West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757.[7]
"West Hollywood" redirects here. For the community in Florida, see West Hollywood (Hollywood, Florida).
West Hollywood, California
United States
November 29, 1984[1]
Location west of Hollywood
John M. Erickson
Chelsea Lee Byers
John Heilman
Lauren Meister
Sepi Shyne
David Wilson[3]
1.89 sq mi (4.89 km2)
1.89 sq mi (4.89 km2)
0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0%
282 ft (86 m)
35,757
19,000/sq mi (7,300/km2)
UTC−7 (PDT)
Infrastructure[edit]
Transportation[edit]
Traffic congestion, public transport and parking are critical issues in the city due to its location between access to areas such as Greater Hollywood to the east and the San Fernando Valley to the north and the area of the Los Angeles West Side, with the Hollywood Hills creating a natural impediment to the north. Santa Monica Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard are critical east-west arteries in the metropolitan area, and Laurel Canyon Boulevard is a popular shortcut through the hills. Nearly 600 employees and 260 buses in the District 7 fleet of the LACMTA are based in a large facility on prime real estate near San Vicente Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard. The K Line extension to the Hollywood/Highland station is likely to pass through, or along, the edge of West Hollywood.[82]
Alta Loma Road is home to the Sunset Marquis Hotel with its 45-person Whisky Bar and NightBird Recording Studios, an underground music production facility. Alta Loma Road was one of the main locations for the film Perfect. Actor Sal Mineo lived on Holloway Drive in the 1970s; he was murdered in his carport just around the corner from Alta Loma.[106]
The western stretch of Melrose Avenue, between Fairfax Avenue and Doheny Drive, is notable for its trendy clothing boutiques, interior design shops, restaurants and antique stores. The west end of Melrose Avenue, near the Pacific Design Center, is especially known for its exclusive furniture.
The area around Fountain Avenue, Harper Avenue and Havenhurst Drive contains a high concentration of landmark 1920s Spanish Revival and Art Deco apartment buildings by such noted architects as Leland Bryant. This historic district has been home to many celebrities and at one time the Sunset Tower at 8358 Sunset Boulevard was home to Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, the Gabor sisters, John Wayne and Howard Hughes.
Notable business and attractions in West Hollywood include:
Controversies[edit]
Discrimination issues[edit]
Sometime in the 1940s, a sign appeared over the bar at Barney's Beanery that said "FAGOTS [sic] – STAY OUT." The message so offended locals that Life magazine did an article on opposition to the sign in 1964, which included a photograph of the owner steadfastly holding on to it.[109] The owner died in 1968, and efforts continued to have the sign removed. The Gay Liberation Front organized a zap of the restaurant on February 7, 1970, to push for its removal. The sign disappeared that day.[110] The sign was put up and taken down several times over the next 14 years, but the practice ended in December 1984, days after the city voted itself into existence. The then-mayor, Valerie Terrigno, the entire city council and gay-rights activists marched into Barney's and relieved the wall of the offending sign.[111] It was held by Morris Kight for many years and now rests in the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.
Jewel-Thais Williams, who owned the bar Jewel's Catch One, originally opened the bar in 1973 because she experienced discrimination in both heterosexual bars and gay bars because she was both black and a woman.[112]
A resident drew national attention during the 2008 presidential campaign by including a Sarah Palin mannequin hung in effigy in a Halloween display. The home's decorations also featured a doll of John McCain surrounded by decorative flames in the chimney. Some residents complained about the display as a hate crime, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department concluded the display did not violate any laws.[113]
In March 2006, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service seized 250 fake denomination notes, each bearing a denomination of $1 billion, from a West Hollywood apartment.[114]
