| Hollywood and Vine | |
|---|---|
| Prospect and Weyse Avenues (1887–1910) | |
 Hollywood and Vine street signs | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Hollywood, Los Angeles | |
| Coordinates | 34°06′06″N118°19′36″W / 34.10167°N 118.32667°W /34.10167; -118.32667 |
| Roads at junction | Hollywood Boulevard Vine Street |
| Construction | |
| Type | Intersection |
| Opened | 1887 (as Prospect and Weyse) 1910 (as Hollywood and Vine) |
| Maintained by | City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works |
Hollywood and Vine, the intersection ofHollywood Boulevard andVine Street inHollywood, California, became known in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. TheHollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersection.
The area was alemon grove until 1903, whenDaeida Beveridge allowed one corner of the dirt intersection on her property to be used for theHollywood Memorial Church.[1] The streets were renamed in 1910, when the city of Hollywood was annexed into Los Angeles.[2]
Beginning in the 1920s, during theGolden Age of Hollywood, the area began to see an influx of money and influence as movie and music businesses moved to the district, turning the local farms and orchards into moviebacklots. Hollywood and Vine was the second busiest intersection in the city, afterWilshire Boulevard andWestern Avenue.[3]
In the 1930s, radio stationKFWB spoke of "broadcasting live from Hollywood and Vine," and newspaper columnistsHedda Hopper andJimmie Fidler regularly touted the intersection's mystique.[3]
In 1958, the intersection became the crossing point of the newly installed t-shapedHollywood Walk of Fame.[4] LaterNeil Armstrong,Buzz Aldrin andMichael Collins, the astronauts of the first lunar landing missionApollo 11, were awarded television stars for coverage of the mission, and given the places of honor at all four corners of Hollywood and Vine.[5]
By the 1960s, however, many studios and broadcasters had moved onto more upscale areas, and the area fell into disrepair and disrepute, with many abandoned stores and offices, and the streets themselves, claimed bysquatters andpanhandlers. It took several decades for redevelopment to take hold, and visitors looking for Hollywood dreams were often taken aback by the area's contrast with shinier tourist meccas.
The Hollywood/Vine subway station opened in 1999,[6] and led to more sustained and serious redevelopment in the area. On May 29, 2003, Hollywood and Vine was named "Bob Hope Square" to commemorateHope's 100th birthday.[7]
Inurban folklore, many of the local buildings are considered to be part of "Haunted Hollywood", home to the ghosts of celebrities (and less stellar residents) of Hollywood's legendary past. The intersection has been mentioned or alluded to in dozens of songs, films, video games, music videos and other popular media, often as a symbol of Hollywood's lure as a destination for dreamers, or for its decadence and disappointments.[3]
Hollywood and Vine's first building, located on the intersection's southeast corner, was theHollywood Memorial Church, constructed in 1903. It was later torn down to make way for the intersection's firsthigh rise, the 12-storyTaft Building, built in 1923. The Taft Building was built in theRenaissance Revival style for A.Z. Taft Jr. byWalker & Eisen.[1][8] In Hollywood's golden age, every studio as well asCharlie Chaplin,Will Rogers, and theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had offices in the building.[9][10] To the south of the Taft Building is theSpanish Colonial RevivalHerman Building and south of that was the complementary-designedHollywood Brown Derby,[8] the latter of which was demolished in 1994.[11] To the east of the Taft Building was theChâteauesqueGilbert Books Building,[8] which was demolished to make way for theW Hollywood Hotel and Residences.
On the northeast corner, theEquitable Building of Hollywood was designed byAleck Curlett, built in 1929, and expanded in 1931.[8] Originally home to numerous talent and advertising agencies,[12][13] it was converted to a condominium in 2007.[14] East of the Equitable Building is theArt DecoHollywood Pantages Theatre, designed byB. Marcus Priteca and built as amovie palace in 1930, then converted to alive theater in the 1977.[8][15] North of the Equitable Building is theWelton Becket designed,Googie-styledCapitol Records Building.[16] Built in 1956, the Capitol Records Building is the world's first circular office building[17] and was home to the first record label location on the west coast of the United States.[18]
On the northwest corner, theLaemmle Building was built in 1932 byRichard Neutra[8] forCarl Laemmle, head ofUniversal Pictures. The original design was not built because of the1929 stock market crash, and the building was significantly altered many times. The building was gutted by fire in April 2008 and razed six months later.[19] To the west of the former Laemmle Building is the former site ofSardi's Diner and is now home to the Cave Theater. West of that is theVine Theatre.[8] To the north of the former Laemmle Building is a Spanish Colonial styleHollywood Playhouse, opened on January 24, 1927, designed byH. L. Gogerty andCarl Jules Weyl.[8][20] The building's name has changed many times over the 20th century, but was known as the Hollywood Palace for many years before its most recent renaming.
On the southwest corner, theDyas Building was built in 1927 byFrederick Rice Dorn.[8] From 1931 to 1982, the building housedThe Broadway-Hollywooddepartment store, and in 2007, the building converted to multi-family residential, ground-floor commercial.[21] The Dyas Building has two annexes, one to the south of the building and the other to the west, that were built in the late 1930s.[22] South of the building is theHollywood Plaza Hotel, built byWalker & Eisen in 1924[8] and at one point home tosilent film starClara Bow's "It Cafe".[23]
Six of the aforementioned buildings are listed asLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments:[24]
Furthermore, nine of the aforementioned buildings are listed ascontributing properties in theNational Register of Historic PlacesHollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District:[8]
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A number of high-profile projects have attempted to restore the lost luster of the area, most notably the $600 millionW Hollywood Hotel and Residences,[25] which opened in 2010.[26] Other large projects include a $50-million conversion of theEquitable Building[14] and $70-million conversion of theDyas Building into condominiums.[27]
