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

Historical Notes

Real estate developers Woodruff and Shoults called their development "Hollywoodland" and advertised it as a "superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills". They contracted the Crescent Sign Company to erect thirteen letters on the hillside, each facing south. Each letter of the sign was 30 feet wide and 50 feet high, and the whole sign was studded with some 4,000 light bulbs. The sign would flash in segments; "HOLLY," "WOOD," and "LAND" would light up individually, before lighting up entirely. Below the Hollywoodland Sign was a searchlight to attract more attention.

Historical Notes

The sign was officially dedicated on July 13, 1923. It was not intended to be permanent. Restoration company Bay Cal Painting says on its website that the expected life was to be about a year and a half, but after the rise of the American cinema in Los Angeles during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the sign became an internationally recognized symbol, and was left there. Some Hollywood history enthusiasts hope to someday see the sign reverted to its original state.

Historical Notes

Ironically, the real estate venture initially failed but they never got around to taking the sign down and it ended up becoming one of the most iconic signs in history.

Historical Notes

THE WHITE DOT - Contrary to what has been written before, the white dot, located below the Hollywoodland sign was not installed as an “eye catcher.”  How that story got started is anyone’s guess.  But it’s absurd!  Why would an eye catcher be installed when there is a 543 foot long, 45 foot high white sign just above the dot?  The real story is a bit more complicated.

In 1920-21, the US Chamber of Commerce produced maps illustrating business conditions in areas of the country. Those shaded black were poor, white with black stripes (grey) were fair and white was good.  Los Angeles was a “white spot” in a sea of black and grey on the map in the early 1920s. Los Angeles Times publisher, Harry Chandler adopted the catchprase, “White Spot Of America” as being a city free of crime, corruption and communism. Chandler, who was vehemently anti-union, was an influential proponent of developing a strong economic base in Los Angeles.  It wasn’t long before the phrase  “keep the white spot white” was being commonly used. The term “white spot” typically referred to LA”s relative prosperity and low unemployment, and was not intended to have racial overtones.  So, for Los Angeles, the term, “keep the white spot white” meant keep L.A. prosperous.

In late 1924, in order to demonstrate support for the “keep the white spot white”, campaign, Hollywoodland  erected a 35 foot diameter “white dot” on the hillside, several feet below the Hollywoodland sign. The cost to erect the dot was $936.16. Contrary to popular belief, the white dot was not illuminated.

Historical Notes

In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce began a contract with the City of Los Angeles Parks Department to repair and rebuild the sign. The contract stipulated that "LAND" be removed to spell "Hollywood" and reflect the district, not the "Hollywoodland" housing development. The Parks Department dictated that all subsequent illumination would be at the Chamber's expense, so the Chamber opted not to replace the lightbulbs.^

Historical Notes

Albert Beach paved the way to the Hollywood Hills in 1911 and named Beachwood Drive after himself. Beach owned and developed much of the area in and around Beachwood Canyon in such tracts as Kentland Square and Beachwood Park.

Historical Notes

THE WHITE DOT - Contrary to what has been written before, the white dot, located below the Hollywoodland sign was not installed as an “eye catcher.”  How that story got started is anyone’s guess.  But it’s absurd!  Why would an eye catcher be installed when there is a 543 foot long, 45 foot high white sign just above the dot?  The real story is a bit more complicated.

In 1920-21, the US Chamber of Commerce produced maps illustrating business conditions in areas of the country. Those shaded black were poor, white with black stripes (grey) were fair and white was good.  Los Angeles was a “white spot” in a sea of black and grey on the map in the early 1920s. Los Angeles Times publisher, Harry Chandler adopted the catchprase, “White Spot Of America” as being a city free of crime, corruption and communism. Chandler, who was vehemently anti-union, was an influential proponent of developing a strong economic base in Los Angeles.  It wasn’t long before the phrase  “keep the white spot white” was being commonly used. The term “white spot” typically referred to LA”s relative prosperity and low unemployment, and was not intended to have racial overtones.  So, for Los Angeles, the term, “keep the white spot white” meant keep L.A. prosperous.

