Hollywood Hills

Before I begin this blog post, I would like to inform readers that I will be reviewing three different neighborhoods, realizing there isn’t much to talk about if I were to only review Hollywood Hills.  I will be reviewing Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and the actual Hollywood people recognize when they visit LA for the first time.  Without further ado, let’s get started!

This geometrical abode in HWH is called a “Chemosphere”, designed by John Lautner.

Approximate Population: 181,177 (when combining all three neighborhoods)

Brief History: When people think of Hollywood, they generally think of the Hollywood sign that overlooks Los Angeles.  Measuring 45 feet tall and 350 feet long, the white capital letters are situated on Mount Lee, a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.  Believe it or not, the sign was created in 1923 as a real estate advertisement.  During that year, Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler decided to invest in an upscale real estate development called “Hollywoodland”, which capitalized on the growing recognition of Hollywood as the ultimate movie industry.  In order to promote the project, Chandler and his partners spent a budget of $21,000 for 45-foot high white block letters (of wooden panels) that were anchored to telephone poles and illuminated by 4,000 light bulbs (1).  Like any other business, the Hollywoodland real estate company struggled during the Great Depression.  In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the L.A. Parks Department, made the decision to eliminate the last four letters and keep the “HOLLYWOOD” portion in order to promote the movie industry (2).

Another view of the Hollywood Sign.  I took this pic when I visited Los Angeles over the summer of 2013.

Let’s talk about the history of Hollywood in general.  Founded in 1888 by Harvey Henderson Wilcox and his wife, Daeida Wilcox Beveridge, the latter founder is credited for naming the city after she met a lady on a train whose summer residence in Illinois was called “Hollywood.”  Some may perceive this as plagiarism – a concept that wouldn’t exist for another few decades, but at the same time, people were running out of ideas on what to name their newly established cities and Hollywood sounds like a real appropriate name (3).  During the fall of 1903, the residents of Hollywood petitioned to make Hollywood an independent city, but Daeida Wilcox Beveridge believed that the action was too costly, despite being credited for naming the place!  However, many of the residents felt that crooks ran Los Angeles and controlled their taxes, and thus, Hollywood became an independent city, much to the chagrin of Beveridge (4).

Today: Hollywood continues to be one of the most recognizable areas of Los Angeles, frequented by thousands of tourists every day.  We have more buildings and monuments now than we did during the World War I era, the World War II era, and the Interwar era in-between.  I honestly don’t know how they pulled it off, since materials were very scarce and food could only be obtained via ration stamps.  I sometimes wonder if the minimal food quantities were utilized to reverse the obesity epidemic, but at the same time, the Stock Market crashed and many people lost their jobs.  What a time to be alive.

The 1950s gave Hollywood some innovations that are still in use today.  One of them is the Hollywood Freeway, arguably the biggest and busiest freeway in all of Los Angeles.  Emphasizing these descriptions, the constant traffic and wide-open roads were probably the inspiration for the Eagles song “Life in the Fast Lane.”  After all, the Eagles were from California and referenced the state in many of their songs.  In 1956, the Capitol Records Tower was built.  Conversations between future musicians and employees happened in this thirteen-story cylindrical building, launching the careers of music groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dem Franchize Boyz, as well as solo artists like Beck and Wierd Al Yankovic.  I admire the futuristic architecture, and honestly think this could be a perfect building used for a live-action Jetsons movie.

Bronze plaques.

In 1958, Hollywood brought us the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a collection of endless five-pointed terrazzo/brass stars that extend 15 blocks on Hollywood Boulevard.  In 1953, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce was looking for a way to upgrade the city’s image, and began a project called the “Hollywood Improvement Association” to give the city of facelift.  In order to promote more tourism, the Chamber’s President, EM Stuart proposed the idea of a “Walk of Fame”, where entertainment celebrities would be honored with a marker.  Every star on the Walk of Fame is identical: a five-pointed star made from pink stone rimmed with bronze, set into a square of gray granite.  Bronze letters are carved into the star to spell out the celebrity’s name, with a small bronze plaque embedded underneath to symbolize the area of entertainment for which the celebrity is being honored (5).  That’s a bigger honor than getting your salary doubled at your workplace.

