In 1853, there was only one house in what is now Hollywood. By 1870, it had become a prosperous farmland. In 1886, real estate agent Harvey Wilcox bought a 0.6 square kilometer piece of land in the suburbs of Los Angeles. When Mrs. Wilcox was traveling, she heard a person next to her say that she was from a place called Hollywood in Ohio. She liked the name very much. After returning to California, she planted a large number of holly trees brought from Scotland. Here, her husband's farm was renamed "Hollywood", hence the name Hollywood. In English the word means holly grove.
Wilcox planned to build a small town here, and on February 1, 1887, he officially registered the name with the regional government. With the help of his wife, he paved today's Hollywood Avenue as the city's main street, planted pepper trees on both sides of this street and other streets, and began to sell property rights. His wife raised funds to build two churches, a school and a library. To live up to the Hollywood name, they also imported some English holly, but the plants didn't survive long in the California climate.
By 1900, Hollywood already had a post office, a newspaper, a hotel and two markets, with a population of 500. Los Angeles, with a population of 100,000, is located 11 kilometers east of the city. There is only one single-track streetcar between Hollywood and Los Angeles. In 1902, the first part of today's famous Hollywood Hotel opened. In 1903, this place was upgraded to a city, and the 177 residents who had the right to vote unanimously agreed to name it "Hollywood". The two orders issued that year were: no alcohol in stores except pharmacies, and no herds of more than 200 cattle being driven on the streets. In 1904, a new streetcar called Hollywood Avenue opened, greatly shortening the round trip time between Hollywood and Los Angeles. In 1910, the residents of Hollywood voted to join Los Angeles. The reason was so they could get enough drinking water and sewerage through Los Angeles.
In 1907, director Francis Burgess led his film crew to Los Angeles to shoot "The Count of Monte Cristo." They found that the beautiful natural scenery, abundant light and suitable climate were a natural place for filming. In the early 1910s, director David Griffith was sent to the West Coast by Biograph to make movies. He brought actors such as Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford to Los Angeles. Later, they wanted to find a new territory, so they set out north and came to a welcoming town, that is, Hollywood. Biograph found that the conditions here were good, so they shot several more movies before returning to New York. Gradually, many people in the industry became aware of this treasure land. More and more film crews came to Hollywood. The great migration of the American film industry to Hollywood began, and Hollywood moved towards becoming the capital of movies.
In October 1911, a group of film workers from New Jersey, led by a local photographer, came to a small inn called Blondou. They converted the rented inn into a movie theater What the company looks like. In this way, they created Nestor Pictures, Hollywood's first film studio.
Since then, many film companies have settled in Hollywood. The famous film companies include: Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Paramount, and 20th Century Fox. (20th Century Fox), Warner Brothers, RKO (Radio Keith Orpheum), Universal, United Artists, and Columbia Pictures.
There are several reasons why film companies in New York and New Jersey moved to California. First of all, the weather here is good and the sunshine hours are long. Although the electric light has been invented, it is not bright enough. The best light source is sunlight.
In addition, California has a wide range of horizons and a variety of natural scenery, which is conducive to film shooting.
In addition to natural conditions, in terms of subjective reasons, the most important factor in Hollywood's fame is the strong pressure from the movie trust company founded by inventor Edison. Edison is a famous inventor. He also has many inventions and design innovations in film equipment and holds corresponding patent rights. From 1897 to 1918, Edison provoked a dispute over film patent rights in the United States and went to court with many film manufacturers. At the same time, he saw the development prospects of the film industry and used his trump card of film equipment to merge the nine major film companies in the eastern United States into his film patent company, thereby controlling the film market. Those producers who were unwilling to obey were looking for new ways to get rid of Edison's monopoly and start anew. At this time, a small studio (Elder Picture Company) that had been filming in Hollywood before Edison established the Motion Picture Patent Company provided information about Hollywood. This film studio, originally located in New Jersey in the eastern United States, rented a factory in Hollywood at a low cost and quickly produced the first Hollywood movie "Her Indian Hero". This film expanded Hollywood's popularity and attracted those who wanted to find their own way out. Many film producers, attracted by Hollywood's superior natural scenery and developed transportation conditions, came to Hollywood to start their own businesses. In addition, California is very far away from New Jersey, making it difficult for Edison to control his patent rights here. There weren't that many Edison's men in California, and even if he sent someone over, the news would often have leaked out, allowing Hollywood film manufacturers to hide in nearby Mexico in time. Edison's nemesis Carl Remu also made great progress in Hollywood and founded Universal Company, becoming the new movie king. On the contrary, Edison's Film Patent Company, which was the catalyst for Hollywood, only lasted for 10 years before it was declared bankrupt by a U.S. court as an illegal trust.
The first movie studio opened in Hollywood in 1911. In the same year, 15 other studios settled here, followed by thousands of dream makers.
In 1923, the large white letters HOLLYWOOD, which today has become one of the symbols of Hollywood, were erected on the hillside behind Hollywood. Originally, there were four letters LAND behind the word. It was a construction manufacturer to promote the newly built Advertising billboards set up in residential communities. But after they were erected, no one took care of them, and they gradually fell into disuse. It wasn't until 1949 that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce removed the last four letters and restored the other letters. The sign is protected by a trademark today, and no one is allowed to use it without the approval of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
On May 16, 1929, the Academy Awards were awarded for the first time. Tickets at that time were $10, and 250 people attended the event.
On January 22, 1947, American commercial television stations began to enter Hollywood. In December of the same year, Hollywood made its first movie for television. In the 1950s, the music recording industry also began to get involved in Hollywood and nearby Burbank. Most movie studios remain in place, but the look of Hollywood has changed. In 1952, CBS established Television City at the junction of Fairfax Street and Beverly Street. CBS's expansion actually meant that Hollywood was expanding its territory.
Hollywood’s famous Walk of Fame was built in 1958. On February 9, 1960, actress Joanne Woodward received the first star.
In 1985, the Hollywood business and entertainment district was officially included in the list of protected historic buildings in the United States.
In June 1999, the Los Angeles subway finally opened to Hollywood.
In 2001, the Kodak Theater opened on Highland Avenue and became the new venue for the Academy Awards.
In 2002, some Hollywood residents launched a movement to make Hollywood independent and no longer part of Los Angeles. The City of Hollywood decided to put all Los Angeles residents to a vote. The independence movement was overwhelmingly defeated.
Paramount is currently the only established large studio remaining in Hollywood.
Today's Hollywood is a diverse, vibrant and active urban area. It has acquired great symbolic significance in the culture of the United States of America. It can be said that the history of the development of Hollywood is the history of the development of movies in the United States of America. The films produced by Hollywood not only meet the needs of the film market in the United States of America, but are also exported to all parts of the world. They not only export the culture of the United States of America, but also bring huge profits to Hollywood investors.