Burbank, California

Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of 2004, the city had a population of 105,400. Burbank is located in the eastern region of the San Fernando Valley, north of Downtown Los Angeles.

Billed as the "Media Capital of the World", many media and entertainment companies are headquartered or have significant production facilities in Burbank, including NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

The town has come a long way from the days when it was ironically referred to as "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" on Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Although commonly believed to be named for famous horticulturalist Luther Burbank who once lived in Santa Rosa, California, the city is actually named for David Burbank, a New Hampshire-born dentist and entrepreneur.

The City of Burbank

Burbank today

A predominantly upper-middle class community, Burbank is home to many employees of the motion picture and television studios located in and around the city.

Entertainment has generally replaced the defense industry as the primary employer of its citizens, who are attracted by the relative safety and security offered by its own police and fire departments, highly rated schools and hospital. Other reasons cited are its small-town feel while located only 10 minutes away by car to the hip clubs and restaurants of Hollywood.
The Intersection of Olive and San Fernando in Burbank, CA

The convenience of a local airport and proximity to major freeways is crucial in today's world, and Burbank is no exception.

The Bob Hope Airport services 4.9 million travelers per year on seven major carriers, with more than 70 flights daily.

Burbank is easily accessible by and can easily access the Southern California freeways via the Golden State Freeway, which bisects the city from northwest to southeast, and the Ventura Freeway which connects Burbank to the U.S. Route 101 on the south and the nearby Foothill Freeway to the east.

Those without cars can take advantage of the Metro which operates public transport throughout Los Angeles County, connecting her citizens to 18,500 stops on 189 bus lines including those in Burbank while commuters can easily access the Metrolink and Amtrak for service south into Downtown and Union Station, west to Ventura and north to Palmdale and all points beyond.

While at home, residents enjoy the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, the Starlight Bowl, fine restaurants, the city's Downtown Burbank Mall, a burgeoning "Burbank Village" shopping district, and many theatres, parks, and libraries. Visitors to Burbank are attracted to the Warner Bros. Studio VIP tour and close proximity to all other entertainments and attractions that Los Angeles offers.

Recently, the murder of Burbank police officer Matthew Pavelka by a local gang known as the Vineland Boys sparked an intensive investigation in conjunction with several other cities and resulted in the arrest of a number of gang members and other citizens in and around Burbank. Among those arrested was Burbank city councilwoman Stacey Murphy, implicated in trading guns in exchange for drugs.

Education

Burbank is within the Burbank Unified School District.