Olive View was conceived in 1915 when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors decided to build a sanatorium, using aid from The State Bureau of Tuberculosis, to care for the vast number of tuberculosis patients that were overwhelming the Los Angeles County Hospital. Many patients arrived from other states seeking healing in the warm, dry climate. Olive View was built in a remote part of the north San Fernando Valley, according to a cottage plan conceived by Edward Trudeau as a model for sanatoriums, with a central hospital, separate lab and administration buildings, and small cottages for patients.

On October 27, 1920, Olive View Sanatorium opened its doors, and welcomed 9 patients in 7 buildings with 26 employees, on November 9, 1920. By the end of the first year, Olive View reached capacity with 95 patients and 32 staff. With the growth under Olive View's first permanent superintendent, William H. Bucher, Olive View grew to become the largest tuberculosis sanatorium in the western United States; by 1941 there were 1,114 patients and 156 buildings, including an onsite school, post office, county branch library, radio station, lab, pharmacy, ecumenical chapel, and even a farm. Despite the abundant facilities and efforts to build a sense of community, the Olive View location was remote and many patients, including children, were isolated from their families, in some cases for years. Pediatric patients at Olive View were admitted either because they had tuberculosis or were thought to be at risk for the disease, due to poverty or a family member who was ill.

Olive View had a robust research program, and Emil Bogen, a widely-published researcher, came to head the lab in 1933. Between 1947 and 1952, new drugs became available to treat tuberculosis, and the number of patients naturally decreased. Olive View evolved into an acute care facility, renaming itself Olive View Hospital in 1959. Notably, the first open heart surgery in the area (and one of the firsts in California) was completed there in 1962. In addition to surgery, Olive View began to serve mental health patients, most of whom could otherwise not afford treatment. A new hospital building was built after fires in 1962 and 1966, and was completed in 1970. This facility was dedicated as Olive View Medical Center and destroyed in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. The rebuild took 16 years, and in the interim, Olive View acquired the MidValley unit in Van Nuys.

In 1987, the new Olive View facility in Sylmar opened. Services expanded to include infant and maternal care, in addition to acute care and surgery. In 1992, Olive View changed its name again to reflect the close relationship it had with UCLA since the 1960s, and became Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, which it remains today.

Olive View Sanatorium: 11/9/1920 - 8/11/1959 Olive View Hospital: 8/11/1959 - 3/3/1970 LAC-Olive View Medical Center: 3/3/1970 - 1992 Olive View-UCLA Medical Center: 1992 - present