Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. 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. The nickname Tinseltown refers to the glittering, superficial nature of Hollywood and the movie industry. Today, much of the movie industry has dispersed into surrounding areas such as the Westside neighborhood, 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, and 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 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 167,664 and the median household income was $33,409 in 1999.
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.
History
In 1853, one adobe hut stood on the site that became Hollywood. By 1870, an agricultural community flourished in the area with thriving crops. A locally popular 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. But this and accounts of the name coming from imported holly then growing in the area, are not confirmed. The name Hollywood was coined by H. J. Whitley, the Father of Hollywood. He and his wife, Gigi, came up with the name while on their honeymoon in 1886, according to Margaret Virginia Whitley's memoir. The name "Hollywood" was used by H. H. Wilcox when he laid out his 160 acre farm in 1887. On February 1, 1887 Harvey filed a deed and map of property he sold with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office. He had learned of the name Hollywood from his neighbor Ivar Weid and wanted to be the first to record it on a deed.
By 1900, the community then called Cahuenga 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 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.
The first section of the famous Hollywood Hotel, the first major hotel in Hollywood, was opened in 1902, by H. J. Whitley, the President of the Los Pacific Boulevard and Development Company of which he was a major shareholder. He was eager to sell residential lots among the lemon ranches then 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 opened and developed the first residential area the Ocean View Tract.
Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. Among the town ordinances was one prohibiting the sale of liquor except by pharmacists and one 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
Main article: Cinema of the United StatesFilmmaking in the greater Los Angeles area preceded the establishment of filmmaking in Hollywood. The Biograph Company filmed the short film A Daring Hold-Up in Southern California in Los Angeles in 1906. The first studio in the Los Angeles area was established by the Selig Polyscope Company in Edendale, with construction beginning in August 1909.
In early 1910, director D. W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his troupe, consisting of actors Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore and others. They started filming on a vacant lot in downtown Los Angeles. The company decided to explore new territories and traveled five miles (8 km) north to the little village of Hollywood, which was friendly and enjoyed the movie company filming there. Griffith then filmed the first film ever shot in Hollywood called In Old California , a one-reel melodrama set in Mexican colonial-era California in the 1800s. The movie company stayed there for months and made many, many films before returning to New York.
The first studio in Hollywood was established by the New Jersey-based Centaur Co., which wanted to make westerns in California. They rented an unused roadhouse at 6121 Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Gower, and converted it into a movie studio in October 1911, calling it Nestor Studio after the name of the western branch of their company. The first feature film made specifically in a Hollywood studio, in 1914, was The Squaw Man , directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel, and was filmed at the Lasky-DeMille Barn amongst other area locations.
By 1915, the majority of American films were being produced in the Los Angeles area.
Four major film companies — Paramount, Warner Bros., RKO and Columbia — had studios in Hollywood, as did several minor companies and rental studios.
1920s-1940s
By 1920, Hollywood had become world famous as the center of the United States film industry.
From the 1920s to the 1940s, a large percentage of transportation to and from Hollywood was by means of the red cars of the Pacific Electric Railway.
Modern Hollywood
On January 22, 1947, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, KTLA, began operating in Hollywood. In December of that year, The Public Prosecutor became the first network television series to be filmed in Hollywood. And in the 1950s, music recording studios and offices began moving into Hollywood. Other businesses, however, continued to migrate to different parts of the Los Angeles area, primarily to Burbank. Much of the movie industry remained in Hollywood, although the district's outward appearance changed.
In 1952, CBS built CBS Television City on the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, on the former site of Gilmore Stadium. CBS's expansion into the Fairfax District pushed
Los Angeles Weekend Getaways
California Travel; Plan Your Trip; Things to Do; Pictures & Maps ... Los Angeles Travel Guides; Downtown Los Angeles Weekend Getaway; Labor Day Weekend Events in Los ...
Los Angeles to San Francisco Road Trip on US 101 - Leaving Los Angeles
The Los Angeles end of your trip is the intersection of I-10 and I-405 near UCLA, the Getty ... Indoor Activities - Los Angeles Day Trips and Vacation Side Trips; Los Angeles Weekend ...
A Weekend in Los Angeles - TripAdvisor
Check out TripAdvisor Traveler Lists, where travelers create lists on their favorite travel topics, such as "A Weekend in Los Angeles". See their suggestions for places to go and ...
Los Angeles Area Weekend Getaways and Day Trips
Complete travel guide for Los Angeles Area Weekend Getaways and Day Trips.
Los Angeles Long Weekend - Trip Planner | Plan & Share Trips ...
Trip to the US West Coast to take in the sights, sounds, people, food & wines of Los Angeles
Labor Day Weekend Events in Los Angeles - Los Angeles Labor Day Events
Labor Day Weekend Events in Greater Los Angeles - Los Angeles Labor Day Events ... Trip Planner; Things to Do in Los Angeles - Disneyland; LA Photo Galleries; Nightlife
A Weekend Getaway South of Los Angeles: Los Cabos, Mexico
... go out of their way to top one another — and pamper couples from Los Angeles and elsewhere on a weekend ... What is Love Quotes Anniversary Gift Trips January-February Vacations Love ...
Road Trip Weekend | NBC Los Angeles
Get up and go: map pins, fuzzy dice, an electric pink water bottle, car karaoke, and our favorite road dining guide.
Los Angeles Long Weekend - Trip Planner | Plan & Share Trips ...
A trip from 15 October 2007 to 19 October 2007, travelling to Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Marina del …
I-15 Cajon Pass closure to Vegas this weekend, 11/18-11/20 - Los ...
On TripAdvisor's Los Angeles travel forum, travelers are asking questions and offering advice on topics like "I-15 Cajon Pass closure to Vegas this weekend, 11/18-11/20".