Hollywood

Although Hollywood has become known worldwide, it is no longer an independent township as it has formed part of Los Angeles since 1910. It lies about 8mi/13km northwest of downtown Los Angeles in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, the so-called Hollywood Hills. Purchased more than 100 years ago (1887) by the Kansas real-estate broker Harvey Wilcox as cheap waste and arable land, Hollywood was named after the ranch of the same name and the holly trees which were to be found there in abundance at the time.

From 1903 to 1910 it was an independent community of about 400 inhabitants. Business-minded film people, such as Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn) from Russia, Carl Laemmle from Baden-Württemberg and William Fox from New York, set up the first film studios in what had been horse-stables. At that moment was born the "film capital" of Hollywood, which offered ideal conditions - patent regulations, relating to Edison film cameras, could be more easily overcome here. From the daily treks of immigrants from the east of the USA - the novel "Grapes of Wrath" documents this trend - they could recruit cheap labor, including extras for the mammoth productions then becoming popular. In addition, there was the almost unbroken sunshine and the short escape route to Mexico - this latter possibility has to be borne in mind, for the venturesome film people did not enjoy a good reputation on account of their low moral standards.

Signs such as "No dogs or actors admitted" (golf course) were not rare by any means.

"HOLLYWOOD"

On entering Hollywood you are welcomed by the famous name-sign in giant letters 50ft/16m high, which is brightly illuminated on festive occasions. These letters, reminiscent of pop-art, were erected in 1923 on wooded scaffolding by real-estate brokers as an advertising gimmick. Since then they have won cult status, so that splinters and pieces which broke off when the sign was renovated in 1977 were sold as relics.