In 1853 only one adobe hut stood on the site where Hollywood now stands. In less than twenty years, a thriving agricultural town began taking shape where the adobe hut once stood.
The name “Hollywood” is credited as being coined by a man named Hobart Johnstone Whitley. While on their honeymoon, he and wife, Gigi, stood upon a hill overlooking a valley which is now Whitley Heights. Legend has it that Toyon or “California Holly” covered the hillsides, exposing bright red berries in winter. Whitley purchased 500 acres from Mr. Hurd and shared the name “Hollywood” for the new town. Whitley was also credited with establishing over 140 towns.
Harvey Henderson Wilcox of Kansas also moved into the area around the same time. Although he had lost the use of both legs due to typhoid, he was a successful real estate investor. Wilcox bought 160 acres in the same general area.
On February 1, 1887, Wilcox filed a map for a town with the county recorder’s office. The map of the town was given the name “Hollywood.” It was originally begun as a temperance colony to provide a wholesome alternative to downtown Los Angeles, only seven miles east through citrus groves. With a population already of 100,000, Los Angeles was considered undesirable and even “raunchy” by some standards.
By 1900, Hollywood had its own newspaper, post office, hotel, two markets and a population of around 500 people. Hollywood Hotel was opened in 1902 by H. J. Whitley. In 1903, it was incorporated as a municipality. One of the ordinances of the new town was no liquor sales except by pharmacists. Another prohibited the driving of cattle through the streets in herds of more than 200.
A trolley car system connecting Hollywood to Los Angeles was implemented in 1904, making trips between the two more accessible. The system was called “the Hollywood boulevard.” The original name of the main street (which is now Hollywood Boulevard) was Prospect Avenue.
By 1910, due to necessary water and sewer usage, Hollywood was annexed into the city of Los Angeles. Once annexed, street numbers in Hollywood were changed from three digits to four.
Filming in New Jersey
In 1878, Thomas Alva Edison, with the help of his employee W.K.L. Dickson, invented and patented the Kinetograph, the forerunner of today’s cinematic cameras. Edison also invented the Kinetoscope in 1891. This was a viewer and by looking through a small peephole, people could watch short films. The Kinetoscope became a very popular form of entertainment at the time. It created a use for the Kinetograph as well as opening up a new industry - making movies.
In 1892, Thomas Armat, also an employee of Edison, invented the Vitascope which was used to project film images onto a projection screen. Between the Kinetograph and the Vitascope an entirely new industry began to grow. Now there was a need for auditoriums, or movie theaters, in which to show the films.
Edison lived in Menlo Park, New Jersey, so it was only logical that the filmmaking industry began in New Jersey. Fort Lee, New Jersey was a popular area in which to film because it was ideal for wild west scenes and other outdoor shots. Directors such as D.W. Griffith and Alice Guy-Blaché began their successful film careers shooting in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey. D.W. Griffith made an appearance as an actor in Edison’s “Rescued From an Eagle’s Nest” in Fort Lee in 1907. Griffith also directed Mary Pickford in “The Lonely Villa” in Fort Lee in 1909.
Moving the Film Industry to Hollywood
After World War I, the film industry underwent drastic changes. Film companies found themselves under financial strains and it was no longer cost-effective to film on the east coast due to inclement weather. Edison himself was a key factor in many decisions to move filmmaking to the west. Edison owned almost all of the patents related to filmmaking. Any independent filmmakers ended up being sued by Edison or incorporated into his corporation.
If word of Edison’s agents traveling to the west coast reached the filmmakers, all they needed to do was hide out in nearby Mexico to avoid them.
In 1910, the Biograph company sent D.W. Griffith, along with stars such as Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore and others, to the west coast to investigate the moviemaking atmosphere. Griffith and his company began filming in downtown Los Angeles and decided to do some exploring. They happened upon the town of Hollywood north of Los Angeles. Griffith filmed the first movie ever made in Hollywood, “In Old California.”
Upon Biograh‘s return to New York, after months of shooting movies on the west coast, word got around about this wonderful place and movie makers began migrating west.
The Selig Studio, built in 1909, was the first motion picture studio built near Hollywood. In 1911, Nestor Studios was the first studio built in Hollywood proper.
The years 1927 to 1948 are considered the “Golden Age” of Hollywood when major studios, such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO and Warner Bros. were the biggest names in the film industry.
The Hollywood Sign
The sign which now displays the word “Hollywood” overlooking the valley originally displayed “Hollywoodland.” Erected near the top of Mount Lee, originally the sign was used to advertise a new housing development in the hills above Hollywood. Left for years to deteriorate, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stepped in in 1949 and took over the refurbishing of the sign, dropping the last four letters. The text used to create the sign is copyrighted for commercial use.
Hollywood Today
Today, Hollywood is a thriving, bustling city of its own. Although movies can be made in any location, Hollywood continues to symbolize the movie industry. Over 20 million people visit Hollywood and Los Angeles annually. It’s a long way removed from that lone adobe hut.
Sources:
Early Cinema Fort Lee Film Commission
Penny White - Penny White has been writing since the age of ten. She is an avid supporter of women's history. She also loves music, movies, NCIS, ...
