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Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles.[1] Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonymy of American cinema, and is often interchangably used to refer to the greater Los Angeles area in general. The nickname Tinseltown refers to Hollywood and the movie industry.[2] Today, much of the movie industry has dispersed into surrounding areas such as the Westside neighborhood,[3] but significant auxiliary industries, such as editing, effects, props, post-production and lighting companies remain in Hollywood, as does the backlot of Paramount Pictures.
Many historic Hollywood theaters are used as venues and concert stages to premiere major theatrical releases and host the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife, tourism, and is home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Although it is not the typical practice of the city of Los Angeles to establish specific boundaries for districts or neighborhoods, Hollywood is a recent exception. On February 16, 2005, California Assembly Members Goldberg and Koretz introduced a bill to require California to keep specific records on Hollywood as though it were independent. For this to be done, the boundaries were defined. This bill was unanimously supported by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles City Council. Assembly Bill 588 was approved by the Governor of California on August 28, 2006, and now the district of Hollywood has official borders. The border can be loosely described as the area east of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, south of Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon, Cahuenga Boulevard, and Barham Boulevard, and the cities of Burbank and Glendale, north of Melrose Avenue and west of the Golden State Freeway and Hyperion Avenue. This includes all of Griffith Park and Los Feliz—two areas that were hitherto generally considered separate from Hollywood by most Angelenos. The population of the district, including Los Feliz, as of the 2000 census was 123,436 and the median household income was $33,409 in 1999.[4]
As a portion of the city of Los Angeles, Hollywood does not have its own municipal government, but does have an official, appointed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who serves as an honorary "Mayor of Hollywood" for ceremonial purposes only. Johnny Grant held this position for decades, until his death on January 9, 2008.[5][6]
History
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In 1853, one adobe hut stood in Nopalera, named for the Mexican Nopal cactus indiginous to the area. By 1870, an agricultural community flourished in the area with thriving crops of many common and exotic varieties. The area was known to these residents as the Cahuenga Valley, after the pass in the Santa Monica Mountains immediately to the north. Soon thereafter, land speculation would lead to subdivision of the large plots and an influx of homeowners.
In spite of the area's short history, it has been filled with events driven by optimistic progress. As such, the recording of history has not been something of value to the community until recent years. Indeed, even the origin of name of Hollywood itself has been nearly lost to most locals, leaving them to speculate on its origins. One such etymology is that the name "Hollywood" traces to the ample stands of native Toyon or "California Holly", that cover the hillsides with clusters of bright red berries each winter. Another factor leading to confusion has been that two factions have claimed credit for naming Hollywood. Based upon published papers and other documents, it now seems that the name Hollywood was coined by H. J. Whitley,[7] the Father of Hollywood[8]. He came up with the name while honeymooning with his wife, Gigi, in 1886, according to Margaret Virginia Whitley's memoir. Whitley arranged to buy the 500 acre E.C. Hurd ranch and disclosed to him his plans for the land. They agreed on a price and Hurd agreed to sell at a later date. Before Whitley got off the ground with Hollywood, plans for the new town had spread to General Harrison Gray Otis, Mr Hurd's wife, Whitley's wife Gigi, Mrs. Daeida Wilcox, and numerous others through the mill of gossip and land speculation.
Daeida Wilcox learned the plans for the fledgling Hollywood from Gigi Whitley as they coincidentally travelled on the same train from Los Angeles to the upper Midwest. Daeida recommended the same name to her husband, H. H. Wilcox. The couple laid out and subdivided his 160 acre farm which bordered the east side of Whitley's land. On February 1, 1887, Harvey filed a deed and map of property he sold with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office. It is also speculated that Harvey Wilcox would have learned of the name Hollywood from his neighbor in Holly Canyon (now Lake Hollywood), Ivar Weid, a prominent investor and friend of Whitley's. Harvey wanted to be the first to record it on a deed, and did so on his official map. The early real-estate boom busted that same year, yet Hollywood began to grow, slowly.
By 1900, the region had a post office, newspaper, hotel and two markets, along with a population of 500. Los Angeles, with a population of 100,000 people at the time, lay 10 miles (16 km) east through the vineyards, barley fields, and citrus groves. A single-track streetcar line ran down the middle of Prospect Avenue from it, but service was infrequent and the trip took two hours. The old citrus fruit packing house would be converted into a livery stable, improving transportation for the inhabitants of Hollywood.
Construction of the famous Hollywood Hotel, the first major hotel in Hollywood, was opened in 1902, by H. J. Whitley, by then President of the Los Pacific Boulevard and Development Company of which he was a major shareholder. Having finally acquired the Hurd ranch and subdivided it, Whitley had built the hotel to attract land buyers, and was eager to sell these residential lots among the lemon ranches lining the foothills. Flanking the west side of Highland Avenue, the structure fronted on Prospect Avenue. Still a dusty, unpaved road, it was regularly graded and graveled. His company was developing and selling one of the early residential areas, the Ocean View Tract.
Whitley did much to promote the area, including bringing electricity and building a bank, as well as a road into the Cahuenga Pass-- gateway to the San Fernando Valley. Whitley's land was centered on Highland Avenue. Harvey Wilcox had died in 1891, and Daeida remarried a man named P.J. Beveridge in 1893. Their land was centered on Cahuenga Boulevard, which also accesses the Cahuenga Pass by the historid Old Pass Road, part of California's El Camino Real. Each tried attract the town center of Hollywood around their respective streets' intersections with Prospect Ave. The result of this rivalry remains evident to this day, as Hollywood appears to have two centers with a lesser-developed section of Hollywood Blvd between them. Today's Metro Red Line subway has a station in each of these centers: Hollywood/Vine for the Wilcox', and Hollywood/Highland for the Whitley's; separated by a walkable 3/4 of a mile. A result of this rivalry has been that, along with dual-town centers, each faction seemed to write its own history of the founding of Hollywood in their bid for legitimacy. It has become necessary to refer to multiple sources from both sides to derrive the true (or truer) story of Hollywood's proto-Tinsel Town history.
Hollywood was finally incorporated as a municipality in 1903. As Daeida Wilcox-Beveridge was an ardent prohibitionist, among the town ordinances was one prohibiting the sale of liquor except by pharmacists. Another that demonstrates the vast difference between today's and early Hollywood was a law outlawing the driving of cattle through the streets in herds of more than two hundred. In 1904, a new trolley car track running from Los Angeles to Hollywood up Prospect Avenue was opened. The system was called "the Hollywood Boulevard." It cut travel time to and from Los Angeles drastically.
By 1910, because of an ongoing struggle to secure an adequate water supply, the townsmen voted for Hollywood to be annexed into the City of Los Angeles, as the water system of the growing city had opened the Los Angeles Aqueduct and was piping water down from the Owens River in the Owens Valley. Another reason for the vote was that Hollywood could have access to drainage through Los Angeles´ sewer system. With annexation, the name of Prospect Avenue was changed to Hollywood Boulevard and all the street numbers in the new district changed. For example, 100 Prospect Avenue, at Vermont Avenue, became 6400 Hollywood Boulevard; and 100 Cahuenga Boulevard, at Hollywood Boulevard, changed to 1700 Cahuenga Boulevard.
Motion picture industry
