Hollywood
is a district in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.,
situated west-northwest of Downtown. Due to its fame
and cultural identity as the historical center of
movie studios and stars, the word "Hollywood"
is often used as a metonym for the American film and
television industry. Today much of the movie industry
has dispersed into surrounding areas such as Burbank
and the Westside, but significant ancillary industries
(such as editing, effects, props, post-production,
and lighting companies) remain in Hollywood.
Many
historic Hollywood theaters are used as venues and
concert stages to premiere major theatrical releases,
and host the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination
for nightlife and tourism, and home to the Walk of
Fame.
Although
it is not the typical practice of the City of Los
Angeles to establish specific boundaries for districts
or neighborhoods, Hollywood is a recent exception.
On February 16, 2005, Assembly Members Goldberg and
Koretz introduced a bill to require the State to keep
specific records on Hollywood as though it were independent.
For this to be done, the boundaries were defined.
This bill was unanimously supported by the Hollywood
Chamber of Commerce and the LA City Council. Assembly
Bill 588 was approved by the Governor on August 28,
2006, and now the district of Hollywood has official
borders. The border is shown at the right, and can
be loosely described as the area east of Beverly Hills
and West Hollywood, south of Mulholland Dr., Laurel
Canyon, Cahuenga Blvd. and Barham Blvd., and the cities
of Burbank and Glendale, north of Melrose Avenue,
and west of the Golden State Freeway and Hyperion
Avenue. Note that this includes all of Griffith Park
and Los Feliz—two areas that were hitherto generally
considered separate from Hollywood by most Angelinos.
The population of the district (including Los Feliz)
as of the 2000 census was 208,237.
As
a portion of the City of Los Angeles, Hollywood does
not have its own municipal government, but does have
an appointed official that serves as "honorary
mayor" for ceremonial purposes only. Currently,
the "mayor" is Johnny Grant. Since this
is a non-elected, honorary position, Grant has held
this position for decades. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
