered by its own police and fire departments, highly rated schools and hospital. Other reasons cited are its small-town feel while located only 10 minutes away by car to the hip clubs and restaurants of Hollywoodmarker.
The Intersection of Olive and San Fernando Road in Burbank, CA


The Bob Hope Airportmarker services 4.9 million travelers per year with seven carriers, with over 70 flights daily. The airport, located in the northwestern corner of the city, is the source of most street traffic in the city. In December 2008, a slowdown in passenger traffic led the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to curtail spending plans, including deferring multimillion-dollar construction projects.

The construction of major freeways through and around the city of Burbank starting in the 1950s both divided the city from itself and linked it to the rapidly growing Los Angeles region. Burbank is easily accessible by and can easily access the Southern California freeways via the Golden State Freeway (I-5), which bisects the city from northwest to southeast, and the Ventura Freeway which connects Burbank to the U.S. Route 101 on the south and the nearby Foothill Freeway to the east. The Ventura Freeway was completed in 1960.

Burbank contains about 227.5 miles of streets, nearly 50 miles of paved alleys, 365.3 miles of sidewalks, 181 signalized intersections and 10 intersections with flashing signals, according to city figures. Many of the current signals date back to the late 1960s when voters passed a major capital improvement program for street beautification and street lighting. The funding also helped upgrade dated park and library facilities.

Those without cars can use the Metro which operates public transport throughout Los Angeles County, while commuters can easily access the Metrolink and Amtrak for service south into Downtownmarker and Union Stationmarker, west to Venturamarker and north to Palmdalemarker and points beyond. In 2006, Burbank opened its first hydrogen fueling station for automobiles.

The Bob's Big Boy Restaurant in Burbank (est. 1949) is the oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy in America, and in 1993 was designated a California Point of Historical Interest. Located at 4211 Riverside Drive, it was designed by Wayne McAllister. The eatery features a soaring pylon sign, an open kitchen and big picture windows, all of which are elements of "googie" architecture. In 1992, the restaurant's new owner sought to raze the structure and replace it with an office building or shopping center, but the landmark designation made it legally more difficult to make significant changes.

Residents enjoy the music of the Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, the Starlight Bowlmarker, fine restaurants, the city's Downtown Burbank Mall, a burgeoning "Burbank Village" shopping district, and many theatres, parks, and libraries. Visitors to Burbank are attracted to the Warner Bros. Studio VIP tour and close proximity to all other entertainments and attractions that Los Angeles offers.

Burbank became the first American city in 1991 to pass an ordinance requiring new buildings to ensure adequate first responder communications. Since then municipalities nationwide have copied Burbank's action. Burbank's ordinance allows for spot field-testing by police or fire department personnel. The ordinance required an in-building coverage system, adding expense but increasing safety for building occupants.

The murder of Burbank police officer Matthew Pavelka in 2003 by a local gang known as the Vineland Boys sparked an intensive investigation in conjunction with several other cities and resulted in the arrest of a number of gang members and other citizens in and around Burbank. Among those arrested was Burbank councilwoman Stacey Murphy, implicated in trading guns in exchange for drugs. Pavelka was the first Burbank police officer to be fatally shot in the line of duty in the department's history, according to the California Police Association officials.

Several collisions between trains and motor vehicles have occurred at a railroad grade crossing near North San Fernando Boulevard Road and North Buena Vista Street. In 2003, a Metrolink commuter train in Burbank struck a truck at this Buena Vista Street grade crossing. The truckdriver, Jacek Wysocki, age 63, was fatally injured. Of the train's 59 passengers and 2 crewmembers, 32 sustained injuries; 1 passenger died 15 days later from internal injuries that were probably sustained during the accident. Investigators blamed the accident on two main causes, one being the lack of a raised median at the crossing that would have obstructed the path used by the truckdriver at the time of impact. The second factor was the lack of a continuous red or green arrow to govern the left-turn lane. No changes were ever made to this crossings.

Three years to the date, on January 6, 2006, another driver, Maureen Osborn, 76, also died at the same Buena Vista railroad crossing as she made a right turn that had insufficient warning devices. No railroad passengers were injured. Then, in 2009, a pedestrian died while crossing this confusing crossing. The city attorney's office and the city traffic engineer states that it is a "legally safe crossing."

