Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Notes

In 1853, one adobe hut stood in Nopalera named for the Mexican Nopal cactus indigenous 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 (Cahuenga is the Spanish name for the Tongva village of Kawengna, meaning place of the mountain). Soon thereafter, land speculation led to subdivision of the large plots and an influx of homeowners.*^

Historical Notes

Today, Vermont Avenue effectively marks the eastern end of Hollywood.   It starts in Griffith Park at the Greek Theatre in the Los Feliz neighborhood as a one-lane divided road (it is known as Vermont Canyon Road north of this point) and at the intersection with Los Feliz Boulevard, it widens to a two-lane road. Vermont Avenue passes to the east of the Barnsdall Art Park at the intersection with Hollywood Boulevard and the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles at Sunset Boulevard.

Historical Notes

The new community of Cahuenga was never built as shown above, with circular streets, etc., but some of its street names were later used elsewhere in the Hollywood area.*

Historical Notes

In 1911, the Theosophical Society of Krotona established a colony on the above land located just north of the J.B. Rapp farm.  The hill began to be known as Krotona Hill.^#^

Historical Notes

J.B. Rapp began as a lemon grower but expanded into more exotic fruits–dates, avocados and pineapples, among others. Although it is likely that these fruits had their origins on local ranchos, Rapp was among the first to grow them commercially. At a time when oranges and lemons were rare delicacies for most Americans, pineapples and avocados must have caused a sensation. Hollywood’s frost-free climate made the cultivation of these crops possible.^#^

Historical Notes

The Cahuenga Pass connects the Los Angeles Basin to the San Fernando Valley and is the lowest pass through the mountains.

It was the site of two major battles, the Battle of Cahuenga Pass in 1831 (a fight between local settlers and the Mexican-appointed governor and his men, two deaths), and the Battle of Providencia or Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass in 1845 (between locals over whether to secede from Mexico. One horse and one mule killed). Both battles were on the San Fernando Valley side near present-day Studio City, and cannonballs are still occasionally found during excavations in the area. Along the route of the historic El Camino Real, the historic significance of the pass is also marked by a marker along Cahuenga Boulevard which names the area as Paseo de Cahuenga.*^

Historical Notes

Cahuenga is the Spanish name for the Tongva village of Kawengna, meaning place of the mountain.*^

Historical Notes

In the 1870s, a primitive hotel -- named the Eight Mile House because Los Angeles was eight miles down the road -- rose among a stand of eucalyptus trees inside the canyon. #^^

Historical Notes

As late as 1914, filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille rented a wooden cabin in the pass as his home. He rode daily into his studio on horseback -- with a revolver on his hip. #^^

Historical Notes

Sunset Boulevard was dedicated in 1888. Earlier called Bellevue Street--and with some small sections called Short, Bread and Marchessault streets (after Mayor Damien Marchessault)--it started on U.S. Sen. Cornelius Cole's hill in what is now Hollywood, which afforded a fine view of the sunset over the Pacific. By 1937, 11 streets in Hollywood were named after the Cole family.

Gower Avenue was dedicated in 1893. Named because it ran along the west side of the ranch belonging to George T. Gower. California's first films were made on the corner of Gower and Sunset Boulevard in 1911.^*^

Historical Notes

The description above comes from the LAPL image libarary.  Gregory Paul Williams in his book The Story of Hollywood states that this business’ actual name was La Baig’s Casa Cahuenga (commonly referred to as the Six-Mile House). It was on the northeast corner of Sunset and Gower. Frenchman Martin La Baig convinced Harvey Wilcox to sell his French friends The Blondeaus 5 acres across Gower Ave from him. The Blondeaus built their home there in 1887, and in 1889 they built an additional to turn it into The Blondeau Tavernl.*

Historical Notes

Cahuenga Valley Township School in 1884 had a limited student body and faculty. Some reports noted that the horse in the photo was used to bring students to and from school, just like the "big yellow buses" of today. ++

Historical Notes

Harvey Henderson Wilcox, the first subdivider of Hollywood, used as its name the suggestion made by his wife, Daeida. They had purchased 160 acres in 1886, which they subsequently subdivided and sold. (Prospect Avenue was the original name for Hollywood Blvd., and Weyse Avenue was the original name for Vine Street.)*

The name Hollywood was originally coined by H. J. Whitley, the "Father of Hollywood".  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, Mrs. Daeida Wilcox, and numerous others through the mill of gossip and land speculation. (per Wikipedia)

Daeida learned of the name Hollywood from her neighbor in Holly Canyon (now Lake Hollywood), Ivar Weid, a prominent investor and friend of Whitley's. She recommended the same name to her husband, H. H. Wilcox. On February 1, 1887, Harvey filed a deed and map of property he sold with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office. Harvey wanted to be the first to record it on a deed. The early real-estate boom busted that same year, yet Hollywood began its slow growth. (per Wikipedia)

A 2ND version about the naming of Hollywood:  “Regarding H.J. Whitley’s  coining the name, Whitley's great-granddaughter Gaelyn Whitney Keith invented this story out of whole cloth. (She wrote a "biography" of Whitley that reads like a romance novel.) Loads of old newspapers very clearly place H.J. Whitley in North Dakota throughout 1886-1887. He later moved to Oklahoma and didn't come to L.A. until 1894 – seven years after the Wilcoxes named Hollywood. So the whole story of Whitley trying to buy 500 acres from E.C. Hurd in 1886, then the Wilcoxes stealing the "Hollywood" name before Whitley could close the deal, is bunk, blarney, B.S. It's shameful that Ms. Keith has spread this lie around the internet, just to sell her book.” *

Historical Notes

In the mid-1880s, H.J. Whitley arrived in Southern California. He was well known as a land developer and many tried to follow on his coattails. As president and major shareholder of the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company, he orchestrated the building of the Hollywood Hotel, the opening of the Ocean View Tract and construction of a Bank which were located on the corners of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland.

Besides his land developments, Whitley was also the President of the National Loan & Trust Company, Guthrie, Oklahoma, Vice President of Home Savings Bank, President of First National Bank of Van Nuys, State Bank of Owensmouth and Bank of Lankershim; General Manager of the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, principal in the Bank of Hollywood, The Whitley Land Company and owner of the H.J. Whitley Company jewelry store.*^

Historical Notes

The Barrow family moved from Illinois to California in 1880 and purchased land with boundaries of Beverly Boulevard on the south, Rosewood Avenue on the north, Vermont Avenue on the east and Normandie on the west.^

Historical Notes

The beginnings of a railroad which would link Los Angeles with far off Cahuenga Valley occurred on January 11th, 1887 when James McLaughlin obtained a franchise to build a steam dummy line connecting to the 2nd Street Cable Railroad at Diamond (Beverly Boulevard) and Texas (Belmont Avenue) Streets. The line would extend north along Texas to Temple and then westward to the Los Angeles City Limits at Hoover Street and beyond. #*^