Movie camera	Film stars
TV set	Television stars
Record	Music stars
Microphone	Radio stars
Comedy/Tragedy Mask	Stage actors

Five decades later, a brilliant architect named David Rockwell thought of a concept that nobody else has thought of.  He decided to combine a live-performance auditorium with a shopping mall.  Juxtaposing his aptitudes in architecture and theater, Rockwell was inspired to build a venue that was held for live performances (6). For eleven years, the theater was sponsored by Eastman Kodak Company, which paid $75 million for naming rights to the building (7).  However, the Eastman Kodak Company filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and thus ended its naming-rights deal.  Dolby Laboratories would eventually sign a 20-year naming-rights deal and as of today, the auditorium is known as the Dolby Theatre (8).

Founders: H.J. Whitley, Daeida Wilcox, Harvey H. Wilcox

Code Name: Hotel.  I shit you not, they’re everywhere in Hollywood.

 

 

 

Matching Personality Type: ESTJ – confident, but jingoistic.

Mascot: Falcon – always soaring their way to the top.

Core Values: Honor, Opulence, Truth, Excellence, Learning

Colors: Red and White – an homage to the Oklahoma Sooners!

Zip Code: 90046 (Hollywood Hills), 90068 (Hollywood) and 90069 (West Hollywood) – depends entirely on the neighborhood

Nerdgasms had me like…

Perception (Guys): Let me begin by saying that there are multiple types of intelligence.  There’s “street smart”, “book smart”, “throw people off the boat smart”, and so forth.  But then there are people who have this special kind of intelligence – they’re exceptionally good at mathematics, but terrible at speaking a foreign language.  I never grew up with parents who pushed me to the nth degree, but we all have that friend who is uncomfortable with his lifestyle and is only pursuing a career in medicine or law to carry on his daddy’s legacy.  HWH guys epitomize this lifestyle, and they’re proud of it.

Every time I think of guys who excel academically, I usually think of Ivy League guys with crew cuts on the rowing team who spend 5 hours studying every night so they can become successful doctors or lawyers.  Not every guy in Hollywood Hills has the demeanor of an Ivy League student, but many of them are very ambitious and career-oriented.  Seeing how Hollywood Hills is situated in the Santa Monica mountains, the height of the mountains is an indication of higher perspective and excelling with honor.  Everybody strives to reach the zenith of a mountain, but not everyone can do it.  The same could be said for those who want to continue their studies after four years as an undergraduate.  The harder you work, the more likely you’ll succeed.

Repercussions for being irresponsible.

While we’re on the subject, have you ever had that friend who regularly uses big words that most people wouldn’t understand?  If you encounter one in Los Angeles, there’s a strong chance he lives in Hollywood Hills.  These guys refuse to be underdogs, and do whatever it takes to be the best doctor, lawyer or professor in the world.  Many of the guys in HWH remind me of Hades from Hercules – who talks more like a lawyer or agent than a traditional Disney villain, and Basil from The Great Mouse Detective, who is dauntless, yet highly sophisticated.  These guys don’t only contemplate their actions, but demonstrate their actions and succeed in the end.  I only hope that one day I can be half as smart as the people in HWH and make good decisions in the future.

I wonder who these guys are… The quintessential #TBT.

Perception (Girls): If the guys of Hollywood Hills represent Harvard, the girls of Hollywood Hills definitely represent Yale.  While making these comparisons, the guys and girls of HWH are as different as night and day, yet they have so much in common.  The guys are straightforward and tough, while the girls are charming and averse to conflict.  Well, maybe they’re not entirely averse to conflict, but they are good at brushing their negativity aside and maintain a positive attitude no matter what they’re going through.  There are four different types of women in HWH.  Keep in mind that they’re all the youngest child in their families, because birth order taught us who are true friends are.

