Hollywood

Hollywood. No city conjures more conflicted images.

Marilyn Monroe coquettish as her white skirt is blown up, up by the wind. Movie Star Home Tours. The Stars Walk of Fame. Ladies of the night peddling their wares along Santa Monica Boulevard. Cheesy tourist shops lining up Hollywood Boulevard. Starlets and their posses party maniacally through the wee hours at some hotel du jour.

Hollywood today is a swiftly gentrifying town spurred by the building of the Hollywood-Highland complex which houses the Kodak Theatre, home to the Oscar awards. The prestigious W Hotel will soon open on Vine. The Roosevelt has reclaimed its old glory and is a hot spot once again. Trendy lofts and condos are being developed next to retail and very hip restaurants. Hollywood is indeed living it up!

As a place to live in, Hollywood paints a canvas of “An Oasis in the City” which is how Hollywood Hills is often called. It is a tranquil refuge in the core of Los Angeles between Downtown, the Valley and the Ocean with verdant hillsides and foothills speckled with awe-inspiring architecture, arresting views, lush foliage, and animal life such as deer and coyotes still roam freely. A patch of real estate paradise that extends along the Santa Monica Mountains bordered by Griffith Park from Silverlake to the .Sunset Strip.

Hollywood Hills East is tucked away up its rich hills are magnificent estates many of which are homes to celebrities. It is an exceptional urban sanctuary for those hungry for calm and seclusion. The splendor and solace of the quiet canyon ambiance lures many who can afford the very pricey homes. The diverse architectural styles are French Normandy, English Tudor, Spanish or Mediterranean by illustrious architects. Many of them offer prized city and ocean vistas. The physical boundaries of Hollywood Hills East are inexact at best. It is bordered by Franklin Avenue, Mount Lee, Highland Avenue, and Canyon Drive. It encompasses the main communities of Hollywoodland on Beachwood Canyon, Whitley Heights, the Vine Hills, Hollywood Dell, Outpost Estates, Hollywood Heights, Laurel Canyon, Mount Olympus, Nichols Canyon, and Sunset Hills.

Beachwood Canyon is the upper portion of the canyon which was the Hollywoodland originally advertised by the Hollywood sign. Its gates are about 1 mile north of Franklin Street. It has an interesting juxtaposition of beautifully maintained million-dollar houses and ’60s-era apartment buildings. The atmosphere of old Hollywood dominates Beachwood Canyon, just as the Hollywood sign dominates its hills.One of the main community gathering points is the Village Coffee Shop, a rustic and often crowded spot which is part of Beachwood Canyon's small commercial district. Typical of L.A.'s canyon neighborhoods, a bulletin board and a food market help anchor the community. Beachwood Canyon may be better known for its bohemian ways than its spirituality, but for nearly 70 years the Monastery of the Angels (1977 Carmen Avenue; 466-2186) has operated in the lower reaches of the neighborhood. Twenty-five cloistered Dominican nuns live here, and they operate a small gift shop that sells the nuns' own hand-dipped chocolates and their renowned pumpkin bread. The neighborhood remains popular with screenwriters and others involved in movie and television work.

Hollywoodland is located in the upper half of Beachwood Canyon. It is one of the most legendary and historic neighborhoods in all Los Angeles. The famed Hollywood sign is actually a residue and restoration of the original HOLLYWOODLAND sign which advertised the 1920’s era subdivision by the same name. Hollywoodland's original developers, many of them the elite of Los Angeles' business community, planned a rustic collection of period revival middle- and upper-income homes. Original owners could choose designs such as French Normandy, English Tudor, Spanish or Mediterranean by distinguished architects. With its well-situated studio location, romantic villas and exhilarating city views, Hollywoodland remains a desired neighborhood among the famous, and entertainment industry types. Its huge draw particularly among artists, writers, or musicians is the luxury of holing up within the canyon yet remain in close proximity to the rest of the world.