Historical Notes

The diminutive steam train would begin its journey to Cahuenga Valley from Diamond (Beverly Boulevard) and Texas (Belmont Avenue). Leaving the city limits, the little train wandered west across open fields eventually finding County Road where it turned north. County Road later became Western Avenue. Next stop, Coleville or Coles Crossing (later, Santa Monica Boulevard). At this point, the Cahuenga Valley line crossed the steam dummy line to Santa Monica. The train continued north to Prospect Avenue (Hollywood Boulevard) where the line turned west. That was called Grand Round. Today we know it as Hollywood and Western. Next stop, Midway (later called Bronson Avenue). The end of the line was at Prospect Avenue (Hollywood) and Wilcox. It was here that McLaughlin built himself a rather imposing “McMansion” on the northwest corner of that intersection. #*^

Historical Notes

Hollywood Boulevard was named Prospect Avenue from 1887 until 1910, when the town of Hollywood was annexed by the City of Los Angeles. After annexation, the street numbers changed from 100 Prospect Avenue, at Vermont Avenue, to 6400 Hollywood Boulevard.*^

Historical Notes

In 1890 the Cahuenga Valley RR was sold to E. Hurd and S.E. Mattison who extended the line westward along Prospect Avenue to Laurel Canyon, opening it to residential development. ^^^

In addition to selling his railroad, McLaughlin sold his beautiful mansion on the norhwest corner of Prospect (later Hollywood) and Wilcox to E. C. Hurd.

Historical Notes

In May of 1896 Hurd and Mattsion sold the CVRR to Moses Sherman and Eli Clark, operators of the Los Angeles Pacific electric railway, which was in turn sold to Henry Huntington and became part of the Pacific Electric Railway.

Historical Notes

E. C. Hurd made his fortune from the mines of Colorado and invested it in a prime Hollywood tract. In 1890, he and S.E. Mattison bought the Cahuenga Valley RR from James McLaughlin.

Historical Notes

In 1899 the Hurd home was bought by farmer and banker H.J. Whitley, a director of the State Bank of Owensmouth. Known as the "Father of Hollywood," Whitley Heights is named for him.*

Historical Notes

The following paragraph is taken from an article published in March 1937's Hollywood Magazine, entitled: "Hollywood Is Just a State of Mind."

"As early-day residents or visitors trekked back to homes or inn, they always stopped at the front door, took down the inevitable feather duster that was hanging at the knob, and carefully dusted their shoes before they stepped over the sill! It was an old Hollywood custom - not to say an odd one. But very saving on carpets."

Historical Notes

The Glen-Holly Hotel was constructed in 1895 on Ivar Avenue at Yucca Street and is the 2nd hotel to be built in Hollywood (after the Sackett Hotel, 1888).  It was built by Joakim Berg, a noted artist of the 1890s in the region. At its opening it had 20 rooms and one bath. A horse carriage called a tallyho took guests from downtown LA to the hotel.

The original owner, Mr. Charles M. Pierce, also became the operator of the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad's Balloon Route in 1904, the line opened in September 1901. The hotel was a stop on the line going from downtown Los Angeles to West Los Angeles and the beaches on the west side. The Balloon Route used the hotel as lunch stop.

D. L. Allen later took over management of the Glen-Holly Tavern. He added billiard hall, bowling alley, and livery service.

It became a landmark of the area, though was later demolished. *^

Historical Notes

The farm was started about 1890 and was located on Bagnoli Avenue (named after the family) which ran between Sunset and Carlton. By 1906 the family had returned to Firenze, Italy. The death of two sons in an accident made it impossible to maintain the farm. ++#

Historical Notes

The Pass School was located at today's intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gordon Street. The school was constructed in 1894 and contained three classrooms. ++

Historical Notes

In 1916 this house became the first location of the Hollywood Studio Club, an organization and home designed to provide actresses with safety and security while they pursued their careers in Hollywood.

Historical Notes

Daniel Penman, Scottish stonemason from San Francisco owned twenty-eight acres at Prospect and Highland Avenues, on the south side of the street to La Brea, where he grew strawberries. Penman’s daughter, Mary Moll, lived in a farmhouse next to the strawberry field.  She taught at the Pass School on Sunset Boulevard.  After her husband’s death, she successfully subdivided the property over the next two decades.  She built a commercial block at Hollywood and Highland and the Bonnie Brier housing tract.

Mary Moll was a founder of the Hollywood Business and Professional Woman’s Club.  She demolished her farmhouse (seen above) for a commercial building and built a craftsman-style house for herself farther west where the Roosevelt Hotel now stands (see next photo).^

Historical Notes

According to historian Gregory Paul Williams, author of the ‘The Story of Hollywood’, Mary Penman Moll, Hollywood’s first school teacher, owned a ranch near the corner of Hollywood and Highland next to a strawberry field. A prominent figure in early Hollywood real estate and civic circles, she is credited with petitioning fellow city leaders to change the name of Prospect Avenue to Hollywood Boulevard in 1910—over the fierce objections of her arch-nemesis Daieda Wilcox.*

Historical Notes

Mary Moll demolished her first house on the corner of Highland and Prospect (Hollywood Blvd) for a commercial building. She built her second house further west at 7002 Hollywood Blvd, where the Roosevelt Hotel now stands as seen above.

Mary Moll’s donation of a strip of land through her property made Highland Avenue official.  It was graded, but not paved, in 1901.  Highland was the name of the local blacksmith’s wife, Highland Price, who lived with her husband near Fountain.  As the first person buried in the Hollywood Cemetery when it opened in 1900, Mrs. Highland Price got a street named in her honor.^

Historical Notes

Krotona Hill was named after the Greek school founded by Pythagoras. It was named by the Albert P. Warrington, head of the Theosophical Society settlement, and refers to the 11 acres of land he bought in 1911 west of Beachwood Canyon and north of Franklin Avenue, below where the Hollywood sign stands today, to create an Adyar utopian settlement. In 1924, because of the LA sprawl, the community moved to Ojai, where the Krotona School of Theosophy continues today.

Historical Notes

Beachwood Dr. was named after Hollywood developer Albert H. Beach for whom Beachwood Canyon is also named after.  The Canyon was originally known as Claussen Valley (after pioneer resident Henry Claussen).

Historical Notes

Los Feliz Boulevard was dedicated in 1888. It was named after Rancho Los Feliz, a Spanish land grant issued to Cpl. Jose Vicente Feliz, who led the first non-Indian expedition to what became the Pueblo of Los Angeles. Feliz led 11 families here from Sonora, Mexico, in 1781. Most of Feliz's land was the Silver Lake area and the higher slopes of Griffith Park. Rancho Los Feliz sold in the 1850s for $1 an acre.

Historical Notes

Western Avenue, apart from Sepulveda Boulevard, is one of the longest north–south streets in Los Angeles. The name of the street is derived from its history as the westernmost border of Los Angeles before annexations in the early 20th century expanded the city.

Western Avenue eventually ends north of Franklin Avenue in the Hollywood Hills. It swerves to become an east/west street, Los Feliz Boulevard, a major thoroughfare for Los Feliz.

Historical Notes

During the 19th century, Cahuenga Pass saw significant development. By the 1850s, ox-carts and mule-teams were crossing the hills through the pass, and in 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail Company stage made its first crossing. The 1870s brought the construction of the Pass Hotel, also known as Eight Mile House, which served as a toll station and store.

Historical Notes

Cycling through Cahuenga Pass around 1900 presented several challenges. The road was primarily designed for ox-carts, mule-teams making the terrain rough and uneven for cyclists.

