Studio City occupies land formerly part ofRancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. This land changed hands several times during the late 19th Century and was eventually owned by J. B. Lankershim and eight other developers who organized the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company. In 1899, however, the area lost most water rights to Los Angeles and was no longer viable for farming.

Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct began in 1908 and water reached the San Fernando Valley in November, 1913. Real estate boomed, and a syndicate led by Harry Chandler, business manager of the Los Angeles Times, with Hobart Johnstone Whitley, Isaac Van Nuys.