Southern California has a long history of devastating fires, with the Palisade and Eaton fires considered two of the most destructive in its history. More than a century ago, a series of fires in what is now Palisades claimed ownership of Inceville, one of the earliest movie studios.

Founded in 1912 by Thomas Ince, a silent-era producer-director and mogul, the studio was built on Sunset Boulevard now adjacent to the Pacific Coast Highway ) at the intersection. The 18,000-acre site, which could accommodate 700 people, was used for the filming of numerous Westerns, a genre that Ince helped popularize. Inswell was instrumental in establishing the star system and formalizing the roles of director, writer, and editor into independent positions. In a 1961 article THRAuthor Allan Hersholt recalls his father, Jean Hersholt, getting his first acting gig in 1915 in Inceville. “It sprung up like a gold rush town, about 15 miles from the middle of Hollywood,” Jean Hersholt wrote of the studio, recalling that it was a three-mile walk from the last trolley stop. distance. "Its residents included William S. Hart, HB Warner, Louise Glaum, Charles Ray, a family of about 40 actors And a stock company of about 30 actresses, a (Native American) tribe, 40 horses, a few assorted directors, a herd of cattle or two and a producer.”

In 1916, Innsville suffered a fire and the nitrate film used was highly flammable. Real estate developer Harry Culver encouraged Ince to move his film production headquarters to Culver City. In 1916, Ince opened the new Triangle Studio with partners DW Griffith and Mack Sennett. (Goldwyn Pictures purchased it in 1918, after which it eventually became part of Sony Pictures.)

Ince sold Innsville to Hart, a Western star, in 1916. Another fire in 1922 nearly destroyed the studio and left it in ruins for the next few years.

After a brief stint with Adolph Zukor's Paramount Art Pictures, the predecessor to Paramount Pictures, Ince founded another company in Culver City, Ince Studios, which The company operated from 1919 to 1924. He himself died prematurely, dying of heart failure in November 1924. Celebrating his 44th year on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht with Charlie Chaplin and others Being sick on your birthday. Ince's death has been the subject of speculation and was the focus of Peter Bogdanovich's 2001 film cat meowsuggesting that Hearst mistakenly shot Ince out of jealousy over Chaplin's alleged affair with actress Marion Davis.

But Ince's work continues. Three of his films have been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry, including the 1916 epic civilization. There are also classics like this Gone with the wind and Rebecca It will be filmed at Ince Studios, which he founded; in 2017, Amazon acquired the property on what is now Ince Boulevard.

This story appears in the Jan. 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.