With annexation, the name of Prospect Avenue was changed to Hollywood Boulevard and all the street numbers in the new district changed. In 1910, the city voted for a merger with Los Angeles in order to secure an adequate water supply and to gain access to the L.A. Neither hotels nor restaurants were allowed to serve wine or liquor before or after meals. On January 30, 1904, the voters in Hollywood decided, by a vote of 113 to 96, to banish the sale of liquor within the city, except for medicinal purposes.
Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality on November 14, 1903, by a vote of 88 for and 77 against. His 1918 development, Whitley Heights, was named for him. Whitley's land was centered on Highland Avenue. The lighting ran for several blocks down Prospect Avenue. He paid thousands of dollars for electric lighting, including bringing electricity and building a bank, as well as a road into the Cahuenga Pass. Whitley's company developed and sold one of the early residential areas, the Ocean View Tract.
The hotel was to become internationally known and was the center of the civic and social life and home of the stars for many years. Flanking the west side of Highland Avenue, the structure fronted on Prospect Avenue (later Hollywood Boulevard), which, though still a dusty, unpaved road, was regularly graded and graveled. Having finally acquired the Hurd ranch and subdivided it, Whitley built the hotel to attract land buyers. The Hollywood Hotel was opened in 1902 by Whitley, who was a president of the Los Pacific Boulevard and Development Company. The building at the left is the Hollywood Hotel on the corner of Highland Ave. Whitley is the man standing on the left wearing a bowler hat. The old citrus fruit-packing house was converted into a livery stable, improving transportation for the inhabitants of Hollywood. A single-track streetcar line ran down the middle of Prospect Avenue from it, but service was infrequent and the trip took two hours. Los Angeles, with a population of 102,479 lay 10 miles (16 km) east through the vineyards, barley fields, and citrus groves. It wasn't until August 1887 Wilcox decided to use that name and filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office on a deed and parcel map of the property.īy 1900, the region had a post office, newspaper, hotel, and two markets. Wilcox, who had purchased 120 acres on February 1, 1887. Wilcox is quoted as saying, "I chose the name Hollywood simply because it sounds nice and because I'm superstitious and holly brings good luck." She recommended the same name to her husband, Harvey H. It was built in the 1890s.ĭaeida Wilcox, who donated land to help in the development of Hollywood, learned of the name Hollywood from an acquaintance who owned an estate by that name in Illinois. Glen-Holly Hotel, first hotel in Hollywood, at the corner of what is now called Yucca Street.