The city's namesake street, Burbank Boulevard, started getting a makeover in 2007. The city spent upwards of $10 million to put in palm trees and colorful flowers, a median, new lights, benches and bike racks.

Today, an estimated 100,000 people work in Burbank every day. The physical imprints of the city's aviation industry remain. In late 2001, the Burbank Empire Center opened with aviation as the theme. The center, built at a cost of $250 million by Zelman Development Company, sits on Empire Avenue, former site of Lockheed's "Skunk Works", and other Lockheed properties. By 2003, many of the center's retailers and restaurants were among the top national performers in their franchise, if not the top. The Burbank Empire Center now comprises over 11% of Burbank's sales tax revenue, not including nearby Costco, a part of the Empire Center development.

Hospitals

In 1907, Burbank's first major hospital opened under the name Burbank Community Hospital. The 16-bed facility served the community during a deadly smallpox epidemic in 1913 and helped it brace for possible air raids at the start of World War II. The two-story hospital was located at Olive Avenue and Fifth Street. By 1925, the hospital was expanded to 50 beds and in the mid-1980s operated with 103 beds and a staff of over 175 physicians. For years, it also was the only hospital in Burbank where women could receive abortions, tubal ligations and other procedures not offered at what is now Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. A physicians group acquired the hospital for $2 million in 1990 and renamed it Thompson Memorial Medical Center, in honor of the hospital's founder, Dr. Elmer H. Thompson. He was a general practitioner who made house calls by bicycle and horseback. In 2001, Burbank Community Hospital was razed to make way for a senior housing complex. Proceeds from that sale went to the Burbank Health Care Foundation, which assists community organizations that cater to health-related needs.

In 1943, the Sisters of Providence Health System, a Catholic non-profit group, founded Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Construction of the hospital proved difficult due to World War II restrictions on construction materials, and in particular the lack of structural steel. But the challenges were met and the one-story hospital was erected to deal with wartime restrictions. During the baby boom of the 1950s, the hospital expanded from the original 100 beds to 212. By 2008, the hospital featured 455 beds, over 2,300 employees and more than 650 physicians.

In the mid-1990s, Seattle-based Sisters of Providence Health System, which owns St. Joseph in Burbank, renamed the hospital Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The medical center has several centers on campus with specialized disciplines. Cancer, cardiology, mammogram, hospice and children's services are some of the speciality centers. The newest addition to the medical center's offerings will be the Roy and Patricia Disney Cancer Center. Roy E. Disney, nephew to the late Walt Disney, is the former vice chairman and director of the Walt Disney Company. When finished, the cancer center will be four stories tall and feature the latest in high-tech equipment to treat cancer patients and provide wellness services. The center, estimated to cost in excess of $36 million, is scheduled to open its doors in early 2009. Roy and Patricia Disney pledged $10 million to build the cancer center, which originally had been estimated to cost $33.1 million.

Magnolia Park Area

Magnolia Park, established on Burbank's western edge in the early 1920s, had 3,500 houses within six years after its creation. When the city refused to pay for a street connecting the subdivision with the Cahuenga Pass, real estate developer Earl L. White did it himself and called it Hollywood Way. White was owner of KELW, the San Fernando Valley's first commercial radio station, which went on the air February 13, 1927.

The city's Magnolia Park area, bordered by West Verdugo Avenue to the south and Chandler Boulevard to the north, is known for its small-town feel, shady streets and Eisenhower-era storefronts. Most of the homes in the area date to the 1940s, when they were built for veterans of World War II. Central to the community is Magnolia Boulevard, known for its antique shops, boutiques, thrift shops, corner markets, and occasional chain stores.

The neighborhood is in constant struggle with developers looking to expand and update Magnolia Boulevard. Independent merchants and slow-growth groups have fought off new construction and big-box stores. The neighborhood remains quiet despite being beneath the airport flight path and bordered by arterial streets.

One of the centerpieces of the area's attempted comeback is Porto's Bakery at the old Thrifty site located at 3606 and 3614 West Magnolia Boulevard. As part of the project, Burbank loaned Porto's funds for building upgrades. Under the agreement a portion of the loan will be forgiven over a 10-year period. East of Porto's is Antique Row, a hub for shopping in the city.

Other enhancements include converting the disused railroad right-of-way along Chandler Boulevard into a landscaped bikeway and pedestrian path. This project was part of a larger bike route linking Burbank's downtown Metrolink station with the Red Line subway in North Hollywood.

