The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District is a historic district that consists of twelve blocks between the 6200 and 7000 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. This strip of commercial and retail businesses, which includes more than 100 buildings, is recognized for its significance with the entertainment industry, particularly Hollywood and its golden age, and it also features the predominant architecture styles of the 1920s and 1930s.
Development of the area that would become the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District began in the 1880s, when several developers recognized the area's potential for entertainment and the arts. The neighborhood was connected by rail to Los Angeles in 1887, Paul de Longpré built its first tourist attraction in 1901, and the entire area was annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1910.
Most of the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was built between 1915 and 1939, during the rapid boom of the film industry. Three commercial centers rose and expanded until they merged into one, with every major film studio, the industry's most significant talent and advertising agencies, numerous theaters and movie palaces, and other entertainment-related businesses and institutions located in the area. Many of Los Angeles's most notable architects designed the buildings these businesses were in, resulting in a neighborhood filled with significant works, most notably in the Classical Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Art Deco styles.
The neighborhood saw continued success through the 1940s, after which it experienced significant decline. Preservation efforts began in 1980, and in 1985, the entire district was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.
Description The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District encompasses , twelve blocks, and more than one hundred buildings in Hollywood, California. The area, close in proximity to classic Hollywood's major film studios, contains an array of buildings and businesses that catered to the film industry and is generally known for its significant role in the history of cinema. Furthermore, according to the United States Department of the Interior, the area contains "excellent examples of the predominant architecture styles of the 1920s and 1930s" and it retains the development pattern it developed the 1920s – a mix of high-rise buildings separated by smaller retail structures.
The integrity of the district is fair, as major landmark buildings remain largely untouched and while many smaller buildings have been altered or covered with signage, their upper stories remain largely unaltered. And while the number of contributing properties is only 56% of the total parcels in the district, it is a significantly higher percentage of the large scale buildings. Other features that add to the historic nature of the district are its colored terrazo entryways, neon signage, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and its streetlights, the latter of which were developed specifically for the neighborhood.
Overall, the Golden Era of Hollywood is preserved, conveying Hollywood's historic development and its importance in the movie industry – central to modern United States culture.
Boundaries The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District boundaries were defined in 1985 by the United States Department of the Interior based on the area's remaining integrity. They include twelve blocks along Hollywood Boulevard, from 7065 Hollywood Blvd on the west to the northwest corner of Hollywood and Argyle Avenue on the east. However, certain sections were excluded from this area, including the south side of the 6500-block, most of the north side of the 6600-block, the north side of the 6800-block, and the south side of the 7000-block.
Nine parcels just north or south of Hollywood Boulevard were also included in the district, including one on Highland Avenue near Hollywood and Highland, one on Ivar Avenue near Hollywood and Ivar, and seven on Vine Street near Hollywood and Vine.
Contributing properties
The Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District contains 63 contributing properties. These buildings cover a wide range of purposes, including financial, commercial/mercantile, office, theater, residential, hospitality, food service, institutional, and even one medical and another industrial. During this area's construction, real estate syndicates were often beneficiaries of studio profits and therefore became de facto patrons to contemporary Los Angeles's most renowned architects, including Walker & Eisen, John C. Austin, Parkinson & Parkinson, Curlett & Beelman, and Morgan, Walls & Clements. Even more buildings were designed by the exotic and fanciful Gogerty & Weyl and Meyer & Holler, and even more were either designed or redesigned by noted theater architects S. Charles Lee, G. Albert Lansburgh, B. Marcus Priteca, and showman Sid Grauman.
The majority of the district's contributing properties can be grouped into three styles. Most buildings that housed financial and mercantile institutions were designed in Classical Revival styles, limited by a city ordinance to twelve stories and meant to reflect the prestige of the businesses within. Revival styles featured in the district include Beaux Arts, Georgian, Gothic, Mediterranean, Neoclassical, Renaissance, and Romanesque, with prominent examples that include Hillview Apartments (1919), Security Trust and Savings (1921), Masonic Temple (1921), Taft (1923), Guaranty (1923), Hollywood Professional (1924), and the Christie (1922), Plaza (1924), and Knickerbocker (1929) hotels.
The district also has a significant grouping of Spanish Colonial Revival buildings, ones that feature designs meant to create a feeling of sophisticated and upscale yet relaxed shopping and entertainment. The style, which often features courtyards or other open space and extensive Churrigueresque detailing, was used primarily in the district's low-rise office, retail, service, and entertainment establishments. Prominent examples of this style in the district include Hotel Roosevelt (1924), El Capitan Theatre (1925), and the Baine (1926), Hollywood Toys (1927), and Cherokee (1930) buildings.
