Ask Jack McGrath, the Jack of All Things Studio City

Hello Studio City,

I came here in 1948, my parents bought a home on a dead-end street called Pacoima Court. My twin sister and I walked to Carpenter School. In 1953 my mother gave birth to a second set of twins, now there were six kids.

My first job was selling the Herald Express at the corner of Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards. It was in front of a bar where the actors like John Wayne and Gene Autry had a pop or two.

Went to Walter Reed Middle School, North Hollywood High School and then off to college (not too far away) at Cal State Northridge, where one roomate was a kid named Rich Marin, who later became Cheech of Cheech and Chong. Yes we were Up in Smoke many nights.

Worked in local politics for 20 years, managing Zev Yaroslavsky's first election in 1975, and working as his Chief of Staff at City Hall. I later was a partner in a company which built 2,500 bus shelters in the city.

Now, I have a public relations and media firm located in Valley Village. Was president of the Studio City Chamber in 2004, and a board member for five years. My company is GM Communications.

I look forward to some questions about Studio City...not the softball ones that the editor here has suggested below. Challenge me. 

Look forward to hearing from you,

Sincerely,

-Jack

EDITOR'S NOTE from Mike Szymanski:

Since Studio City Patch launched a week ago today, it occurred to me that at least every other story that my staff or I was working on needed something checked out with Jack McGrath for some reason. He either knew what was going on, or knew where to look for it, or knew who to get to, or something like that.

We had toyed around with meetings for an off-the-record chat for weeks, and finally, last Friday, we arranged our chat at Peet's. I just got off the phone with my editor to discuss the idea of this new column, and I was scratching my head over which of my great reporters and already-too-busy columnists could do it, when I decided to try to coax Jack McGrath into doing it. And then, we were interrupted by sirens due to a manhunt for a murder suspect in the Fryman Canyon above where we sitting.

Well, he's going to give it a whirl. He's going to answer questions about the area.

Now, I have some personal questions about Studio City that I've always wondered about...

* Who made Ventura Boulevard the main hub for businesses in town, and was it always so? And what does Ventura mean? Is it named after someone?

* Who owns that Chemosphere house at the top of Mulholland above the Universal Overlook that looks like a flying saucer? Is it still being used in movies?

* Why is the Los Angeles River all concrete? When did they do that and why? Wouldn't it have been much more beautiful to leave it natural?

* Did Riverside Drive ever have a river along it anywhere along the way?

* Why is it that you have to get OFF the freeway to go from the 170 southbound to head to the Ventura Freeway westbound? Can't they just make a ramp that goes that way?

You know, stuff like that. Well, Jack said those were easy questions. He's hoping our readers will throw him something more challenging. OK, so it's your turn.

You Ask … Studio City Patch Answers is a weekly column for locals looking for solutions to community problems or issues, and Jack McGrath is going to answer them for us, and maybe our intrepid staff of reporters will help him out.

But wait, it gets better: If your question appears in our column you will receive a gift from Patch.
 
So email us and check back on Mondays for You Ask … Studio City Patch Answers. Once a week, Patch will answer the questions that matter most to Studio City residents.

This week, we're going to offer a $25 gift certificate to anyone's questions that gets used to one of these artsy-craftsy stores in town. You get to pick:

Color Me Mine 12080 Ventura Pl, Studio City, CA  818-762-4434

Emerald Forest Gifts & Fine Crafts 12638 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA  818-509-8529

Kit Kraft 12109 Ventura Pl, Studio City, CA  818-509-9739

La Knitterie Parisienne 12642 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA  818-766-1515

Lani's Needlepoint 12416 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA  818-769-2431

Send in your questions!