Rancho Equestrian Area

Perhaps the most famous collection of neighborhoods in Burbank is the Rancho Equestrian District, flanked roughly by Griffith Park to the south, Victory Boulevard to the east, Keystone Street to the west and Alameda Avenue to the north.

The neighborhood zoning allows residents to keep horses in their backyards. Single-family homes far outnumber multifamily units in the Rancho. Many of the homes have stables and stalls. There are about 785 single-family homes, 180 condos and townhomes and 250 horses.

The Rancho is dominated by members of the Burbank Rancho Homeowners, which was formed in 1963 and is the oldest neighborhood group in the city. In 1990, the group decided to split off and form their own organization called the Burbank Rancho Assn. Inc. The newer organization maintains a strong activist stance on growth and other issues, including airport expansion. The community groups recently stopped the development of a Whole Foods store in the Rancho area.

In the 1960s General Motors Corporation opened training facilities in the Rancho area, but in 1999 decided to contract out dealer-technician training to Raytheon Company and axed a dozen employees. The facility is now primarily a meeting and training venue for automotive-related events. In 2006, GM confiscated EV1 electric-powered cars from drivers who had leased them and moved them to the GM facility in Burbank. When environmentalists determined the location of the cars, they began a month-long vigil at the facility. To challenge the company's line that that were unwanted, they found buyers for all of them, offering a total of $1.9 million. The vehicles were loaded on trucks and removed, and several activists who tried to intervene were arrested.

Notable locations





Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)

The Walt Disney Studios in Burbankmarker, Californiamarker, United Statesmarker, serve as the international headquarters for media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company. Disney staff began the move from the old Disney studio at Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lakemarker on December 24, 1939. Designed primarily by Kem Weber under the supervision of Walt Disney and his brother Roy, the Burbank Disney Studio buildings are the only studios to survive from the Golden Age of filming. The Walt Disney Company is the last remaining Big Ten company to remain independent from a mother company. The Studios are also the only major film/animation studio not to run backlot tours.

Shopping

Downtown Burbank is the revitalized downtown, which now provides both locals and tourists a genuinely urban mix for shopping, dining, and entertainment; your centre for fun, play, and excitement. The San Fernando Strip is an exclusive mall designed to be a modern urban village, with apartments above the mall. An upscale shopping district is located in the state-of-the-art Empire Centermarker neighborhood. The Burbank Town Center is a retail complex adjacent to the downtown core that was built in two phases between 1991 and 1992.

In 1979, the Burbank Redevelopment Agency entered into an agreement with San Diego-based Ernest Hahn Company to build a regional mall known as Media City Center. It would later get renamed Burbank Town Center and undergo a $130 million facelift starting in 2004, including a new exterior streetscape facade. The agency, helped out with its powers of eminent domain, spent $52 million to buy up the land in the area bounded by the Golden State Freeway, Burbank Boulevard, Third Street and Magnolia Boulevard.

Original plans were for Media City Center included four anchor tenants, including a J.W. Robinson's. But May Co. Department Stores later bought the parent company of Robinson's and dropped out of the deal. The other stores then dropped out as well and Hahn and the agency dropped the project in March 1987. Within months, Burbank entered into negotiations with the Walt Disney Company for a shopping mall and office complex to be called the "Disney MGM Backlot." Disney had estimated that it could spend $150 million to $300 million on a complex of shops, restaurants, theaters, clubs and hotel, and had offered to move its animation department and Disney Channel cable network operation to the property as well. These plans ended in failure in February 1988 when Disney executives determined that the costs were too high.

In January 1989, Burbank began Media City Center project negotiations with two developers, the Alexander Haagen Co. of Manhattan Beach and Price Kornwasser Associates of San Diego. Eight months later, Haagen won the contract and commenced construction, leading to the $250 million mall's opening in August 1991. Under terms of the agreement with Haagen, the city funded a $18 million parking garage and made between $8 and $12 million in improvements to the surrounding area. Plans by Sheraton Corp. to build a 300-room hotel at the mall were shelved because of the weak economy.