The road through the pass was continually widened to handle increasing traffic. In 1911, the Pacific Electric railway extended its tracks through the pass, and by 1920, traffic jams were common, prompting various improvement plans.

Historical Notes

Horace David Sackett and Ellen Sackett  built the hotel in 1888 at Prospect (Hollywood Boulevard) and Cahuenga, an intersection that became an early Hollywood commercial center.  Their dauther, Mary Sackett, served as the first postmistress of the Hollywood post office located at the hotel.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more on the Sackett Hotel on the S/W corner of Cahuenga and Hollywood Blvd.

Historical Notes

The Wilcoxes owned a 160-acre ranch named Hollywood, from Gower to Hudson and from Franklin to Sunset.

Historical Notes

One of the earliest farming estates was owned by Charles F. Harper, and it dominated the entrance to Laurel Canyon. Harper was a Civil War veteran who immigrated to California and made his fortune in the hardware business.  He owned a hardware store on Spring near Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles.*

Harper retired in 1895 and moved to Hollywood, where he "enjoyed the evening of his days" on his 480-acre estate in Laurel Canyon.

Historical Notes

Harper Avenue in West Hollywood was named after the Harper family.

Historical Notes

The family called the 480-acre estate Cioela Vista but it is generally remembered today as the Harper Ranch.

Charles Harper’s son, Arthur Cyprian Harper, who later inherited Cioela Vista, was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 1906. He was forced to resign in 1909, however, when he was threatened with a recall over corruption charges, including allegations he speculated on sugar and that he spent too much time in brothels.

Historical Notes

Perhaps the most famous Hollywood transplant of the time was Paul de Longpre, a French horticultural painter who arrived in Los Angeles with his family in 1889. After de Longpre discovered his ideal flowers growing in Hollywood, he met Daeida Wilcox, who was so anxious to attract culture that she gave him her homesite, three lots on Cahuenga just north of Prospect (later Hollywood Blvd.), for his estate.

Historical Notes

The mansion and gardens Paul de Longpre built not only drew Hollywood society but served as a lure for new property buyers and tourists. So many visitors came to see “Le Roi des Fleurs” that the P.E. Railway added a trolley spur on Ivar Avenue to deposit them closer to the estate.

Historical Notes

Tours of the house and gardens, along with prints of his floral paintings, supported the de Longpre family until the artist’s death in 1911. After his family returned to France, the house and gardens were demolished for their valuable real estate, and de Longpre’s paintings–romantic still-lifes of roses, orchids and the like–fell permanently out of fashion.

Historical Notes

The home was located on the west side of Cahuenga Blvd. at Hollywood Blvd. on property Longpré obtained from Mrs. Wilcox Beveridge after he moved to Los Angeles in 1889. The residence was a popular tourist destination for several years and was demolished in 1927.

Historical Notes

By 1900, the region had a post office, newspaper, hotel, and two markets along with a population of 500 people. Los Angeles, with a population of 102,479 lay 10 miles 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 was converted into a livery stable, improving transportation for the inhabitants of Hollywood.*^

Historical Notes

The town of Colegrove began as a 500-acre payment for a former U.S. senator's political influence. In the 1870s, the Hancock family needed help confirming its title to the sprawling Rancho La Brea. In return for the legal services -- and political connections -- of Cornelius Cole, a onetime friend of Abraham Lincoln's, the Hancocks deeded over to Cole a 500-acre tract in the rancho's northeastern corner. Cole subdivided the parcel, named the new settlement after his wife (born Olive Colegrove), and relocated his family to a house on the northwest corner of Santa Monica and Gower, even as he remained with his law practice in San Francisco.

Historical Notes

The Cahuenga Valley Railroad consisted of a steam train that would begin its journey to Cahuenga Valley from Diamond (Beverly Boulevard) and Texas (Belmont Avenue). Leaving the city limits, the little train wandered west across open fields eventually finding County Road where it turned north. County Road later became Western Avenue. Next stop, Coleville or Coles Crossing (later, Santa Monica Boulevard). At this point, the Cahuenga Valley line crossed the steam dummy line to Santa Monica. The train continued north to Prospect Avenue (Hollywood Boulevard) where the line turned west. That was called Grand Round. Today we know it as Hollywood and Western. Next stop, Midway (later called Bronson Avenue). The end of the line was at Prospect Avenue (Hollywood) and Wilcox.

Historical Notes

On Oct. 19, 1909, the town's residents voted 84-22 in favor of annexation. Colegrove -- along with other subdivisions in what was known as the Colegrove Addition -- became part of the city of Los Angeles.

The following year, Hollywood joined Colegrove by consolidating with Los Angeles. Unlike Hollywood however, Colegrove soon lost its identity as a separate neighborhood. Prior to annexation, the town had referred to its main road as Colegrove Boulevard. But after annexation, Los Angeles insisted that the street be named Santa Monica Boulevard.

Historical Notes

Colegrove was originally located in central Hollywood but it eventually stretched as east as Hoover Street and as south as 10th Street (today’s Olympic Blvd).

There are several streets now named after the Cole family including:

◆ Barton Avenue -- Barton Jones, grandson of Cornelius Cole.
◆ Cole Avenue, Cole Place — Senator Cornelius Cole
◆ El Centro Avenue — Center of Cole Ranch
◆ Eleanor Street — Eleanor Cole, daughter of Seward Cole
◆ Lodi Place — Lodi, New York; birthplace of Cornelius Cole
◆ Seward Street — Seward Cole, son of Cornelius Cole
◆ Townsend Street — Maiden name of Cornelius Cole’s mother
◆ Vine Street — Through Cornelius Cole’s vineyard
◆ Waring Avenue — Capt. Howard Waring, son-in-law of Cornelius Cole
◆ Willoughby Street — Willoughby Cole, son of Cornelius Cole *

Historical Notes

The above farm is where the Hollywood Frwy crosses Melrose Avenue today. Just to the west and out of view is the location of the McCarthy Ranch. In 1887 E. A. McCarthy named Melrose Avenue after his hometown of Melrose, Mass.

Historical Notes

The description above comes from the LAPL image libarary.  Gregory Paul Williams in his book The Story of Hollywood identifies this as Jacob Muller’s (who had been the local meat delivery man) “Hollywood Cash Grocery,” which was Hollywood’s first meat market. He says it was located a little further East on Sunset between Ivar and Vine and dates this photo 1893.*

Historical Notes

In August, 1903, a petition was submitted to the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors requesting the incorporation of the City of Hollywood. The election for city hood was held on November 14, 1903 with voting lasting until 5:00 PM. After all the ballots were counted, the vote was eighty-eight for incorporation and seventy-seven against. Hollywood became a city with geographic boundaries extending from Normandie on the east, to Fairfax on the west, and from the top of the Santa Monica Mountains on the north to DeLongpre and Fountain avenues on the south.