In late 1924, in order to demonstrate support for the “keep the white spot white”, campaign, Hollywoodland  erected a 35 foot diameter “white dot” on the hillside, several feet below the Hollywoodland sign. The cost to erect the dot was $936.16. Contrary to popular belief, the white dot was not illuminated.*

Historical Notes

This Norman Revival castle was constructed in 1928 by Hollywoodland art director and developer, L. Milton Wolf. The guesthouse was designed by architect John Lautner.

Historical Notes

According to Wolf’s grandson, Efram Zimbalist, Jr. briefly lived there in the 1970s. So did actress Shelley Duvall and her boyfriend, Patrick Reynolds. The mansion also became a filming location for Return from Witch Mountain (1978), starring Bette Davis and Christopher Lee.^

Historical Notes

Around 1981, real estate broker Bob Crane bought the castle.  In 1996, Wolf’s Lair would be sold to Disney executive Phillip Barlow.

The castle would change hands several more times over the next decade.  In 2001, Barlow sold the property to Oprah producer Debra DiMaio.  A year later, DiMaio sold it to Lionsgate Entertainment executive Jay Faires and his wife, Debbie Matenopoulos, former co-host of “The View.” In 2008, Faires and Matenopoulos tried selling their castle for $7.5 million. However, they couldn’t find a buyer willing to pay that price.

In 2010, NYC techno music composer and musician Moby bought the castle for $3,925,000. He then spent an additional $2 million restoring it back to its 1920s roots. Moby would go on to sell Wolf Lair Castle in 2014 for $12.4 million.^^

Historical Notes

The Spanish colonial style castle called Castillo del Lago was built by oil baron Patrick Longden in Beachwood Canyon in 1926.  It was designed by Architect John DeLario, the primary architect of the original Hollywoodland tract.

Historical Notes

At various times in its history, Castillo del Lago has been vacant, a white elephant during the Depression and beyond. Older adults who grew up in Beachwood tell stories of using it as a neighborhood clubhouse, entering through unlocked doors to play in the tower and on the stairs. *

Historical Notes

In the late 1930’s, a newcomer to Beachwood leased the house: Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the gangster best known for spearheading the post-war casino boom in Las Vegas. Though he later took up residence in Beverly Hills, Siegel apparently lived in Castillo del Lago for a time while running it as an illegal casino. (It was not a speakeasy, as many people have claimed, as Prohibition was repealed in 1933.)*

Castillo del Lago would later go through a succession of owners, most famous being "Material Girl" Madonna 1993 - 1997). Click HERE to see more early views and history of Castillo del Lago.

Historical Notes

Built in 1923 by Harry Chandler as a billboard for his Hollywoodland real estate development, the Hollywood Sign located on the top of Mount Lee was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument  No. 111 in 1973 (Click HERE to see complete listing).*

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

When the Hollywood Athletic Club was first built in 1924, Hollywood was entering its greatest and most productive period. The building was the tallest building in Hollywood and loomed above Sunset Boulevard. Membership was originally $150 for initiation fees and $10 for monthly dues.

During its early years as a health club, its membership included Johnny Weissmuller, Errol Flynn, Charlie Chaplin, John Wayne, Walt Disney, John Ford, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mary Pickford, Cecil B de Mille, Cornel Wilde, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Frances X. Bushman, Howard Hughes, Joan Crawford and Rudolph Valentino, Mae West, Walt Disney, and Buster Crabbe.*^

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Athletic Club was built in 1924 by Meyer & Holler, the same architectural firm that built the Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre. At the time is was the tallest building in Hollywood. The building at 6525 Sunset Blvd has been known as the Hollywood Athletic Club, University of Judaism, Berwin Entertainment Complex, and Hollywood Landmark.*^

Historical Notes

The Vitagraph Company was one of the biggest motion picture studios in the early era of American film. Originally founded in Brooklyn, NY in 1897, they established another studio on 2nd Street in Santa Monica in 1911 (Click HERE to see more). That studio only lasted there until 1915 because the persistent fog made filming so difficult that they moved to 4151 Prospect Avenue in Hollywood (seen above).*

The original silent film plant included two daylight film stages, support buildings and many exterior film sets. In 1925, Vitagraph's founder Albert Smith sold the company to the Warner brothers. In 1927, the facility became The Warner East Hollywood Annex and was used for many large-scale films. Here, in 1927, Warner Bros. shot portions of the historical first sound film, The Jazz Singer, using the Vitaphone process which synchronized audio and picture.