The new mall helped take the strain off Burbank's troubled economy, which had been hard hit by the departure of several large industrial employers, including Lockheed Corp. The center was partially financed with $50 million in city redevelopment funds. Construction had been in doubt for many years by economic woes and political turmoil since it was first proposed in the late 1970s. In 2003, Irvine-based Crown Realty & Development purchased the Burbank Town Center from Pan Pacific Retail Properties for $111 million. Crown then hired General Growth Properties Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, for property management and leasing duties. At the time, the Burbank mall ranked as the No. 6 retail center in Los Angeles County in terms of leasable square footage, with estimated combined tenant volumes in excess of $240 million. One local standout was the Burbank Town Center's IKEA, with an estimated 30,000 shoppers weekly and rated No. 1 in Southern California with annual sales of $90 million.

In 1994, Lockheed selected Chicago-based Homart Development Company as the developer of a retail center on a former B-1 and P-38 "Skunk Works" plant near the Burbank Airport that was subject to a major toxic clean-up project. A year later, Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin Corp.. Lockheed was ordered to clean up the toxics as part of a federal Superfund site. The northern Burbank area also became identified as the San Fernando Valley's hottest toxic spot in 1989 by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, with Lockheed identified among major contributors. Lockheed always maintained the site was never a health risk to the community.

P-38 Lightning production line in Burbank.
Site is now location of Burbank Empire Center.
The Lockheed toxic clean-up site, just east of the Golden State Freeway, later became home to the Empire Centermarker. Four developers competed to be selected to build the $300 million outdoor mall on the site. In 1999, Lockheed picked Los Angeles-based Zelman Cos. from among other contenders to create the retail-office complex on a site. Zelman purchased the land in 2000 for around $70 million. As part of the sales agreement, Lockheed carried out extensive soil vapor removal on the site. Lockheed had manufactured planes on the site from 1928 to 1991. Together with $42 million for demolition and $12 million for site investigation, Lockheed would eventually spend $115 million on the project.

Warner Brothers proposed building a sports arena there for the Kings and the Clippers on the former B-1 bomber plant site. Price Club wanted it for a new store. Disney considered moving some operations there too. The city used the site in its failed attempt to lure DreamWorksmarker to Burbank. Phoenix-based Vestar Development Company planned a major retail development and spent more than a year in negotiations to buy the property from Lockheed before pulling out late in 1998.

Less than eight months after breaking ground, the Empire Center's first stores opened in October 2001. Local officials estimated the complex would generate about $3.2 million a year in sales tax revenue for the city, and as many as 3,500 local jobs. Within a year of completion, the Empire Center was helping the city to post healthy growth in sales tax revenues despite a down economy. Alone, the Empire mall generated close to $800,000 in sales tax revenues in the second quarter of 2002. The outdoor mall's buildings hark back to Lockheed's glory days by resembling manufacturing plants. Each of the outdoor signs features a replica of a Lockheed aircraft, while the mall design brings to mind an airport, complete with a miniature control tower.

In 2009, work was finished on a $130-million office project adjacent to the Empire Center. The completion of the seven-story tower marked the final phase of the mixed-use Empire development near Bob Hope Airport.

Sister cities

Burbank is also affiliated with the following sister cities:



Geography

Burbank is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.0 km² (17.4 mi²). 44.9 km² (17.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water. It is bordered by Glendalemarker to the east, Toluca Lakemarker on the west, and Griffith Parkmarker to the South. Hollywoodmarker is easily accessible from Burbank.

Elevations in the city range from 500 feet in the lower valley areas to about 800 feet near the Verdugo Mountains. Most of Burbank features a water table more than 100 feet deep, more than the measures found in the 1940s when the water table was within 50 feet of the ground surface in some areas of Burbank.

Geology

Burbank is located within a seismically active area, as does all of Southern California. At least 8 major faults are mapped within of Burbank's civic center. The San Fernando Fault, located northwest of Burbank's downtown, is the fault that caused the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake.

The Verdugo Fault, which can reach a maximum estimated 6.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter Scale, is about from the city of Burbank's civic center. This fault extends throughout the city, and is located in the alluvium just south of the Verdugo Mountains. The fault is mapped on surface in northeastern Glendale, and at various locations in Burbank. Other nearby faults include the Northridge Hills Fault ( northwest of Burbank), the Newport-Inglewood Fault ( ), Whittier Fault ( ), and lastly the San Andreas Faultmarker ( ) with its 8.25 magnitude potential on the Richter Scale.