Historical Notes

The original 40-room Hollywood Hotel was built in 1902 at the NW corner of Hollywood and Highland. Today, this is the site of the Hollywood and Highland Center , the current home of the Academy Awards.*

Historical Notes

The first section of the hotel was built by developer H.J. Whitley eager to sell residential lots among the lemon ranches then lining the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Flanking the west side of Highland Avenue, the small stucco structure fronted on a dusty, unpaved road with pepper trees that would eventually become Hollywood Boulevard. Whitley was instrumental in the completion of the boulevard. Within less than three years he would be compelled to build an additional wing onto this elegant hotel.*^

Historical Notes

Soon after the Hollywood Hotel was opened, an eccentric millionaire spinster from Iowa, Almira Hershey, who was then staying in a hotel at Grand Avenue and 4th Street in Los Angeles, rode out to see the new hotel in Hollywood that was being advertised in the Los Angeles Times. She then became a guest; lured, the legend goes, by the cuisine, particularly the apple pie. She fell in love with the hotel and bought shares, eventually becoming sole owner.*^

Historical Notes

The hotel was so successful that in 1905 a huge addition, which included a new entrance, chapel, ballroom, etc. and 125 guest rooms, was constructed running along Prospect Ave (later Hollywood Blvd.), stretching west to Orchid Avenue. The whole place, including the gardens took up three acres.^^^

Historical Notes

Hollywood Boulevard was named Prospect Avenue from 1887 until 1910, when the town of Hollywood was annexed by the City of Los Angeles. After annexation, the street numbers changed from 100 Prospect Avenue, at Vermont Avenue, to 6400 Hollywood Boulevard.*^

Historical Notes

In 1911, the Bernheimer brothers began construction of the hilltop mansion to house their priceless collection of Asian treasures.  Hundreds of craftsmen were brought from the Orient to recreate the replica of a palace located in the “Yamashiro” province mountains near Kyoto, Japan. The Japanese palace sits 250 feet above Hollywood Boulevard and was completed in 1914.*

Historical Notes

In 2001, the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, which includes the Hollywood and Highland Center, the current home of the Academy Awards, was constructed on the site.*^

Historical Notes

Prospect Avenue was the original name for Hollywood Blvd., and Weyse Avenue was the original name for Vine Street.

Years passed before the intersection acquired its now-familiar name of Hollywood and Vine. Weyse Avenue was the first of the two roads to acquire a new name. After the failure of Weyse's hotel, the road was rebranded as Vine Street, an appellation inspired by the grapevines then growing just north of present-day Santa Monica Boulevard. Prospect Avenue did not become Hollywood Boulevard until the once-independent city of Hollywood consolidated with Los Angeles in 1910. Finally, Hollywood and Vine was on the map. #^^

Historical Notes

The intersection was known as Prospect and Weyse avenues when landowner Daeida Beveridge gave members of the German Methodist Church the southeast corner. Hollywood Memorial Church, with its four-story steeple, became a community landmark, according to historian Gregory Paul Williams' 2005 book, "The Story of Hollywood, an Illustrated History." *#

The Mission Revival style German Methodist Church was demolished in 1923 to make way for a new high-rise building, the 12-story Taft Building.

Historical Notes

A.Z. Taft, Jr. (1889-1941), who purchased the Hollywood Memorial Church for $125,000, tore it down, and commissioned the Taft Building. The church would be rebuilt at 1201 North Vine Street in 1923.*^

Historical Notes

The house itself, known as "The Outpost", was built in 1853 by Don Tornas Urquidez, at what is now 7061 Franklin Street. It was demolished in 1924.^^

Historical Notes

General Harrison Otis purchased the land and adobe, which he later renamed "Outpost," from Don Tómas Urquidez. During the years of Otis' ownership, "The Outpost" was a popular center for social gatherings for the general, his associates, and fellow veterans. This piece of real estate would change hands a number of times before becoming part of the Outpost Estates. In the early 1920s, Otis sold the property to Charles E. Toberman, who went on to develop the residential community of Outpost Estates.*

Historical Notes

In 1903 the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary purchased fifteen-acres in Hollywood on which to develop a school. Two years later on April 24, 1905 a ground-breaking took place for the first campus building (shown here), which included classrooms for high school and elementary school students, boarding facilities, as well as living quarters for the nuns.*

Historical Notes

In 1905, when the school was officially founded, there were a total of 75 students and the curriculum included history, mathematics, Latin, physiology, Greek, French, Spanish, English, chemistry, physics, music, art, and drama.*

Historical Notes

During this period, Western Avenue changed from a rutted wagon road to a major artery, Los Feliz from a cow path to a boulevard, and the surrounding olive and orange groves yielded first to California bungalows, then to apartment structures and business and industrial complexes. The school was originally called Immaculate Heart College, even though it began as a high school. The College portion opened in the following decade.^^

Historical Notes

Arthur Letts, Sr. was born in England. In 1882 he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, and found employment in a large dry goods store. When the Red River Rebellion broke out in the Northwest of Canada, he volunteered. He was awarded a silver medal and clasp for distinguished service, and a grant of land by the Canadian government. In the early 1890s he emigrated to the United States in Seattle, Washington and began retail employment in dry goods. Having little success, he then headed for L.A. in 1895.

At the corner of Fourth and Broadway, then on the far southern edge of the downtown Los Angeles business district, the J. A. Williams & Co. Dry Goods Store had gone bankrupt. With the help of an influential friend, who was impressed with Letts’ knowledge of that type of business, a loan of $5000 was secured from the Los Angeles National Bank, and opened his business on February 24, 1896. He named the department store The Broadway.*^

Historical Notes

Arthur Letts knew real estate was great for investment in fast-growing Los Angeles. And with his significant access to capital, it was just a matter of time before he made one of his most significant purchases. In 1919 heirs to the Wolfskill Ranch (Rancho San Jose de Buenos Aires) were ready to sell, but they wanted cash. The former ranch consisted of over 3,200 acres, with an approximate border of Pico Blvd. on the south, L.A. Country Club on the east, Sunset Blvd. on the north, and I-405 on the west.  Purchased for $2 Million, Arthur turned over development to his son-in-law Harold Janss' company, Janss Investment Co. The area south of Wilshire contained land reserved for movie studios. The townsite of Westwood was laid out, which by 1927 contained 4,000 people.^#^#

He later also developed the westside residential community of Holmby Hills, loosely derived from the name of his birthplace, a small village in England called Holdenby.*^

Click HERE to see more in early views of UCLA and Westwood.

Historical Notes

Arthur Letts was also the 'behind the scenes' financial founder and owner of Bullock's department store, and put John Bullock from his The Broadway to direct this store. After Letts' death, Bullock and a group of investors purchased the store from the estate.*^

Historical Notes

The grounds of Los Feliz district, Hollywood estate Holmby House were formally laid out with wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers, and Letts’ cactus collection was known across the country. It was bound by Franklin Avenue, Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz Boulevard, and Laughlin Park. The gardens were open to the public for tours, with the Pacific Electric Railway stopping at it. It was his wish that the gardens be continued even after his death. Upon his death in May 1923, his wife, at the suggestion of son-in-law Harold Janss of Janss Investment Company (who lived at the back of the property), demolished the gardens and mansion in 1927 to subdivide and develop the land, and moved to a new residence in Holmby Hills. Henry E. Huntington purchased many of the rare specimen cacti for his Huntington Desert Garden at his estate and Huntington Library in San Marino.*^