In 1948, the property was sold to the newly formed American Broadcasting Company, and the film lot was transitioned into the new world of television as the ABC Television Center.

In 1996, ABC became part of The Walt Disney Company, the origins of which trace back to its first studio in Silver Lake. As the television and film industry entered the next millennium, the lot was renamed The Prospect Studios.*^

Historical Notes

Metro Pictures Corporation was founded in early 1915, with Richard A. Rowland as president, and Louis B. Mayer as secretary. Mayer left to form his own production unit in 1918.

Metro's biggest stars during the World War I period were the romantic teams of Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne and Harold Lockwood and May Allison. Also in top echelons of importance was popular actress Viola Dana.*^

Historical Notes

In 1920, the company was purchased by Marcus Loew as a supplier of product for his theater chain. A few years later in 1924, Loew merged it with his recently acquired Goldwyn Pictures, then renamed the new entity Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925 with Mayer in charge.

Although the Metro film library and stars were merged into MGM in 1924, Rowland's Los Angeles film studio continued a life of its own. It was known simply as Motion Picture Studios through the 1940s, General Service Studios, and Desilu Studios through the 1950s and 1960s. It became Ren-Mar Studios in 1974. In January 2010, Ren-Mar Studios was bought by Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. The complex was renamed "Red Studios – Hollywood" It is located on Cahuenga Blvd. north of Melrose Avenue in Hollywood (directly behind the Musicians AFM Local 47 on Vine Street).*^

Historical Notes

The University of California, Los Angeles (also known as UCLA) evolved from the Los Angeles branch of the California State Normal School (founded in 1888). In 1919 the school obtained university status and became the Southern Branch of the University of California, located at 855 N. Vermont Avenue.

Historical Notes

On May 31, 1929 the University of California, Los Angeles opened its new campus in Westwood.  Shortly thereafter, on September 9, 1929, Los Angeles Junior College was established on the Vermont Avenue campus.

Historical Notes

Today, a Sam Ash Music Store is located at the corner of Sunset and Vista and The Guitar Center is where the Granada Theatre used to be. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Built in 1921, Architects Meyer & Holler designed the theatre in a fanciful Spanish style befitting its original name, the Granada. In 1929 it was known as the West Coast Hollywood Theater.  By 1932 it was the Oriental.^^*

Historical Notes

The Oriental Theater closed in 1985 and has been converted into the Guitar Center, with the building now altered. Clcik HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The site of the Hollywood Bowl was chosen in 1919 by William Reed and his son H. Ellis Reed, members of the newly formed Theatre Arts Alliance who were dispatched to find a suitable location for outdoor performances.*^

Historical Notes

The Pilgrimage Amphitheatre was built in 1920. The author, Christine Wetherill Stevenson, believed the rugged beauty of the Cahuenga Pass would provide a dramatic outdoor setting for The Pilgrimage Play. Together with Mrs. Chauncey D. Clark, she purchased this land along with that on which the Hollywood Bowl now sits. A wooden, outdoor amphitheater was built on this site and the play was performed by noted actors every summer from 1920 to 1929, until the original structure was destroyed by a brush fire in October 1929.

In 1976, the Pilgrimage Theatre was renamed the John Anson Ford Theatre in honor of the late L.A. County Supervisor's significant support of the arts.*^

Historical Notes

On July 11, 1922, with the audience seated on simple wooden benches placed on the natural hillsides of Bolton Canyon, conductor Alfred Hertz and the Los Angeles Philharmonic inaugurated the first season of music under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl. While much has changed in the ensuing years, the tradition of presenting the world's greatest musicians and striving for musical excellence has remained a constant goal of this famed Los Angeles cultural landmark.*^

Historical Notes

At first, the Bowl was very close to its natural state, with only makeshift wooden benches for the audience, and eventually a simple awning over the stage. In 1926, a group known as the Allied Architects was contracted to re-grade the Bowl, providing permanent seating and a shell. These improvements did provide increased capacity (the all-time record for attendance was set in 1936, when 26,410 people crowded into the Bowl to hear opera singer Lily Pons), but were otherwise disappointing, as the re-grading noticeably degraded the natural acoustics, and the original shell was deemed acoustically unsatisfactory (as well as visually unfashionable, with its murals of sailing ships).