Burbank suffered $66.1 million in damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, according to the city's finance department. There was $58 million in damage to privately owned facilities in commercial, industrial, manufacturing and entertainment businesses. Another $8.1 million in losses included damaged public buildings, roadways and a power station in Sylmar that is partly owned by Burbank.

Climate

Burbank has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The highest recorded temperature in Burbank was in 1971. The lowest recorded temperature was in 1978. The driest rainfall season on record was the 2006–2007 season with , beating the previous record of set in 2001–2002. The months that receive the most precipitation are February and March, respectively.

  • Highest Recorded Temperature: 45 °C
  • Lowest Recorded Temperature: -6 °C
  • Warmest Month: August
  • Coolest Month: December
  • Highest Precipitation: February
  • Lowest Precipitation: July


Demographics

Looking west over Burbank with Olive Avenue crossing over Interstate 5


Burbank experienced an 8% increase in population between 2000 and 2007, bringing its total population in 2007 to 107,921. Population growth was influenced by Burbank's expanding employment base, high quality public schools, and access to regional transportation routes and metropolitan Los Angeles. According to the Southern California Association of Government's 2007 Regional Transportation Plan growth forecasts, the population of Burbank is expected to grow to approximately 116,500 by 2015 and 125,000 by 2025, a 15% increase over the 18-year period.

While white residents continue to comprise the majority of Burbank's population, this proportion has decreased substantially from almost 80% in 1980 to approximately 72% in 2000. In contrast, the share of Hispanic residents increased steadily over the past two decades, growing from 16% in 1980 to 25% in 2000. Although Asian residents represent a smaller segment of the population, the share of Asian residents more than tripled since 1980, increasing from 3% in 1980 to 9% in 2000. The black population remained limited, rising from less than 1% in 1980 to almost 2% in 2000.

As of the census of 2000, there were 100,316 people, 41,608 households, and 24,382 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,232.4/km² (5,782.4/mi²). There were 42,847 housing units at an average density of 953.5/km² (2,469.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.18% White, 2.06% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 9.15% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 9.88% from other races, and 6.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.87% of the population.

There were 41,608 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,347, and the median income for a family was $67,767. Males had a median income of $41,792 versus $35,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,713. About 8.1% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBImarker in its 2004 Uniform Crime Reports was 262 of which there were 4 murders and homicides. The violent crime rate was approximately 2.5 per 1,000 people, well below the national average as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice in the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Furthermore Burbank was named in 2008 as One of the Nation's 100 Best Communities for Young People by America's Promise Alliance.

Criminal offenses are charged and locally prosecuted in the Burbank Courthouse. The Los Angeles District Attorney handles all of the felony violations which occur within Burbank city limits. The Burbank City Attorney, through its Prosecution Division, handles the remaining violations, which include all misdemeanors, and municipal code violations such as the Burbank Anti-Smoking Ordinance, as well as traffic offenses. The Burbank Superior Court is a high-volume courthouse; the City Prosecutor files approximately 5500 cases yearly, and the Burbank Police Department directly files approximately 12,000 to 15,000 traffic citations per year. Burbank Court, Division Two, handles all of the misdemeanor arraignments for Burbank offenses. A typical arraignment calendar is between 100-120 cases each day, including 15 to 25 defendants who are brought to court in custody. Many cases are initiated by arrests at the Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport. Common arrests include possession of drugs such as marijuana, weapons, prohibited items, as well as false identification charges.

One of the most infamous crimes in the city took place in March 1953, when elderly widow Mabel Monahan was killed in her Burbank home. When the 64-year-old Monahan opened the door to her West Parkside Avenue home, she found herself confronted by a stranger, Barbara Graham (also sometimes referred to as Barbara Wood). Graham, along with a few accomplices, had heard rumors of a Las Vegas gambling fortune hidden in Monahan's house. She was discovered by a gardener, who went to her front door and looked in to find a ransacked home and grisly trail of blood. The gardener immediately called the Burbank Police, who discovered Monahan's badly beaten body, half in and half out of a closet.

On June 3, 1955, Graham and two of her partners in crime were executed in the gas chamber at San Quentinmarker for their part in the brutal murder of Mabel Monahan. Graham had insisted she was innocent. Actress Susan Hayward won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Graham in the 1958 classic movie I Want To Live. Prior to filming, director Robert Wise had attended an actual execution at San Quentin Prisonmarker in order to help him authentically capture his film's climactic event. In 1983, ABC Television remade the movie, casting actress Lindsay Wagner (known for her role as the Bionic Woman) as Barbara Graham.