Historical Notes

In 1909, the estate was a stop on the Points of Interest for Hollywood tour, which also included Paul De Longpre's residence about a mile away. The Herald write-up in their Sunday magazine read: Arthur Letts' Mansion and Grounds - Immense country place. Large sunken gardens. A full acre of every known variety of cacti. Flowers in profusion. The largest coca plumosa drive in Southern California. Grounds open to visitors Thursdays.^#^#

Historical Notes

The Balloon Route Trolley trip was the featured route of the Los Angeles Pacific, opened in September 1901. The line ran from downtown LA through Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Redondo Beach and back to L.A. via Culver City. The lines stopped at beach resorts and included free entrance to some en-route stops attractions along the way, including: Sunset Boulevard, studio of painter Paul de Longpré, bean fields of Morocco in Beverly Hills, Sawtelle Veterans Home and Old Soldiers' Home in Sawtelle, Long Wharf, Camera Obscura at Santa Monica, Playa del Rey Pavilion for a fish dinner, Redondo's Moonstone Beach, Venice, and Palms - Culver City.*^

Historical Notes

The street car departed downtown LA at 9:30 am each day and returned to LA at 5:00 pm for the cost of $1.00. This excursions line was heavily advertised and thus became well known. The first car used was a Parlor car (#400), as the line became popular more cars were added. The owner of Hollywood's first Hotel, the Glen-Holly Hotel, operated the line for the LAP. In 1906 the PE took ownership and operation of the line.*^

Historical Notes

Perhaps the most famous Hollywood transplant of the time was Paul de Longpre, a French horticultural painter who arrived in Los Angeles with his family in 1889. After de Longpre discovered his ideal flowers growing in Hollywood, he met Daeida Wilcox, who was so anxious to attract culture that she gave him her homesite, three lots on Cahuenga just north of Prospect (later Hollywood Blvd.), for his estate.***

Historical Notes

The mansion and gardens Paul de Longpre built not only drew Hollywood society but served as a lure for new property buyers and tourists. So many visitors came to see “Le Roi des Fleurs” that the P.E. Railway added a trolley spur on Ivar Avenue to deposit them closer to the estate.***

Historical Notes

The home was located on the west side of Cahuenga Blvd. at Hollywood Blvd. on property Longpré obtained from Mrs. Wilcox Beveridge after he moved to Los Angeles in 1889. The artist, who was born in Lyons, France, desired the 65-foot-deep lots for an extensive flower garden. The residence was a popular tourist destination for several years and was demolished in 1927.*

Historical Notes

Tours of the house and gardens, along with prints of his floral paintings, supported the de Longpre family until the artist’s death in 1911. After his family returned to France, the house and gardens were demolished for their valuable real estate, and de Longpre’s paintings–romantic still-lifes of roses, orchids and the like–fell permanently out of fashion.***

Historical Notes

If not for De Longpre Avenue, most Hollywooders today would not recognize his name, let alone his art.***

Historical Notes

The home was located on the west side of Cahuenga Blvd. at Hollywood Blvd. on property Longpré obtained from Mrs. Wilcox Beveridge after he moved to Los Angeles in 1889. The residence was a popular tourist destination for several years. The increased property values in rapidly developing Hollywood resulted in demolition of the gardens by 1924, and the house in 1927.*^

Historical Notes

Highland Avenue was named after Highland Price, wife of Walter Price, the area’s blacksmith in the 1880s.+++

Historical Notes

Whitley Heights is a residential neighborhood in the Hollywood district named for Hobart Johnstone "HJ" Whitley, the "Father of Hollywood". Whitley Heights was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

In 1918, HJ Whitley commissioned architect A.S. Barnes to design Whitley Heights as a Mediterranean-style village on the steep hillsides above Hollywood Boulevard, and it became the first celebrity community. The neighborhood is roughly bordered on the north and east by Cahuenga Boulevard, on the west by Highland Avenue, and on the south by Franklin Avenue. It overlooks the tourist district of Hollywood, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater. The neighborhood was bisected and some landmark homes destroyed when U.S. Route 101, a.k.a. the Hollywood Freeway, was built after World War II.

Among Whitley Heights' many famous residents have been Rudolph Valentino, Barbara Stanwyck, W.C. Fields, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, William Powell, Tyrone Power, Ellen Pompeo, Gloria Swanson, Rosalind Russell, Judy Garland, and Marlene Dietrich.*^

Historical Notes

The highest peak in the background is Mt. Hollywood with an elevation of 1,657 feet.

Historical Notes

In September 1903, a two-room school was opened on the second floor of an empty storeroom at the Masonic Temple on Highland Avenue, north of Hollywood Boulevard (then Prospect Avenue). Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in November 1903

Historical Notes

The original school building (above) opened in 1905 and consisted of the consolidated school districts of Hollywood City, Laurel, Coldwater, Lankershim, Los Feliz, Cahuenga, and The Pass.

In 1910, Los Angeles and Hollywood consolidated and the high school was turned over to the L.A. Board of Education.*

Click HERE to see the complete list of Notable alumni.*^

Historical Notes

The large house in the lower-right, southeast corner of Franklin Avenue and Orange Drive, still stands today. Although modified over the years, it now houses the The American Society of Cinematographers.^^^

Historical Notes

Hollywood High School was built on Sunset and Highland Avenue in 1905. In 1910, the school had its name changed to Hollywood Union High School. In 1924, the school changed its name again to Union High School. In 1940, the school had its name changed back to Hollywood High School and it was used for housing and feeding WWII soldiers.^^

Historical Notes

The Hollywood High School campus was established on its current site in 1904. The original Administration / Classroom Building was completed in 1905, and the first major campus expansion campaign concluded in 1913.*^#^

Historical Notes

*Selma Avenue was named after Selma Weid, daughter of Ivar Weid.

Ivar Weid, one of the early pioneers and owner of the Weid Ranch, is given credit by some for coming up with the name “Hollywood”. Ivar Street is named after him.

Historical Notes

The forty-nine acre estate known as the Wattles Estate included a mansion, known as "Jualita," and large formal garden and was developed by Gordon W. Wattles, a wealthy banker and railway company president from Omaha, Nebraska.*

Historical Notes

The home and garden are the work of architects Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey. The property was bounded on the south by Hollywood Blvd. and on the west by Curson Avenue and the east by Sierra Bonita Avenue. The rise of the property from the south to the foothills in the north was 1000 feet.*

Historical Notes

The gardens were later turned over to Hollywood Heritage, Inc., which rented the building for private functions, such as weddings and film shoots.*

Historical Notes

Melrose Avenue was named by ranch owner E. A. McCarthy after his hometown of Melrose, Mass. The McCarthy Ranch occupied most of the area bounded by Western to Wilton and Melrose to Santa Monica Blvd.^*^

Historical Notes

Before 1910, the above area was part of the town of Colegrove.  In 1907 the Los Angeles Pacific Railway reached Colegrove, connecting the town with Los Angeles by electric trolley. As the town's population swelled, its vast lemon groves gave way to houses. But citriculture continued to sustain the town; in 1906, for instance, it was still home to 285 acres of lemon groves, and that year Colegrove Lemon Exchange dispatched some 17.4 million lemons to places like Minneapolis and Omaha in refrigerated railcars.*#^

Historical Notes

At one time the above building was also a Chinese laundry.*

Historical Notes

Here the Sacketts ran the first hotel in the Cahuenga Valley and the second general merchandising establishment within the corporate limits of Hollywood. He also kept a few horses for his clientele and to work the blocks east and south of the store, where he had a garden to sell produce in his store.

