Jim Henson Company Lot
The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as Charlie Chaplin Studios from 1917 to 1953, which later earned the site designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. After being sold by Chaplin in 1953, the property went through several changes in ownership and has served at various times as Kling Studios, the Red Skelton Studios, the shooting location for the Adventures of Superman and Perry Mason television series. From 1966 to 1999, it was the headquarters for A&M Records and the location of A&M Recording Studios. Since 2000, it has been the headquarters of The Jim Henson Company, including the Henson Soundstage and Henson Recording Studios. History Construction In October 1917, Charlie Chaplin announced plans to build his own film studio at the southeast corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard. In his autobiography, Chaplin described the decision as follows: At the end of the Mutual contract, I was anxious to get started with First National, but we had no studio. I decided to buy land in Hollywood and build one. The site was the corner of Sunset and La Brea and had a very fine ten-room house and five acres of lemon, orange and peach trees. We built a perfect unit, complete with developing plant, cutting room, and offices. Chaplin purchased the site from R.S. McClellan, who lived on the site and had a large grove of orange trees on the property. The lot had of frontage on Sunset and on La Brea, extending south to De Longpre. Chaplin announced he would make his home on the northern part of the property, and build his own motion picture plant on the south part of the property, cornering at La Brea and De Longpre. Chaplin's plans for six English-style buildings, "arranged as to give the effect of a picturesque English village street," were published in the Los Angeles Times in October 1917. The plans were prepared by the Milwaukee Building Company (Meyer & Holler), and the total investment was estimated to be in the region of $100,000. The layout of the buildings was described by the Los Angeles Times in 2002 as a "fairy-tale cottage complex." Another writer has described the style as "eccentric Peter Pan architecture." The location was at that time a residential neighborhood, and Chaplin's application for a building permit was opposed by area residents, some of whom complained that it was too near the Hollywood High School. However, the City Council voted 8–1 to approve Chaplin's permit. Chaplin reportedly built his "English cottage-style studio" in three months beginning in November 1917, at a reported cost of only $35,000. The DVD collection titled "Chaplin Collection" includes Chaplin's 1918 film How to Make Movies, which depicts the studio's construction in time-lapse photography. Construction of the studios was completed in approximately 1919. Chaplin preserved a large existing