In February 1981, serial killer Lawrence Bittaker, a Burbank machinist, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1979 kidnapping and slaying of five teen-aged girls in a case that was the first felony trial in California to allow TV cameras into the courtroom over the objections of the defendant. As of October 2008, he was still on Death Row.

Previous to the murder of Burbank police officer Matthew Pavelka in 2003, the city experienced earlier cases of tragedy involving local law enforcement. Marshal Luther Colson and Deputy City Marshal Robert L. Normand were shot to death while patrolling the city. Their deaths in 1914 and 1920 marked the first time that Burbank police officers were killed in the line of duty. Colson was shot the evening of November 16, 1914, when he was walking on railroad tracks near what is now Victory Place and Lake Street. Six years later, Normand was killed when he responded to a call for help to check on three men in a vehicle with its lights out. The men began shooting as Normand and another officer approached the car. The other officer survived despite three bullet wounds, but Normand died at the scene. Additionally, two other Burbank officers have died on duty. They were motorcycle officers Joseph R. Wilson and Richard E. Kunkle, who were killed in separate accidents in 1961.

Politics

Burbank City Hall
In 1916, the original Burbank City Hall was constructed after bonds were issued to finance the project and pay for fire apparatus. Burbank's current City Hall was constructed from 1941 to 1942 in a neo-federalist Moderne style popular in the late Depression era. The structure was built at a total cost of $409,000, with funding from the Federal Works Agency and Works Project Administration programs. City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi and completed in 1943.

Originally, the City Hall building housed all city services, including the police and fire departments, an emergency medical ward, a courthouse and a jail. One of the most distinctive features of the cream-colored concrete building is its tower, which serves as the main lobby. The lobby interior features more than 20 types of marble, which can be found in the city seal on the floor, the trim, walls and in the treads and risers of a the grand stairway. Artist Hugo Ballin created a "Four Freedoms" mural in Burbank's City Council chambers during World War II, although it was covered up for decades until art aficionados convinced the city to have the mural fully revealed. Ballin's work illustrates the "Four Freedoms" outlined in President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 speech at the signing of the Atlantic Charter.

In 1996, the City Hall was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, becoming the second building in Burbank to be listed on the register. The first was Burbank's main post office just blocks away from City Hall on Olive Avenue. In 1998, Burbank's state-of-the-art Police/Fire facility opened.

In the state legislature Burbank is located in the 21st Senate District, represented by Democrat Jack Scott, and in the 43rd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Paul Krekorian. Federally, Burbank is located in California's 27th and 29th congressional districts, which have Cook PVIs of D +13 and D +12 respectively and are represented by Democrats Brad Sherman and Adam Schiff respectively.

Burbank is a Charter City that operates under the City Council-City Manager form of government. In 1927, voters approved the Council-Manager form of government. The five-member City Council is elected for four-year overlapping terms, with the Mayor appointed annually from among the Council. The City Clerk and the City Treasurer are also elected officials.

Burbank is a full-service, independent city, with offices of the City Manager and City Attorney, and departments of Community Development, Financial Services, Fire, Information Technology, Library Services, Management Services, Police, Parks-Recreation & Community Services, Public Works, and Burbank Water and Power (BWP). The first power was distributed within the city limits of Burbank in 1913, supplied then by Southern California Edison Company. Today, the city-owned BWP serves 45,000 households and 6,000 businesses in Burbank with water and electricity. Burbank's city garbage pickup service began in 1920; outhouses were banned in 1922.

At the height of California's 2001 energy crisis, BWP unveiled a mini-power plant at its landfill. It marked the world's first commercial landfill power plant using Capstone microturbine technology. Ten microturbines run on naturally occurring landfill gas, producing 300 kilowatts of renewable energy for Burbank. That's enough energy to serve the daily needs of about 250 homes. The landfill is located in the Verdugo Mountains in the northeastern portion of the city.

Most of the Burbank's current power needs come from the Magnolia Power Project, a 328-megawatt power plant located on Magnolia Boulevard near the Interstate 5 freeway. The municipal power plant, jointly owned by six Southern California cities (Burbank, Glendale, Anaheim. Pasadena, Colton and Cerritos), began generating electricity in 2005. It replaced a 1941 facility that had served the customers of Burbank for almost 60 years.

