User:Mliu92/sandbox/Pacific Studios (San Mateo)

Pacific Studios was a silent movie studio in San Mateo, California, which operated from 1922 to 1929. The studio produced X and Y before its closure. It was located on the northern border of San Mateo, in the block bounded by Peninsula Avenue to the northwest; North Clairemont Street to the northeast; State Street to the southwest; and Woodside Way to the southeast. Isadore Bernstein was the head, and he touted the location as "ideally situated from a geographical standpoint" to take advantage of the varied terrain in the San Francisco Bay Area. The decline of silent movies was heralded by the 1927 release of the sound-synchronized The Jazz Singer, and Pacific Studios, which had been built without extensive soundproofing and located only 500 ft from the busy railroad line between San Jose and San Francisco, was ill-suited for sound production. Pacific Studios would shut down in 1929; in 2017, the buildings are still standing and being used as commercial space.

History
Excavation work for the site started in October 1920. Director Harry King visited the site and thought that "many of the companies [would abandon] Los Angeles in favor of San Francisco." King also predicted a boost to local businesses, not just those supporting the movie industry.

Bernstein is credited with discovering Frank Lloyd from a crowd of extras.

Hobart Bosworth, who directed and starred in the motion picture XY, left Hollywood for Pacific Studios, saying that "southern California is worked out as far as locations go. In this district one has much greater choice in the selection of locations."

Harry Edwards filmed the Hal Stephens comedy Scarcity on location in San Mateo and Burlingame, recruiting much of the female cast from local Peninsula residents.

Peninsula Studios

Reel Town Studios "Lester Park"