For the 1927 season, Lloyd Wright built a pyramidal shell, with a vaguely Southwestern look, out of left-over lumber from a production of Robin Hood. This was generally regarded as the best shell the Bowl ever had from an acoustic standpoint; unfortunately, its appearance was deemed too avant-garde, and it was demolished at the end of the season. It did, however, get Wright a second chance, this time with the stipulation that the shell was to have an arch shape.*^

Historical Notes

Until August 3, 1887, the NE corner of Hollywood and Chahuenga was a fig and apricot orchard. As late as 1912 Paul de Longpre's flower garden was on one corner and tennis courts were where the bank stands.^^

Historical Notes

Also known as Security Pacific Bank, this Italian Romanesque / Beaux Arts block of a building was the pioneer of Hollywood’s “skyscrapers.” Built in 1921 by the famous father son duo John and Donald Parkinson (notable for the Title Guarantee Building, LA Memorial Coliseum, LA City Hall, LA Union Station), the Security Trust & Savings building was the tallest building in Hollywood at the time of its grand opening in 1922. As was fitting for the unveiling of such a landmark, the opening was attended by thousands of Los Angeles bigwigs and was complete with a live orchestra, performance artists, and tours of the bank and its vaults.

Originally founded at Main Street in downtown Los Angeles as the Security Savings Bank by Joseph F. Sartori in 1888, the institution soon changed its name to Security Trust and Savings Bank. As the city and surrounding areas exploded with new residents, the bank quickly built new branches, extending tentacles all over Southern California.

The outlying area of Hollywood mushroomed in size from a tiny farming village in 1900 to a more fashionable suburban town in 1920, with new film studios seeming to open virtually every day. Security’s small branch at Hollywood and Cahuenga overflowed with customers, and the bank decided to build a fashionable, larger building across the street at 6381 Hollywood Blvd. that would allow it to grow over the years.*

Historical Notes

Almost as soon as it opened, the building and its surrounding area became a favorite filming location for comedians Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin. Film Historian John Bengtson notes that the area featured frequent filmmaking because of its close proximity to each comedian’s studio.*

Historical Notes

Allegedly this bank branch was where Howard Hughes stored his prized jewels, Cecil B DeMille sought film financing, and Charlie Chaplin and the Three Stooges did their regular banking. These days, the intersection of Hollywood and Cahuenga, where the former bank stands, has been dubbed “Raymond Chandler square,” in homage to the iconic LA crime novelist whose legendary private detective protagonist Philip Marlowe was purported to have held his fictional office in the Security Trust & Savings building.^

Historical Notes

Over the later decades of the 20th century, as Hollywood largely slid into disrepair, the building suffered some dark years, hosting more transients than actual tenants. The building remains boarded up on the first floor, but is home to a collection of random office tenants on the floors above.^

In 1983, the Security Trust and Savings building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historical Notes

In October 1917, Charlie Chaplin announced plans to build his own motion picture studio at the southeast corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard.  The location was at that time a residential neighborhood, and Chaplin's application for a building permit was opposed by area residents, some of whom complained that it was too near the Hollywood High School. However, the City Council voted 8–1 to approve Chaplin's permit.

Chaplin purchased the site from R.S. McClellan, who lived on the site and had a large grove of old orange trees on the property. The lot had 300 feet of frontage on Sunset and 600 feet on La Brea, extending south to De Longpre. Chaplin announced he would make his home on the northern part of the property, and build his own motion picture plant on the south part of the property, cornering at La Brea and De Longpre. Chaplin's plans for six English-style buildings, "arranged as to give the effect of a picturesque English village street," were published in the Los Angeles Times in October 1917.  The plans were prepared by the Milwaukee Building Company (Meyer & Holler), and the total investment was estimated to be approximately $100,000. The layout of the buildings was described by the Los Angeles Times in 2002 as a "fairy-tale cottage complex."Another writer has described the style as "eccentric Peter Pan architecture." *^

Historical Notes

The above photo came from a local newspaper article with subtitle that read: ‘The picture studios do not drive the residences away. The buildings on the right hand side of this street constitute Charlie Chaplain’s Studio.’

