City of Burbank history

Above: Appendix - Diseno (grant map) of the Providencia Rancho field in the capitol at Monterey in 1842 by "David W. Alexander et al, Clmts."

A San Francisco dentist named David Burbank bought 9,200 acres of farmland in 1866.

The first train passed through Burbank on April 5, 1874.

They opened the tract for sale on May 1, 1887, and the town of Burbank was born.

In 1907, Fawkes had patented the first monorail car in the United States and wanted to run a monorail line from Burbank to Tropico (South Glendale). He had built one 56-passenger monorail car and a short line on his ranch on Olive Avenue between Lake and Flower Streets.

In 1910 the Pacific Electric officials were not impressed when representatives of Burbank's population of less than 1,000 asked for an extension of the Los Angeles Glendale line to Burbank.

On September 22, 1911,, the Burbank Review published a special edition and the next day the giant barbecue on Olive Avenue and Third Street not only the drew the local citizens, but Governor Hiram Johnson, United States Senator John D. Works, and State Senator Lee C. Gates.

On March 26, 1913, $70,000 in bonds was approved by the citizens of Burbank to be used by the city to build a plant on Magnolia Boulevard to produce electricity and to drill more water wells in the city.

The Valley District which included nearly all of present day Magnolia Park had been added to the original townsite in 1915.

By 1916, a city hall had been built and Burbank had purchased its first fire truck.

The beginning of manufacturing and the passing of the agricultural era took place in 1917.

In 1918, the branch was moved to the city hall where it remained for about six years, and was then moved to the Thompson Building at San Fernando Road and Orange Grove Avenue.

A Hollywood real estate promoter, Ben W. Marks, bought a part of the Stough Ranch property in 1919.

Another land boom started in the early 1920's.

In 1921, federal agents were assisted by local officers in a raid on a still being operated by men from a neighboring community.

The first was a Kiwanis chapter formed in 1922.

The city marshal's office was reorganized into a police department in 1923.

In the Fall of 1924, the clubhouse of the Woman's Club of Burbank was completed at 705 East Olive Avenue.

In 1925, the post office attained a first class status.

Each building had four classrooms when it opened in 1926.

On April 19, 1927, a Park Board was established because of a controversy over the pepper trees.

In March, 1928, the Lockheed Company occupied 20,000 square feet of working area at the corner of Empire Avenue and San Fernando Road.

By 1929, over 3,500 homes had been built in the Magnolia Park area.

The "Big Depression" of the 1930's robbed Magnolia Park of its radio station and daily newspaper, and stopped all real estate promotion.

In October, 1931, the Lockheed branch followed Detroit Aircraft into bankruptcy and the Title Insurance and Trust Company of Los Angeles became receiver for the Lockheed unit.

On June 6, 1932, seven young men bid $40,000 for the assets of the bankrupt Lockheed Aircraft Company.

After the 1933 earthquake, the third floor art room at John Muir Junior High School was removed and that school shared its classrooms with Burbank High School while the earthquake damage to the high school's main building was being repaired.

United Airports Company of California, Ltd., purchased the airport in 1934 and developed it to the largest in the Los Angeles area.

The city built a new main library building on Olive Avenue near Glenoaks Boulevard in 1935.

Nearly 3,000 of these "Hudson" bombers were built by the end of World War II. In 1937, the United States Army Air Corps asked the aircraft industry to submit designs for a pursuit plane capable of reaching an altitude of 20,000 feet in six minutes and a top speed of 360 miles per hour.

The main Burbank Post Office found a permanent home at 135 East Olive Avenue in 1938.

Pinocchio (1940), which features complex characters rendered in painstakingly detailed full-figure animation, is perhaps Disney’s grandest achievement.

One of the San Fernando Valley's major hospitals opened in 1944.

When a new Methodist church was built on Glenoaks Boulevard in 1948, the building on Olive was torn down.

Early in the 1950's the Burbank County Courts Building, under construction in the picture above, was built on the site formerly occupied by the First Methodist Church on the corner of Olive Avenue and Third Street.

A new John Muir Junior High School was completed on Kenneth Road in 1952.

In 1953, St Joseph's Hospital opened a new $2 million wing which made it the valley's leading medical center with a capacity of 250 beds.

Lady and the Tramp (1955) was a return to form, but Disney’s attention was by then increasingly devoted to live-action features, television productions, and his new theme park, Disneyland, which opened in 1955 in Anaheim, California.

By 1961, most of the major projects of the program were completed.

By 1962, NBC's multi-million dollar, state-of the-art complex was completed.

These last two projects were financed through an additional $2 million in bonds voted in February, 1963.

In 1966, the sub-station was moved from the Toluca Mart to a newly developed shopping center on Pass Avenue.

The next project was the Walt Disney World Resort in central Florida, which opened in 1971.

The City Council also began cablecasting their meetings on public television in 1987.

In 1989, the Golden Mall, was re-opened and traffic again flowed down San Fernando Boulevard after 20 years as an outdoor pedestrian mall.

The Disney Company launched the Disney Magic, the first ship in the Disney Cruise Line, on July 30, 1998, and offered vacation packages to the Caribbean islands.

In 2005, Connect with Your Community was established with the mission to create opportunities, projects and partnerships (between residents, non-profits, City employees, etc.) that strengthen the local non-profit and community service agenda.

Expanding upon its community engagement and transparency efforts, while incorporating emerging technology, the City created and continues to pro-actively implement a comprehensive communications program utilizing various forms of media, including a revamped website launched in 2009.

In accordance with that mission, on July 8, 2011, the community proudly commemorated the 100th anniversary of its incorporation date with a monumental "Party of the Century" in Downtown Burbank.

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