From bringing Frankenstein’s monster to life, to creating genetically engineered dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, Universal Studios brings the depths of the imagination to life.

In 1909, Carl Laemmle founded the International Motion Picture Company, and by 1912, the Universal Film Manufacturing Company formed. In August of the same year, Universal took control of the Nester Studio in Hollywood, California.

Universal permitted the public to tour the studio for the first time in 1915. Tours allowed guests to witness the production of a Universal film. By 1930, however, the company no longer allowed the public into the studios. Silent films no longer dominated the film industry, and the new sound stages required complete silence during production.

Over the next thirty years, Universal produced such iconic films as Dracula, Frankenstein, and All Quiet on the Western Front.

However, by 1958, the studio’s back lot and sixteen soundstages stood empty except for the occasional lease to independent film companies. Owner of MCA, Lew Wasserman, refused to watch the studio perish. On December 18, 1958, MCA purchased Universal Studios’ 367 acres for $11.25 million.

Although the back lot stood empty in the late 1950’s, once Wasserman took over, he transformed Universal Studios into a working studio as well as a theme park. The back lot in Hollywood still contains famous sets such as the Adam’s Family house and Hitchcock’s original Bates Motel from the classic horror film Psycho.

For over one hundred years, Universal Studios allowed people to experience their adventures, fantasies, horrors, and dramas. Universal continues to bring audiences as close to the movie making experience as possible.