Historical Notes

The early photo came from a local newspaper article with subtitle that read: ‘The picture studios do not drive the residences away. The buildings on the right hand side of this street constitute Charlie Chaplain’s Studio.’

Historical Notes

Many of Chaplin's classic films were shot at the studios, including The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), The Great Dictator (1940), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), and Limelight (1952).

Historical Notes

Due to the growth Los Angeles was experiencing in 1929, it was deemed that La Brea Ave needed to be widened. And so the buildings on the east side of the street were picked up and moved back 15 feet.

Historical Notes

Chaplin sold the studio in 1953 to some television producers, the "New Adventures of Superman," was shot there. Then it was purchased by Red Skelton, and he used it for his show, "The Red Skelton Hour," one thing Skelton did, was to remove the cement with Chaplin's hand and foot prints in it from 1918, and he moved it to his home in Palm Springs. Skelton sold the studio to CBS and from 1962-1966 it was called the Perry Mason Studios, where the show was shot. It later became the headquarters for A&M Records and The Jim Henson Company.

Historical Notes

In 1966, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss purchased the studio from CBS to serve as a headquarters for A&M Records. A&M Records had grown from $500,000 in revenues in 1964 to $30 million in 1967. Alpert and Moss reportedly "astonished the big network by having their bank deliver a cashier's check for more than $1 million, the full amount. A&M converted two of the old soundstages and Chaplin's swimming pool into a recording studio.

The elderly Chaplin briefly revisited his former studio in 1972, when he made his only return trip to America to accept an honorary Academy Award. A&M had hoped to welcome him back with a ceremony, but instead he chose to avoid the attention and arranged to drive by the studio gates on a weekend.*

Historical Notes

In February 2000, Jim Henson's children purchased the studio for $12.5 million to serve as the new home of The Jim Henson Company. Henson's daughter, Lisa Henson, said, "The buildings are a lovable hodge-podge of quirky, unusual spaces. There are unexpected elements in some of the offices like original vaults and fish tank-like bathrooms. It's not your typical corporate space, but it's ideal for the Muppets." At a ceremony in June 2000, the Henson Company unveiled a 12-foot  color statue of Kermit the Frog, dressed as Chaplin's character The Tramp, above the studio's main gate.

Historical Notes

In 1969, the former Charlie Chaplin Studio was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 58 (Click HERE to see complete listing).

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

After their invention in the 1860s, typewriters quickly became indispensable tools for practically all writing other than personal correspondence. They were widely used by professional writers, in offices, and for business correspondence in private homes. By the end of the 1980s, word processors and personal computers had largely displaced typewriters in most of these uses in the Western world, but as of the 2010s the typewriter is still prominent in many parts of the world, including India.*^

Historical Notes

The Auditorium was originally constructed in 1924. It was formally dedicated at commencement exercises on June 25, 1924 and named the Memorial Auditorium to honor the Hollywood High School graduates who died in World War I. The Auditorium is the second of only two buildings on campus that survived the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. The original building was a Beaux Arts design that included a flat roof, masonry walls, and a symmetrical façade.*^#^

Historical Notes

In 1956 the original Beaux Arts façade was altered to be Mid-Century Modern in style. The façade was refinished in concrete and gunnite.

In 2002 artist Elroy Torrez painted the mural "Portrait of Hollywood" on the east-facing (primary) façade that features prominent graduates throughout Hollywood High School’s history. In 2008, to commemorate the 2003 death of John Ritter, a fifty-foot portrait of the actor was added to the mural on the north façade.*^#^

Historical Notes

In 1921, the Hollywood lodge of the Masons relocated from their existing lodge on the current site of the Kodak Theatre. The construction of the new three-story building was led by lodge master, Charles E. Toberman, who was responsible for the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Roosevelt Hotel and the Max Factor Building.