Due to competition from the new Hollywood Hotel, built two years earlier at the northwest corner of Prospect and Highland, Sackett closed his hotel in 1905. He sold the property to Henry Gillig, but it remained unoccupied for the next five years except for one store room on the first floor.

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Sackett Hotel.

Historical Notes

In 1910, J.P. Creque, one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood, bought the former Sackett Hotel property for $28,000 from the estate of Henry Gillig, who was now deceased. Creque razed the abandoned hotel and erected a fireproof two-story cream brick structure that cost approximately $30,000. +#

Historical Notes

The Hollywood National Bank leased a portion of the new building; there were three other stores facing on Prospect. The second floor had offices with wide hallways and tile flooring. +#

Historical Notes

In 1934, the Creque Building was enlarged by adding two stories and given its current Art-Deco brick-and-tile redesign. It is now called 'The Hollywood Building'.

Click HERE for a more contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The Babylon set from D.W. Griffith's silent film "Intolerance", was built at the corner of Prospect Ave. & Talmadge St. in Franklin Hills near where Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard meet.

Historical Notes

Source of photo is Ebay with the following comment:

"This photo taken by my Grandmother about 1914 of my father (age 3 or 4) next the the family Ford Touring Car parked on Vermont Ave at Hollywood Blvd in front of his dad's store, viewing north on Vermont toward Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills, Southern California. This and other photos were reprinted by my father in the early 1950s for local newspaper articles on the history of East Hollywood. This image is from one of a few sets of these original gelatin silver images he printed from the original negatives. The photos were taken by my grandparents between 1902 and 1918."

Historical Notes

On October 27, 1911, Nestor Studios, established by David Horseley, opened the first movie studio actually located in the Hollywood area. It was at the Blondeau Tavern building on the northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street.*^

The Nestor Company leased the building for thirty dollars a month, and built the first Hollywood film stage ever on the site. It consisted of a wooden platform measuring twenty by forty feet, with large sheets of muslin hung on cross wires fifteen feet up to diffuse the natural light used for filming.^#

Historical Notes

Carl Laemmle, who formed Universal Pictures, absorbed the Nestor company and others in 1912. Director Al Christie continued to make many films at the expanded studio under the banner "The Christie Comedies" until the early 30s, when the facility became a rented lot.

In 1936, the Nestor / Christie Studios were demolished to build the Columbia Square facility, which served as home of Los Angeles radio station KNX 1070AM, and television station KNXT Channel 2 (later renamed KCBS) until 2007.

Historical Notes

In 2014, Viacom leased most of the space in one of the new office buildings on the site, for the West Coast offices of its cable television networks, including MTV, Comedy Central, BET, TV Land and Spike TV. Columbia Square is now mixed-use residential and office space.

Historical Notes

The Chateau-style residence was built in 1909 by banker, real estate developer and philanthropist, Rollin B. Lane. The house was designed by architects Lyman Farwell and Oliver Dennis and constructed as a near duplicate of the 1897 Kimberly Crest House and Gardens in Redlands, California that the architects had designed over a decade earlier.^

Historical Notes

The Gothic Renaissance chateau (also referred to as “Holly Chateau”) sits in the middle of what is now historic Hollywood and was originally the personal residence of a wealthy banker, Rollin B. Lane.

Historical Notes

Rollin Lane was a very successful lawyer, banker and real estate investor who helped build Hollywood through property development and participation on the historic Hollywood Board of Trade. He also invested heavily in the early development of the nearby San Fernando Valley and in California’s San Joaquin Valley. ^

Historical Notes

Katherine Lane (Rollin's wife) was a college graduate, published author, teacher and lecturer who worked to improve the quality of life in Hollywood through various community service organizations, even serving a term as president of the Woman’s Club of Hollywood. Later, working with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and supported by a small army of volunteers, she promoted the planting of the landmark palm trees that line Wilshire Blvd., as well as hundreds of Japanese cherry trees in and around Griffith Park. ^

Historical Notes

Ownership of the building remained in the Lane family until 1955 when it was sold to Thomas O. Glover, whose family still owns the property.

Historical Notes

The Lanes named their home “Holly Chateau” and for thirty years, it was one of the most recognized addresses in Hollywood and a popular location for the area’s social elite. Hundreds of newspaper articles attest to the elegant and elaborate luncheons, teas and musicales held for artists, orphans, community leaders or world travelers, or to raise funds for one of Katherine’s many civic projects. ^

Historical Notes

The 1914 hilltop estate seen behind and above the Lane Residence was built to house the Bernheimers' priceless collection of Asian treasures. In order to have an authentic Japanese design, hundreds of skilled craftsmen were brought from Asia to recreate an exact replica of a palace located in the Yamashiro mountains near Kyoto, Japan. The original Bernheimer structure included a 10-room teak and cedar mansion, where carved rafters were lacquered in gold and tipped with bronze dragons.

Historical Notes

After the Lanes passed away in the 1940’s, the house was divided into a multi-family home. It then became a home for the elderly and was finally transformed into a maze of small apartments. By 1960, the fate of the building was uncertain. Then Milt Larsen met the owner, Thomas O. Glover.

Milt was a writer on the NBC-TV show Truth or Consequences. His office was on the ninth floor of a Hollywood office building that overlooked the Lane residence. Milt’s late father, William W. Larsen Sr., was a renowned magician and had long dreamed of building an elegant private clubhouse for magicians.

The Lane residence would become that club. In September 1961, Milt, his brother Bill (an accomplished magician, publisher of Genii Magazine and the Academy’s first President), Irene (Bill’s wife) and a crew of friends and volunteers began the task of returning this run-down apartment building to its glorious past. After months of scraping and sanding, the rich Victorian elegance began to resurface.  The Magic Castle opened its doors on January 2, 1963. ^

Historical Notes

The Magic Castle was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 406 in 1989.

Historical Notes

Since 1963, the Magic Castle has been a nightclub for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It bills itself as "the most unusual private club in the world."

Historical Notes

At the turn of the century, after striking it rich in the Nevada silver mines, Dr. Schloesser and his family moved to Hollywood, where the doctor built Glengarry, a copy of his wife's ancestral home in Inverness, Scotland. Soon this castle proved too small for his burgeoning social life and medical practice. So in 1912, he built Schloesser Terrace (Castle Sans Souci) on a three-acre plot across the street (NW corner of Argyle and Franklin avenues).*#

Historical Notes

He was originally called Dr. Alfred Guido Rudolph Schloesser, but during World War I, due to anti-German sentiment, he changed it to Castles, a direct translation from the name Schloesser.

Historical Notes

The Glengarry Castle was demolished in 1959.*

Click HERE for contemporary view of the NE corner of Franklin and Argyle.

Historical Notes

Dr. Castles originally lived in Glengarry Castle (NE corner of Argyle and Franklin). But that 'home' soon proved too small for his burgeoning social life and medical practice. So in 1912, he built Castle Sans Souci on a three-acre plot across the street (NW corner of Argyle and Franklin).