The Burbank City Council lost a court case in 2000 involving the right to begin meetings with a sectarian prayer. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that prayers referencing specific religions violated the principle of separation of church and state in the First Amendment. While invocations were still allowed, Burbank officials were required to advise all clerics that sectarian prayer as part of Council meetings was not permitted under the Constitution.

Like other California cities, Burbank took a financial hit after Californians passed Proposition 13 in 1977. The city dealt with the ramifications of maintaining service levels expected by the community but with lower tax revenues. As a result, Burbank officials opted to cut some services and implement user fees for specialized services.

Burbank today, as seen looking north from Griffith Park (July, 2006)


Economy

More people work in Burbank each day than live in the city. The combined payroll for all of Burbank's private sector businesses totaled $6.7 billion in 2005, according to the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at California State University-Northridgemarker. In 2005, Burbank employed 125,871 people in the private sector, while the neighboring city of Glendale, Californiamarker employed 74,149 people, according to CSUN's economic researchers. Burbank's media, entertainment, telecommunications and internet industries dominated the list in employment numbers and payroll, generating a combined $4.2 billion in payroll and accounting for 64,948 positions.

As the figures above show, much of Burbank's economy is based on the entertainment industry. While Hollywoodmarker may be a symbol of the entertainment industry, much of the actual production occurs in Burbank. Many companies have headquarters or facilities in Burbank, including ABC, DIC Entertainment, Dick Clark Productions, NBC, New Wave Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Technicolor/Thomson, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Warner Music Group, Insomniac Games.

Many ancillary companies from Arri cameras, to Cinelease, Entertainment Partners, JL Fisher, and Matthews Studio Equipment also maintain a presence in Burbank. Xytech Systems Corporation, a business software and services provider to the entertainment industry, is headquartered in Burbank.

Local IATSE union offices for the Stagehands Local 33, Grips Local 80, Make-up and Hairstylist Local 706 and Set Painters Local 729 also make their home in Burbank with Teamsters Local 399, IBEW Local 40 and many other IATSE locals nearby.

Burbank has not been immune to the U.S. economic and housing downturn. City officials prepared for severe cutbacks going into 2009. Burbank's new City Manager, Mike Flad, estimated the city's 2009-2010 fiscal budget will suffer a 5% shortfall. Flad said that figure is actually not as severe as the impact in 2001 following the stock market decline and economic jolt from 9/11. The current budget shortfall also doesn't compare to the revenue hit the city took in the early 1990s when Burbank was hemorrhaging aerospace jobs after Lockheed left.

In July 2009, budgetary cutbacks forced the Burbank Fire Department to cut the number of on-duty firefighters by two in an effort to save $1.27 million from the budget. California's state budget woes are expected to put more pressure on cities such as Burbank, which are likely to be forced to lend the state money. The state budget deal hammered out in July 2009 calls for the state to borrow roughly 8% of the property tax revenue from local cities such as Burbank. The money would be repaid with interest in three years.

The news of Burbank's current budget shortfall comes as a blow to an already beleaguered city affected by the financial turmoil. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority invested millions of dollars in fallen financial institutions, such as Lehman Brothers and Fannie Mae. The city's investment portfolio also reflected Lehman exposure.

The Burbank Police Department observed a 10% to 15% increase in abandoned swimming pools from foreclosed homes in the city due to the recession. As of January 2008, a total of 325 Burbank homes were in various states of foreclosure, representing less than 2% of the city's single-family and condominium housing stock. Of these 325 homes, 133 homes were in pre-foreclosure, 68 were up for auction, and 124 owned by the bank. At the same time, the city's retail sector began taking a hit because small boutiques and bankrupt retailers began closing in response to the tough economy.

Starting in 2008, the economic slump began affecting employment at major studio, network and recorded music employers in Burbank. Job cuts hit Warner Music, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Disney/ABC, and NBC Universal. Well into 2009, the ABC and NBC networks continued eliminating staffing to adjust for the weak advertising market. In early 2009, Disney's television division axed 400 jobs, or about 6% of the unit's work force. State figures show job cuts within the city soared in March 2009, reflecting not only major cuts at Warner Music and Warner Bros. but 92 jobs slashed at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center.

