Studio Name
Studio Address
Active 1900-1999

J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith were among the original movie moguls, starting their business, American Vitagraph Company, in 1897.   In 1899 a third partner, William T. "Pop" Rock joined the firm.

After bouncing around a few studio locations, they built a very large studio in Brooklyn in 1906.  Vitagraph Studio in Brooklyn was the first large, modern movie studio and by 1907 they were the largest movie company in the country from their 3.5 acre studio in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

They wanted to produce the very popular Westerns but Brooklyn was just not the place.  So, westward they went in search of a suitable spot.  After a brief stop in Colorado they set up shop in Santa Monica, CA.

The company built an indoor stage and several outdoor stages, extensive backlot with standing sets covering various places and periods of time.  There was enough space to make any kind of movies they chose shooting several at one time.  By 1919 all of the production company had relocated from Brooklyn to Hollywood.  They employed nearly 500 people at the peak.

In 1911 they built a small studio in Santa Monica to give them a foothold and in 1915 they built  their permanent West Coast home in East Hollywood.  (sitting on the cusp of the Los Feliz and East Hollywood neighborhoods of Los Angeles).

Construction began in earnest.  According to records of the era, the lot sat on just over 19 acres of purchased land with another 9.5 of (what appears to be) leased land.  The studio entrance sat a Talmadge and Prospect facing the corner with the driveway angling between two buildings, passing under an arch that read "Vitagraph."