Historical Notes

The Tudor-Gothic style castle contained twenty-three rooms and included a Baronial Hall and a Louis XV drawing room. Two lions made of Carrara marble, 144 years old, adorned the entrance to the castle, and also bear the Schloesser coat of arms.  These lions formerly adorned the entrance to the palace of the last Doge of Venice.*

Historical Notes

He was originally called Dr. Alfred Guido Rudolph Schloesser, but during World War I, due to anti-German sentiment, he changed it to Castles, a direct translation from the name Schloesser.

As an investment, the eccentric Dr. Castles, who always wore a frock coat, heavy makeup and top hat, tore down Sans Souci and built Castle Argyle Arms Apartments in 1928, attracting a new breed of royalty: movie makers. Guests there over the next two decades were to include Clark Gable, Howard Hughes, Ronald Reagan and Cecil B. DeMille.*#

Historical Notes

In 1912 Charles Mann, a realtor, and Richard Shoemaker, an engineer, introduced these trackless trolleys to stimulate land sales in Laurel Canyon. The trolleys operated from Sunset Blvd. to the Tavern at the junction of Laurel Canyon and Lookout Mt. Road.^^

Mann and his partners bought property along Laurel Canyon Boulevard and up in the hills. Some of the first tracts to be developed in the Lookout Mountain bowl were Bungalow Land and Wonderland Park, both of which were moderately priced with narrow lots and a network of interconnecting lanes and foot paths. #^*

Historical Notes

The trolley was actually a large automobile (1912 Oldsmobiles) converted to run on an electric engine connected to overhead wires, which frequently dislodged. It had an approximate 10-passenger capacity. After about 5 years of traveling up and down the treacherous narrow road, the poor old trolley buses fell apart.

The overhead wires came down and the service was replaced by Stanley Steamers about 1915. **^*

Historical Notes

The trolley ran along Laurel Canyon's dirt road and connected Sunset Boulevard to the base of the current Lookout Mountain Avenue where there was a small inn. The Laurel Tavern served lunch to tourists and prospective customers of Mann's Bungalow Land properties. The ride cost 10¢. More adventurous travelers could continue up Lookout Mountain Avenue for a breathtaking view of Hollywood from the area around the current Appian Way.#*

Historical Notes

By 1913, Mann began operating what was billed as the nation’s first trackless trolley, to ferry tourists and prospective buyers from Sunset Boulevard up to what would become the corner of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Lookout Mountain Avenue. Mann built a massive tavern/roadhouse on that very same corner. Dubbed the Laurel Tavern, the structure boasted a 2,000+ square-foot formal dining room, guest rooms, and a bowling alley on the basement level. The Laurel Tavern, would later be acquired by Tom Mix, after which it would be known as the Log Cabin.*#*#

Historical Notes

In 1910, Charles Mann and his partners built a narrow road leading up to the crest of Lookout Mountain.  Upon that crest they constructed a lavish 24-room inn with sweeping views of the city below and the Pacific Ocean beyond. The Lookout Inn featured a large ballroom, riding stables, tennis courts and a golf course, among other amenities.

Historical Notes

After completing Laurel Tavern and Lookout Inn, two rather unusual structures anchoring an otherwise undeveloped canyon,  Mann set about marketing the canyon as a vacation and leisure destination. The land that he carved up into subdivisions with names like “Bungalow Land” and “Wonderland Park” was presented as the ideal location to build vacation homes. But the new inn and roadhouse, and the new parcels of land for sale, definitely weren’t for everyone. The roadhouse was essentially a country club. Bungalow Land was openly advertised as “a high class restricted park for desirable people only.”^

Historical Notes

Wide verandas on three sides of the main structure offered 270-degree views of the lowlands below and the ocean beyond. Guests, paid $15 per week for room and board.

Charles Mann, the original developer of Laurel Canyon, is not the same Charles Mann who founded the real estate office at Kirkwood and Laurel Canyon Blvd, and there is no relation. Just a coincidence of history.

Historical Notes

The Lookout Mountain Inn met a fiery end on October 26, 1918, after only eight years of business. A brush fire reportedly started by a group of boys cooking sausages in the foothills raced up the canyons and reduced the wooden structure to charcoal. It was never rebuilt. Today, a six-bedroom, 9,300-square-foot house occupies the site, its once-famous views hidden behind security gates and privacy walls.*

Historical Notes

After being taken over by L.A.F.D. it was designated Hose Co #7.  The old building had originally been a church.  When Eng. Co #27 was established in 1912, Hose Co #7 was abandoned.

At the time of Annexation it was necessary to retain the former Hollywood Fire Chief (Joe Shill) to drive, as there was no one else at that time who could drive an automobile.^#*

Historical Notes

The vehicle above is a 1908 Tourist hose wagon built in Los Angeles.  Later assigned shop number 35, this was the first LAFD motorized apparatus.^#* 

Historical Notes

The Cahuenga Branch Library was built with a $35,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. Constructed in 1916, it was intended to serve a community of workers in the then nearby orange and avocado groves and wheat fields.*

Historical Notes

The Italian Renaissance style building was designed by architect Clarence H. Russell (1874-1942), who also was associated with Norman F. Marsh in the building of Venice and its canals.

The floor plan of the library was known as the “butterfly” type, containing two reading rooms, one on each side of a central entrance, desk, and stack room. The building contained 8,474 square feet of floor space on two floors. Besides the children’s and adult reading rooms, there were an auditorium, a room for children’s story hours, a staff room, and even an open air reading room.*

Historical Notes

The 1916-built Cahuenga Branch is the third oldest branch library in the Los Angeles Public Library system. It is one of three surviving Carnegie libraries in Los Angeles, the other two being the Vermont Square Branch and the Lincoln Heights Branch.

In 1986, the Cahuenga Branch Library was designated as LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 314. It is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Click HERE to see the complete list of LA Historical Cultural Monuments.

Historical Notes

In 1916, Adolph Zukor maneuvered a three-way merger of his Famous Players, the Lasky Company, and Paramount. The new company Lasky and Zukor founded, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, grew quickly, with Lasky and his partners Goldwyn and DeMille running the production side, Hiram Abrams in charge of distribution, and Zukor making great plans. Famous Players-Lasky and its "Paramount Pictures" soon dominated the business.*^

Historical Notes

Zukor signed and developed many of the leading early stars, including Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid. With so many important players, Paramount was able to introduce "block booking", which meant that an exhibitor who wanted a particular star's films had to buy a year's worth of other Paramount productions. It was this system that gave Paramount a leading position in the 1920s and 1930s, but which led the government to pursue it on antitrust grounds for more than twenty years.*^

Click HERE to see more Early Views of Paramount.

Historical Notes

 In 1911, Albert Beach paved the way to the Hollywood Hills and named "Beachwood Drive" after himself.

