More about Hollywood California

Hollywood has often been referred to as “Tinseltown” due to its connection with the movie industry, however mush of the industry has moved to surrounding cities except for few aspects such as editing and pst production and the Paramount Pictures backlot. The city is home to a number of theaters such as the Kodak Theatre, that are now used as concert halls or to host award shows, and the city is also home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a stretch with the handprints and signatures of famous celebrities since the inception of entertainment. Hollywood is not its own city, but is a district of Los Angeles, and recently in 2005, California assembly members voted on a bill that required California to keep specific records on Hollywood as if it were an independent city. The first major hotel in Hollywood, the Hollywood Hotel, began construction in 1902 by H.J. Whitely who was the then President of the Los Pacific Boulevard and Development Company. Whitely built the hotel to attract land buyers, eager to sell residential lots along the lemon ranches lining the foothills. To sell the plots, Whitely brought electricity and a bank to the area as well as a road into the San Fernando Valley. By 1910, the city was having a water shortage and voted for Hollywood to be annexed into Los Angeles due to the opening of the new Los Angeles Aqueducts that was piping water down from the Owens River in the Owens Valley. The first film ever made in the Hollywood was “In Old California,” filmed by legendary director D.W. Griffith in 1910. The studios first in Hollywood produced westerns, they were easily made and a popular genre at the time. By 1911, Los Angeles was second only to New York in the production of movies and by 1915, most of the film being made, were being made and produced in the Los Angeles area. After a short period of decline in the past few years and many of Hollywoods landmarks being threatened, Hollywood is now undergoing revitalization, and many of the developments have already been completed. As of 2000 the city is home to an estimated 210,777 residents with a population density of 8,443 people per square mile. A few notable sites in Hollywood include the famous El Capitan Theatre, Capitol Records, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Bowl and the famous Hollywood sign that rests above the city, able to be seen from miles away.