The lot, which is open to the public for daily studio tours, currently houses a total of sixteen separate sound stages.

Director Thomas H. Ince built his pioneering Inceville studios in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles in 1912.

Ince added a few stages and an Administration Building before selling out to his partners D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett.

[citation needed] However, the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. antitrust case of 1948 severed MGM's connection with Loews Theaters, and it struggled through its affairs.

The following year, Sony hired producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber to run the company's newly acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment unit, even though they had a contract with Warner Bros. To resolve this issue, Warner sold their Lorimar lot to Columbia, among other deals.

The property underwent a three-year comprehensive plan as it transitioned to the 45 acres (0.18 km2) Sony Pictures Studios complex.

The buildings, many of which still bore the names of MGM film actors such as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster, were painted and upgraded.

Nostalgic art deco and false fronts on Main Street were added, as well as hand-painted murals of Columbia film posters.