Historical Notes

When the new temple opened, it was one of the most substantial structures in Hollywood. It had a billiard room, pipe organ, ladies parlor, ballroom and lodge rooms. One writer described the building as "unsurpassed for beauty, attractiveness and richness of equipment. The architect, John C. Austin also worked on the Shrine Auditorium, Griffith Observatory and Los Angeles City Hall.

In 1984, the Hollywood Masonic Temple was dedicated LA HIstoric-Cultural Monument No. 277 (Click HERE to see complete listing). The building, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

During the final decade years of the nineteenth century, the first large land development in what would later become West Hollywood—the town of "Sherman"—was established by Moses Sherman and his partners of the Los Angeles and Pacific Railway, an interurban railroad line which later became part of the Pacific Electric Railway system. Sherman became the location of the railroad's main shops, railroad yards, and "car barns". Many working-class employees of the railroad settled in this town. It was during this time that the city began to earn its reputation as a loosely regulated, liquor-friendly (during Prohibition) place for eccentric people wary of government interference.*

Historical Notes

Despite several annexation attempts, the town elected not to become part of the City of Los Angeles.  In a controversial decision, in 1925 Sherman adopted "West Hollywood", "...a moniker pioneered earlier in the decade by the West Hollywood Realty Board" as its informal name, though it remained under the governance of Los Angeles County.

Historical Notes

Crescent Heights was a pastoral 160-acre tract opened by Charles E. Norton and William H. Hay in 1905 on former Hay family property. At that time, nearby Fairfax Avenue was known as Crescent Avenue, making it fitting for this uphill tract to be called "Crescent Heights." The central road originally ran only between Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards and temporarily borrowed Sunset’s name until 1913, when it officially became Crescent Heights Boulevard. In the 1920s, it extended further south to encompass additional subdivisions, including Carthay Circle, where Crescent Heights briefly changed names twice—to McCarthy Vista and Carrillo. To travel north from Crescent Heights to Laurel Canyon, one had to zigzag at Sunset Boulevard until the two boulevards were realigned in 1968.*

Historical Notes

Similar to the “Hollywoodland” sign, the "Bryn Mawr" sign was put up to advertise a new housing development below and around the Mulholland Dam (completed Dec. 1924) in the Hollywood Hills.  The development was owned by George Newberger and developed by R.W. Neiswendler.  A 1925 LA Times article brags of home lots with views of Catalina, Long Beach and Venice, and Hollywood at night like a "twinkling like a sea of stars" and by day a "beautiful garden".*

Historical Notes

The name "Bryn Mawr" in Los Angeles originated from an estate near Dolgellau in Wales that belonged to Rowland Ellis, a Welsh Quaker who emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1686 to escape religious persecution. The town was initially known as Humphreysville, named after early settlers of the Humphreys family, but it was later renamed Bryn Mawr by railroad agent William H. Wilson after acquiring the land for the railroad in 1869. The name "Bryn Mawr" means 'big hill' in Welsh, reflecting the hilly terrain of the area where it is locate.

Historical Notes

The Mulholland Dam was built between August 1923 and December 1924 in the Hollywood Hills.  It is a concrete-arched gravity dam constructed for the sole purpose of creating a water reservoir for the City of Los Angeles.   It was built under the supervision of William Mulholland, chief engineer for the City's Bureau of Water Works and Supply (later DWP).

Historical Notes

The reservoir formed behind the dam was called the Hollywood Reservoir (later Lake Hollywood) and would hold up to 2.5 billion gallons of water from the Owens River Aqueduct System (LA Aqueduct) and from the groundwater of the San Fernando Valley.

Historical Notes

The Mulholland Dam was reinforced with tons of earth on the downstream side as a precaution after the similar St. Francis Dam burst in 1928. Later studies confirmed that the St. Francis Disaster was not caused by a faulty design.

Historical Notes

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

Historical Notes

Olive Hill is located in the East Hollywood district.  Barnsdall Park sits on top of Olive Hill near the intersection of Hollywood and Vermont, and is home to the famous Hollyhock House that was designed in the 1920's by the internationally acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Historical Notes

Hollywood Presbytarian Hospital was founded as Hollywood Hospital in 1924.  It was later known as Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.  In 2004, it was sold to the CHA Medical Group of South Korea for $69 million.^*

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.