1. The Really Sweet Girls: Angelina Curiel exemplifies this archetype. She is probably the sweetest woman I’ve ever met.  A Kansas City native, Angelina is a very respectful woman, mostly because of the welcoming environment she grew up in.  Other HWH women with pleasing dispositions include Madi Schieber, Bailey Dreyer, Caitlin Herlihy, Korbyn Limber, Brooke Pennington and Brittany Hoose.

2. The Slightly Eccentric, But Fun-Loving Girls: These ladies know how to have a fun time. Christine Farha, Jerica Gregston and Lindsey Patterson define this archetype very well.  All three of them regularly wear a halter top and skin-tight jeans, to the point where their outfit defines their personalities.

3. The Quintessential Srat Girls: Women who were in a top-tier sorority. They tend to be very social and heavy partiers.  At least half of the girls fit this archetype, but some of the “quintessential srat girls” include Tracee Greenwood, Maddie McFarland, Abbey Taylor, Lauren Janka and Jessica Meredith.

4. The “Redefining Beauty and Brains” Girls: Women who can balance intelligence with good looks. Grace Amundsen and Nina Prabhu both exemplify this archetype very well, as evidenced by the fact that they were both involved in student council in high school and are now seniors at Vanderbilt University.

Grace Amundsen (left) and Nina Prabhu (right)

Attractions: I already talked about the Hollywood Sign and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in depth, but there are a few more attractions in Hollywood that intrigue me!

The Hollywood Bowl is an outdoor amphitheater located in Hollywood Hills and a great place to see your favorite band live.  It is called the “Hollywood Bowl” due to the shape of the concave hillside the amphitheater is carved into.  Many bands have played in this exact amphitheater through the years and entertained millions of concert-goers.

Another great place in Hollywood is the Cinerama Dome.  This theater was designed to present widescreen Cinerama films.  Have you ever wondered what’s it like to see a 77 mm movie inside a golf ball?  Well, you’re in luck, because The Cinerama Dome fully matches that description.

http://www.roadarch.com

If you’re looking for great views on the city of Hollywood itself, I highly recommend visiting to the Griffith Observatory.  Mounted in the copper-clad domes on either end of the building, the Zeiss and solar telescopes are free to the public 24 hours a day.  When looked through these telescopes, you can see the skyline of the city from a faraway distance.  On top of that, the Griffith Observatory is a fantastic place for photo shoots (9).

http://www.theclio.com

2016 GOP Equivalent: John Kasich – most of them are very nice, but some of them like to befriend people just so they can take advantage of them and psychologically manipulate them into doing things that put them in a bad situation.

 

People Who Might End Up Living There: Guys: Carson Yates, Trent Saunders, Jack Miars, Ross Morgan, Brian Baker, Mason Taylor, Zach Erhardt, Walter Jankowski and Jordan Ghoreishi.

Girls: Angelina Curiel, Christine Farha, Caitlin Herlihy, Jessica Meredith, Bailey Dreyer, Grace Amundsen, Nina Prabhu, Brittany Hoose, Abbey Taylor and Lauren Janka.

Why This Neighborhood?  Hollywood is a great place for people to escape their reality and a chance for people to live out their daydreams vicariously, regardless of whether or not they succeed in the future.  Hollywood is not just a neighborhood exclusively for extroverted people, film buffs and history buffs – it’s for everyone who is looking for a welcoming environment.

9/10 would recommend.

References:

1. http://www.history.com/news/90-years-later-8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-hollywood-sign
2. http://www.logodesignlove.com/hollywood-sign-history
3. Palmer, Edwin O.Hollywood History. Hollywood, CA: E.O. Palmer, 1937. Print.
4. Williams, Gregory Paul. “A City of Homes.”The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History. N.p.: BL, 2005. 40. Print.
5. Flank, Lenny. “History of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”Daily Kos. Daily Kos, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
6. Hart, Hugh. “Drama From the Floor Up.”Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 23 Sept. 2001. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
7. http://www.kodaktheatre.com/
8. “Oscars’ Home Renamed Dolby Theatre.”– CBS News. N.p., 1 May 2012. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.
9. http://griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/telescopes.html

 

 

• Los Angeles Neighborhoods