by Michael Potterton – Author / Research Archivist, CCHS
Walking down Washington Blvd. alongside the Sony Pictures lot, you will find a small plaque with “Historic Landmark” embossed at the top. The plaque briefly describes the founding and construction of the 40+ acre lot. Its first line recounts: On this site in the year 1915 was founded the first motion picture studio in Culver City, built by Thomas H. Ince. The plaque was provided by the Native Daughters of the Golden West, a nonprofit group that has been venerating California pioneers since 1886.
Those familiar with the history of California’s early film studios know Thomas Ince, a film pioneer often credited with laying the foundations of the Hollywood studio system, churning out films like factories. However, the plaque’s reference to Ince’s founding of the studio belies another fascinating history — that of the short-lived Triangle Film Corporation, a critical factor in the studio’s construction.
Ince was a prominent film producer and General Manager of the New York Motion Picture Company. His filming headquarters, colloquially called “Inceville,” sat in the Santa Monica mountains. He made headlines in September 1915 when Harry Culver donated property on Washington Blvd. to him to build a new film production studio — the first of its kind in Culver City. The L.A. Times reported the significant deal, proclaiming “Inceville Moves to Culver City.”
This week Culver City receives the biggest boost in its history… The coming of the New York Motion Picture Corporation will create a veritable boom in Culver City real estate.
The finished lot was topped with a massive marquee sign, with “Thos H. Ince” displayed above the words “Triangle Studios.” This bottom portion of the sign refers to an entity formed just months before construction of the studio was announced: The Triangle Motion Picture Company. While Ince oversaw the building of the physical studio, it couldn’t have been done without the backing of Triangle, founded by another film trailblazer – Harry Aitken.
Harry Aitken, along with his brother Roy, had become prominent players in the early film industry when opening their first Nickelodeon in 1905, then founding the Mutual Film Corporation in 1912. In June 1915, Aitken teamed up with three of the most famous producer-directors of the time: Mack Sennett, D.W. Griffith, and Thomas Ince.
This group announced a plan to create a chain of theaters featuring premium pricing for the best seats; the following month, the Triangle Motion Picture Company was officially born.
Sennett, Griffith and Ince each produced their films in California, and distributed and exhibited through Triangle, run by Aitken in New York. It was Ince’s participation in Triangle that secured the funding necessary for him to build his Culver City studio.
Ultimately, Triangle was short-lived, partly because its films weren’t drawing wide enough audiences to justify the higher ticket fees. By 1917, Ince’s relationship with Triangle leadership rapidly deteriorated and the three producer-directors began leaving Triangle. After fighting to secure his ownership over the land where Triangle Studios sat, Ince ultimately sold his stakes in Triangle and moved his production a few blocks east to what is now The Culver Studios.
Aitken’s Triangle company ceased production by 1919 and the studio land was eventually sold to Samuel Goldwyn. Shortly after, the lot became MGM’s production headquarters, ensuring the continued use of the landmark that brought film production to Culver City.