As of June 2009, unemployment in the Burbank area stood at around 9.2%, just below the national rate of 9.5% and well below Los Angeles County, according to the state's Employment Development Department. One bright spot in the local labor market was Kaiser Permanente's decision to relocate some administrative offices to Burbank. In November 2008, Kaiser Permanente entered into a 10-year lease to relocate more than 1,000 employees from its Glendale and Pasadena administrative offices to a property located within blocks of the Burbank Airport. Yahoo employs about 1,000 people nearby at its Empire Avenue campus, but the internet company announced more than 100 layoffs in December 2008.

Education

Providencia School
Burbank is within the Burbank Unified School District. The district was formed on June 3, 1879, following a petition filed by residents. First named the Providencia School District, Burbank's district started with one school house built for $400 on a site donated by Dr. Burbank, the area's single largest landholder. The first schoolhouse, a single redwood-sided building serving nine families, is on what is now Burbank Boulevard near Mariposa Street. In 1887, a new school house was constructed at San Fernando Road and Magnolia Boulevard, which was in Burbank's center of commerce.

Burbank is home to several California Distinguished Schools including the confusingly named Luther Burbank Middle School (see history above). Both its public and private K-12 schools routinely score above state and national average test scores. A number of colleges are also located in Burbank including Woodbury Universitymarker with its renowned design program and several make up and beauty trade schools serving the entertainment industry.

During the early 1920s, Burbank was in the running to become the location for the southern branch of the University of California campus. Specifically, planners were looking at locating the university in the Ben Mar Hills area near the intersection of Amherst Drive and San Fernando Blvd. The seaside community of Rancho Palos Verdesmarker was another location considered for the new campus. But both sites were eventually passed up when the Janss Investment Company donated property now known as Westwood to build the University of California, Los Angelesmarker.

Community organizations

The city of Burbank includes and supports a variety of nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life in Burbank. Extremely strong links between local residents, business owners, and government have created a network of organizations that provide support in the areas of education, employment, homeless services, after-school activities, health services, and social services. Local organizations include:

  • Burbank Tournament of Roses Association
  • The Salvation Army of Burbank
  • The Kiwanis Club of Burbank
  • The Burbank Rotary Club
  • Burbank Community Health Clinic
  • The Elk Lodge of Burbank
  • The Burbank Jocelyn Center for the Elderly
  • The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank
  • The Burbank Temporary Aid Center
  • Burbank Masonic Lodge


Notable residents

A number of notable people are natives of or have lived in Burbank, including:

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart had ties to Burbank. George P. Putnam reportedly had proposed marriage to Earhart on several occasions. When Putnam proposed a sixth time at the Lockheed Co. in Burbank, she consented, and were married in 1931. In 1932, determined to prove herself a true pilot, not just a "sack of potatoes" as she had described her role in the flight four years before-Earhart took off eastward from New Jersey in her Burbank-built Lockheed Vega and became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

From 1935 to 1937, Earhart made many more flights, many from Burbank Airport. It was there that she pored over blueprints with Lockheed engineers, who built the Electra she was flying at the time of her disappearance. Earhart's damaged plane was sent to Burbank after she crashed on the runway at Pearl Harbor on her first around-the-world attempt in 1937. At the time of her disappearance, Earhart lived in nearby North Hollywood with Putnam.

James Jeffries

In 1904, James Jeffries, then heavyweight boxing champion of the world, purchased of land at Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista Street. He started an alfalfa business and later developed a successful business supplying bulls to Mexico and South America. The site, now the location of a Ralph's supermarket, had a large barn. Gradually, Jeffries sold parts of his ranch, and in his later years turned the barn into a boxing arena. He died in 1953.

See also



Notes

  1. http://www.sfvbj.com/industry_article_pay.asp?aID=55115821.710596.1727505.824675.5365763.675&aID2=132876
  2. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/kaiser-permanentes-move-burbank-boost/story.aspx?guid=%7B7E8C86F6-EEB1-4736-9CAD-34FC526A3AAE%7D


References

  • Brief History of Burbank, California (Burbank Chamber of Commerce, 1961)
  • Of Men and Stars, A History of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, 1957-1958)
  • Ranchos de Los Santos, The Story of Burbank (The Burbank Branch of the Security Trust and Savings Bank, 1927)
  • The Story of Burbank from Her Eventful Pioneer Days (The Magnolia Park Chamber of Commerce, 1954)
  • Your Burbank Home (Burbank Merchant's Association, 1928)


External links




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