The third architectural style embraced by the district was Art Deco. This style, which includes Classic Moderne, Streamline Moderne, Zigzag Moderne, and Hollywood Regency, all of which are featured in the district, created a bold statement that promoted Hollywood Boulevard as the "Style Center of the West." The movie industry and related businesses relished the style's theatricality, and many utilitarian buildings were altered to conform to the look. Prominent examples of this style in the district include J. J. Newberry (1928), Pantages Theater (1930), Max Factor Salon (1931), S. H. Kress (1935), and the 7001 Hollywood Blvd. (1929), Shane (1930), and Julian Medical (1934) buildings.
Including and beyond these architectural styles are some of the district's most well known structures: its stage and movie theaters. Featuring a variety of styles and designs, Hollywood's theaters enabled the street to function not just as a business but also an entertainment center. The programmatic Egyptian (1921) and Chinese (1927) as well as the ornate Hollywood (1913, 1933 redesign), El Capitan (1925), Palace (1926), Warner (1927), and Pantages (1930) contributed to the "Hollywood" fantasy for both tourists and locals.
Additionally, the district contains several buildings with designs outside these styles. These include the Victorian Janes Residence (1903); Vernacular Musso & Frank (1917) and Seven Seas (1920); Chateausque Holly Cinema (1920), Hallmark (1922, 1931 redesign), Johnny's Steak House (1930), and demolished Gilbert Books (1932); Parisian Montmartre (1922); and International Leed's (1935).
Finally, the district contains several buildings that combine styles, including Outpost Building (1920), which combines Spanish Colonial Revival and French Regency; Security Pacific (1927) and Equitable Building (1929), which combine Gothic Revival and Art Deco; Dyas Building (1927, 1938 addition), which features Neoclassical and International Style designs; and Pickwick Books (1917/1925/1936), which features Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Deco, and Vernacular designs.
Non-contributing properties Most of the district's non-contributing properties are unnamed storefronts, but there are several historic and/or otherwise notable buildings as well. Most notable is Garden Court Apartments (1916), which was to be listed as a contributing property before an attempted demolition damaged the building. Other notable non-contributing properties include Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument-listed Artisan Patio (1918) as well as Palmer II (1921), Sardi's (1923), Vine Street Theater (1923), Old Post Office (1925), Laemmle Building (1932), and Vogue Theater (1935). Additionally, Woolworth Building, which the listing incorrectly cites as having been constructed in 1927 when it was actually constructed in 1910, was also listed as a non-contributing property. Of these buildings, Garden Court Apartments, Laemmle Building, and Old Post Office have been demolished.
Unlisted properties The district contains several notable unlisted properties as well. Most are unlisted because they were built after the district was designated, but a few were built before. Most notably, Iris Theatre, while not listed, was mentioned in the listing as one of the theaters that "created an aura of fantasy for the population of the area — and satisfied the tourists in search of "Hollywood" as well." This statement may refer to the former Iris Theatre (1914) that no longer stands or Fox Theater (1918), which was known as Iris Theatre from 1918 to 1968.
Other notable non-listed properties in the district include Ritz Theatre (1940), Dolby Theatre (2001), Ovation Hollywood (2001), Madame Tussauds Hollywood (2009), and W Hollywood (2010).
History Beginnings
Hollywood Boulevard was originally named Prospect Avenue by John Bower, a miner from the Sierra foothills, who purchased a small government parcel at the intersection of Pass Road (today's Ivar Avenue) and Prospect in 1872. Harvey Wilcox and Daeida Wilcox Beveridge purchased Bower's tract in the mid-1880s, and Prospect Ave was connected by rail to Los Angeles in 1887 and Laurel Canyon in 1890, with another line connecting the area to Los Angeles, west Los Angeles, and the beach opening in 1901.
By 1901, Prospect was still a small dirt road surrounded by lemon orchards and vegetable fields. The street was lined mostly with houses and also a few establishments, most notably at Prospect and Cahuenga Boulevard, where Paul de Longpré Residence (1901–1927) drew not only Hollywood society, but also property buyers and tourists, and Sackett Hotel (1888-1905) served as the area's first hotel and was also home to its first post office. After 1901, more large establishments were added to the street, including Hollywood Memorial Church (1903–1923) at Prospect and Vine Street, and Hollywood Hotel (1902–1956) at Prospect and Highland Avenue. Janes Residence (1903) was also built during this time.
Hollywood was incorporated in 1903. That same year, the Beveridge family attempted to rename Prospect Avenue after Paul de Longpré, who they and others believed "had done more than any other man to make Southern California...known to the world," but they were not successful as many in the community did not want the street named after a Frenchman. In 1904, the Los Angeles Gas Company installed the city's first gas meters, which allowed for the appearance of street numbers, and in 1910, Los Angeles annexed Hollywood. Then, on January 5, 1910, the Hollywood Board of Trustees officially renamed Prospect Avenue to Hollywood Boulevard.