On May 16, 1916, Hollywood participated in the world celebration of William Shakespeare's 300th birthday. A star-studded performance of "Julius Caesar" was mounted in the huge outdoor natural amphitheater at the top of Beachwood Drive (where the Beachwood Market and Village is now). #***

Historical Notes

The former Hollywood Theatre was opened on December 20, 1913 as a silent movie palace in the rapidly emerging Hollywood Theater district. It was designed in a Romanesque style, by architects Kremple & Erkes. The facade had glazed brick. The lobby was in marble tile and the auditorium was decorated with Corinthian columns and a coffered ceiling. In September 1923, a Wurlitzer organ, Opus 697 was installed.^

Historical Notes

Opened in 1913, this was Hollywood's second theatre and had an initial admission price of 10 cents. The facade was of white glazed brick with marble tile in the lobby. The auditorium featured Corinthian columns and a coffered ceiling. The owner of the project was H.L. Lewis. The Idle Hour had been the first theatre to open in Hollywood, in late 1910 or early 1911.

Historical Notes

Idle Wives is a 1916 American silent drama film co-directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. The film was released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Surviving reels of the film are preserved at the Library of Congress. The film was released on DVD/Blu-ray in 2018.*^

Historical Notes

In 1936 the Hollywood Theatre got a renovation and redesign by S. Charles Lee where the original white brick façade was replaced with a deco version (see next photo).

Note the beautiful two-lamp ornate streetlight in front of the theater.  These were, and still are, called ‘Metropolitan’ streetlights.  They were developed especially for Hollywood, but ultimately found their way onto the "best" streets of surrounding communities.  The ‘Metropolitan’ is still quite common in Hollywood almost a century after they first appeared (Click HERE to see more).

Historical Notes

Designed originally in 1913 by architects Kremple and Erkes, the theater got a remodel in 1927 by Clifford Balch.  Another renovation and redesign by S. Charles Lee occurred in 1936 where the original white brick façade was replaced with a deco version. The signage currently on the building is from that remodel.  A final remodel took place in 1977.  In the early 1990s, the theatre became a venue for the Guinness Book of World Records.

Historical Notes

The Iris Theatre opened in 1918, as the second theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.  It was built by P. Tabor who employed architect Frank Meline, to design a Romanesque style theatre, with a brick façade.^*#

The distinction of being the first movie theater in Hollywood goes to the Idyl Hour Theater. Located at 6525 Hollywood Boulevard, it was established in either late 1910 or early 1911. During its first year the theater was little more than a converted store with chairs, a projector and a screen. The Idyl Hour Theater, whose name changed to the Iris Theater in 1913, moved to 6415 Hollywood Blvd. in 1914, and to a new 1000-seat theater at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. in 1918.*#*

Historical Notes

The Iris theatre was redesigned by architect S. Charles Lee in July 1934 and was given an Art Deco style.  Fox Theater took over in 1965, and they remodeled the Streamline Moderne facade in 1969 into what we still see today.

Historical Notes

In 1917, a neighborhood survey was taken. The population was mostly white and blue-collar Anglo; of 2,017 families surveyed only 58 were immigrants or non-white (Black and Japanese). The area was residential, with single family homes predominating. Commercial activities were limited to small neighborhood business. However, the growing movie industry was present; the Fine Art Studios where, among other films, Intolerance was made, occupied the site of the present Safeway Market at Virgil and Sunset; Kalem Co. and Mabel Normand Studios were on Hyperion near Fountain, and the William Fox Studios on Sunset and Western Avenue.*

Historical Notes

Sam Seelig Company was founded in April 1912 by Sam Seelig, who had come to California from Arizona in 1911. Seelig opened a single grocery store in Los Angeles at the corner of Pico and Figueroa streets. The chain had grown to 71 stores by 1922. After World War I, the firm became deeply indebted to its main grocery wholesaler, a firm owned by W.R.H. Weldon. In a swap of stock for debt, Weldon assumed control of the chain, leaving Seelig in charge of retail operations. Seelig then left the company in 1924 to enter the real estate business, forming Sam Seelig Realty.

As a result of Seelig's departure, the company held a contest in 1925 to develop a new name, the result of which was Safeway. The original slogan was "an admonition and an invitation" to "Drive the Safeway; Buy the Safeway.” The point of the name was that the grocery operated on a cash-and-carry basis; it did not offer credit, as had been traditional for grocers. It was the "safe way" to buy because a family could not get into debt via its grocery bill (as many families did, especially during the Great Depression). By 1926, Safeway Stores had 322 stores centered in Southern California.*^

Historical Notes

Coming from Greece, Alex Williams arrived in Hollywood in 1915; the same year, D.W. Griffith turned movies into motion pictures with The Birth of a Nation. Griffith made his movie at Triangle Studios at Sunset and Virgil. Alex Williams set up business with two brothers-in-law named Linardos at Sunset and Gordon, next to the Poverty Row studios. It wasn’t the movies, but The Linardos Brothers Market sold groceries to them along with anyone else in the neighborhood.^^#

Historical Notes

The school with a student body of 2500 was three blocks from Charlie Chaplin's studio and six blocks from Mary Pickford's and Douglas Fairbanks' studios. The homes bordering the upper side of the campus were just condemned by the city to make room for additional buildings. The original 1905 building is on the bottom right, the Household & Fine Arts building is in the middle of the quadrangle, and the gymnasium is top, center.*

Historical Notes

The above photo is a still from a 1919 silent short called “Waiting at the Church”.

Historical Notes

The above farm is where the Hollywood Frwy crosses Melrose Avenue today. Just to the west and out of view is the location of the McCarthy Ranch. In 1887 E. A. McCarthy named Melrose Avenue after his hometown of Melrose, Mass.

Historical Notes

In 1896 Griffith J. Griffith donated over 3000 acres of Rancho Los Felis to the City of Los Angeles to create a public park in his name. Mount Hollywood, the highest peak of the park, rises to an elevation of 1640 feet. Griffith Park was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument  No. 942 in 2009 (Click HERE to see complete listing).*

Historical Notes

Howard Hughes acquired the Cahuenga Peak and surrounding acreage in the 1940 with plans to build a house for his love interest, actress Ginger Rogers. Rogers broke up their engagement, so the area was left undeveloped.

In 2002, a group of Chicago-area investors named Fox River Financial Resources purchased the 138 acres parcel along the ridge including Cahuenga Peak from the Hughes Estate for $1,675,000 according to Los Angeles County property records. The investors considered constructing five luxury estates on the property.

Los Angeles city officials said City Hall had received hundreds of letters pleading for the peak's protection, which prompted a campaign by city leaders and conservationists to raise $6,000,000 which they thought would be sufficient to buy Cahuenga Peak and turn it into an extension of nearby Griffith Park.

On February 13, 2008, Chicago investment firm Fox River Financial Resources released plans to sell the property for $22 million. That same month, The Trust for Public Land launched the Save Cahuenga Peak campaign to purchase the land from the investment firm for $12.5 million. As part of the campaign they draped the Hollywood Sign so that it read "SAVE THE PEAK". On April 26 it was announced that the campaign was successful. Though funds came from many sources, including $1.7 million in public money, it was the final hour donations of $500,000 from The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation and Aileen Getty and $900,000 from Hugh Hefner that enabled the purchase. In July 2010, 100 acres around Cahuenga Peak was officially added to Griffith Park.*^

Please Support Our Cause

Water and Power Associates, Inc. is a non-profit, public service organization dedicated to preserving historical records and photos. 

Your generosity allows us to continue to disseminate knowledge of the rich and diverse multicultural history of the greater Los Angeles area; to serve as a resource of historical information; and to assist in the preservation of the city's historic records.