Columbia Ranch Dwarf Houses
Before “tiny house” was a real estate buzz word, there were developments of small, so-called dwarf houses, called “Midget Town,” “Midget Houses,” “Snow White Cottages” and “Munchkin Houses” to mention a few, throughout Southern California and beyond. One such development, the Columbia Ranch Dwarf Houses, lines Hollywood Way between Oak and Heffron in Burbank. Built between 1946 and 1951, the houses fall within the original 40-acre lot, dubbed the Columbia Ranch, studio head Harry Cohn acquired at the end of 1934 to use as a backlot for filming. The houses, with no more than 900 sq ft., appear to have been designed by the same designer/architect. According to the Burbank Historical Society, these were not constructed as backlot dressing rooms or offices but to be used as ordinary homes, for normal people.
Burbank, Los Angeles County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt