I like to think of Culver City as an oasis within the urban metropolis! From the beginning, Culver City residents have consistently enjoyed the independence and feel of a small town, but with access to all the advantages of a big city nearby, not to mention the ocean and mountains as well. And of course location was a big selling point. Harry Culver liked the temperate climate, saw the emerging transportation system, and even used “All Roads Lead to Culver City” in his ads. When Culver announced his plans for a city, halfway between the Story Building in Los Angeles and Abbot Kinney’s resort of Venice in 1913, the initial 1.2 square miles was surrounded by undeveloped land.

Move ahead 15 years. In 1928, Culver was a well-established, active real estate developer. His “skyscraper” six-story hotel (now the Culver Hotel) held offices on the first and second floors. Culver hosted local and state groups in the field. He was about to embark on a year’s journey across the country as the head of the National Real Estate Association. He could even fly from the city’s little airport that existed at today’s intersection of Jefferson and Sepulveda Boulevard.

The Evening Star News had a full-page ad in 1928 (pictured) that helped put it all in perspective. Culver City was advertised as the hub of a wheel, “Not in the Path of Progress, But in the Center of it!” This book of bound newspapers is just one of many reference books in the Culver City Historical Society Archives and Resource Center (ARC). The ARC is open to the public regularly on the first and third Saturdays of each month and by appointment.

Last Saturday,  the ARC hosted a third-grader who was researching the Culver Ice Rink, a Girl Scout who is embarking on an interview project that will record memories of locals with history, and volunteers screened a segment of “Local History, Legends and Lore” featuring  Martha and Sol Sigall.

Your visits are happily encouraged.

Julie Lugo Cerra is the council-appointed city historian of Culver City and author of three books and hundreds of articles on local history.