History Of Burbank

Burbank is a city built by People, Pride, and Progress. These three ingredients turned a tiny, rural town into the thriving community it is today.

In the beginning, the land occupied by the present City was part of two large Spanish land grants. The first was the vast Rancho San Rafael, granted to Don Jose Maria Verdugo by the Spanish government in 1798. Nearby Rancho La Providencia was created following Mexico's successful bid for independence from Spain in 1821.

The real history of the city, though, began when a New Hampshire dentist headed west with the thousands of Americans seeking new opportunities. This was at a time when men like Isaac Lankershim and Isaac Van Nuys were changing the face of the San Fernando Valley.

The Changing Face of the City

A new City Hall was built by City employees and opened in 1943. Still standing as a local landmark, the marble building has been named to the National Register of Historic Buildings.

Burbank's boom didn't end with the war. A postwar real estate boom left few undeveloped areas in the community. A ten-year capital improvement program produced many new municipal facilities, most of which were completed when the City celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1961.

During the 1960s and 1970s, more and more of the Hollywood entertainment industry were relocating to Burbank. The National Broadcasting Company moved its network television headquarters to its new location at Olive and Alameda avenues. By 1962, NBC's multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art complex was completed.

On June 28, 1978, the airport was purchased from Lockheed through a tri-city authority. The newly named Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport is the largest privately owned municipal airport in the United States.

Burbank continues to look to the future with the same "can-do" attitude of the early City pioneers. With the energy crisis of the 70s and the drought conditions of the 80s and 90s, Burbank quickly responded with conservation programs to deal with the environmental issues. The City has a nationally acclaimed recycling program and uses reclaimed water for landscape irrigation.