Most of Hollywood’s big studios moved out of Hollywood long ago. Universal is over the hill, Warner Bros. is in Burbank and Disney is in the Valley. Paramount stayed. It has been on Melrose Avenue since 1926, and it is the last major studio still working in Hollywood itself.

We spent a late September afternoon on the lot, and what stood out was how ordinary it looks. It is a working place. Golf carts run up and down the alleys, and production trucks park wherever they fit. Many of the buildings are big, plain sheds with numbers on the side.

The double-arched Paramount gate framed by palm trees under a blue sky
The arches of the Bronson Gate, seen from inside the lot

The gate

Everybody knows the gate. The Bronson Gate has been in movies for generations, most famously in Sunset Boulevard. In that film, Gloria Swanson’s character is driven through it on her way to see Cecil B. DeMille.

Ornate wrought iron gate detail at Paramount Pictures
Wrought iron at the studio’s famous entrance
The Paramount Pictures arch with a fountain in the foreground
The arch and fountain inside the lot

Soundstages and streets

Behind the gate, the lot is laid out like a small town, with streets of numbered soundstages. They look like warehouses. The big numbers painted on the walls help you find your way.

A studio alley with a large number 30 painted on a cream soundstage
Stage 30, with the Hollywood Hills beyond
A cream soundstage with the number 29 and a palm tree beyond
Stage 29, in one of the lot’s narrow alleys

Then you turn a corner and you are somewhere else. The backlot has a set of New York streets, with brick fronts built to look like Manhattan. They look real until you see the palm trees. The studio’s water tower stands over it all.

A brick street built to look like New York on the Paramount backlot
New York, as built in Los Angeles
The Paramount water tower rising above a studio street
The Paramount water tower
A round fountain in front of a white studio building
The fountain in the middle of the lot

Practical Info

  • Where: 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles.
  • Visiting: The lot is a working studio, so you need to book a guided tour. Check current times and prices with Paramount.
  • Filming: What you see depends on what is shooting that day, and some areas may be closed.
  • Getting there: Traffic on the way in can be slow, so leave extra time for your booking.
  • Allow: Around two hours for a standard tour.

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