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Whitley Heights is a historic preservation overlay zone (HPOZ). It sits north of Franklin Avenue between Highland Avenue on the west and Cahuenga Boulevard on the east. All of the homes were developed in the 20s and 30s by Hobart J. Whitley, and remain in very good condition today. Whitley had great admiration for Italian architecture built these homes into the hillside, and dubbed the community an "Italian Hill Town”. Some of the most impressive homes in Hollywood are found here. This was a mini-Beverly Hills of yesteryear.
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The Vine Hills is the area just to the west of Beachwood Canyon and Hollywoodland and extends to Cahuenga Boulevard. It is very akin to Beachwood Canyon with sinuous hillside and canyon lanes, with a diverse blend of pre- and post-World War II homes with superb views.

The Hollywood Dell or "the Dell" is east of Cahuenga, north of Franklin, West of Argyle and South of the Hollywood Reservoir. It is so named because it sits "in" the hills that are just above commercial Hollywood as opposed to being on top of the hills. One has to go down to get into the dell, and up to get out of it. The roads within the dell are mainly hilly and many homes are built on hillside lots. With it close proximity to the Hollywood Bowl, it is a popular free parking area for concert goers. Concert Parking is prohibited for such purposes, and a number of entries are guarded. However, locals who know their way around though can get into the neighborhood and contribute to a problematic overcrowded parking situation on concert nights. Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture defines “the Dell”.

Outpost Estates is one of the original 1920's Hollywood luxury and exclusive canyon residential neighborhoods of its time. It is one of the first neighborhoods in the country to feature the then innovative subterranean utilities. Its prime era was the 40’s-60’s. It boasts fabulous historical architecture, surrounded by nature, trees, and dramatic hillsides is very close to the new, revitalized downtown Hollywood. It is located directly east of Runyon Canyon Park and centered around Outpost Drive. Most of the original houses have been preserved, and Lower Outpost looks much like it did in the 1920s. The name "Outpost" derives from a clubhouse General Harrison Grey Otis built on the property Near Casa Don Tomás, for entertaining which he called The Outpost. Otis was then the owner of the Los Angeles Times. Outpost Estates once had a massive neon sign just like the Hollywoodland sign. It is now buried in the weeds.

Hollywood Heights is bounded by Highland Avenue, Franklin Avenue, the Hollywood Bowl, and Outpost Drive. It takes pride of its cultural landmarks and historic properties.

Laurel Canyon is a major canyon neighborhood in Los Angeles bounded on the north by Mulholland Boulevard, and at the south by Hollywood Boulevard. Its central thoroughfare is Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Unlike other nearby canyon neighborhoods, Laurel Canyon has houses lining one side of the main street most of the way up to Mulholland Drive. There are lots of side roads that feed off the main canyon, but many are cul-de-sacs. Some of the main side streets are Mount Olympus, Kirkwood, Wonderland, and Lookout Mountain Avenue. It is a vital passage between West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, mainly Studio City. The cut-off between the two can be generally defined by the intersection of Laurel Canyon and Mulholland Drive. It has a lot of undeveloped hillside with no apparent master plan for future growth. The homes are characteristically modest in size.

Mount Olympus is a prominent neighborhood in Hollywood Hills. It is a community developed in 1969 by Russ Vincent. It is bounded by Hollywood Blvd., Laurel Canyon Blvd., Willow Glen Rd., and Nichols Canyon Road. The Mt. Olympus Property Owners Association controls architectural approval for new and remodel construction.

Nichols Canyon is bordered by Hollywood Blvd. on the South and Mulholland Drive to the North. It was named after John G. Nichols who served as mayor of Los Angeles, California between 1852 and 1853 and again from 1856 to 1859. Its pride and joy are its two large year round water falls over 100’ high, the only natural water falls in the City of Los Angeles, and several natural and man made small water falls. The stream that flows through the bottom of Nichols Canyon attracts coyotes, deer, raccoons, skunks, rabbits, and other wildlife. The narrow winding roads snake through the canyon where homes are tucked into lush vegetation or perched on bluffs and cliffs with views to the ocean and downtown . The main canyon road is a favorite jogging and cyclist road.

Sunset Hills is a small community in Hollywood bordered by Laurel Canyon on the east, Sunset Plaza Drive on the west and Sunset Blvd on the south, which is also the City of Los Angeles' border with the City of West Hollywood. A neighborhood of expensive homes clinging to dramatically rising hills, Sunset Hills is home to such landmarks as the Chateau Marmont Hotel.

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