Hollywood film production in the early part of the 20th century was a booming business, and parts of Southern California acted as movie sets representing different parts of the world. Within driving distance of Hollywood studios, Crystal Cove’s beach and bluffs were frequently used as tropical and island locations.

In the late 1910s, Hollywood production crews built thatched-roof huts and planted palm trees at Crystal Cove to use as scenery for island and tropical sets. The film business in the Cove grew so robust that James Irvine II hired E. Roy Davidson as a full-time, on-site manager. Davidson and his friend Merrill Wood set up an office (later designated cottage #0).