Learn about the history of Los Angeles, the heart of the country’s television and film industry; thanks to the presence of its famous Hollywood neighborhood, which has stood out over the years for being the place where important studios such as Disney, Paramount Pictures and many more came to life.
What you should know about the City of Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles, identified in abbreviated form with the initials LA; is a County in the state of California; in the United States and has a territorial surface of 1302.76 km²; within which average altitudes of 87 meters above sea level can be appreciated.
This city has a dry Mediterranean or subtropical climate; counting on temperate and rainy winters; but also hot, sunny and dry summers; which favored the development of many television and film industries.
It is a thriving city, in which various types of businesses are developed; being precisely one of them the film industry; which led to the founding of studios such as Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros or Paramount Pictures, which in fact still has its studios in the Hollywood neighborhood.
Following this order of ideas, it can be indicated that during the year 1903, Hollywood became its municipality; while in 1910 it merged with the City of Los Angeles; occasion when the development of its outstanding film industry began, which would soon become the best known in the world.
Birth of Hollywood in the City of Los Angeles
Although the City of Los Angeles is considered the nucleus of the television and film industry in the country; It is accurate to indicate that this was favored with the establishment within its territory of the Hollywood neighborhood.
Whose history practically begins with the purchase of 49 hectares of land by Harvey H. Wilcox in the year 1887 and with the presentation of its registration as property within Los Angeles County, under the name of Hollywood.
This denomination was chosen by Mrs. Wilcox, who indicated on that occasion that it sounded good to her and also because she was superstitious, the term holly brought good luck.
By 1900 Hollywood already had a newspaper, hotel, two markets and a post office. However, it was located at a distance of 10 miles east of Los Angeles and separated by barley fields, vineyards, and citrus groves; In this case, both towns are connected by a tram line.
The rise and development of Hollywood grew over the following years, it merged with the City of Los Angeles and in 1912 it began to be the ideal place for the establishment of various film companies; precisely because of having a suitable climate and having land that was accessible at low prices.
The first film made in Hollywood, was a short film of only 17 minutes, identified as In Old California, by director D.W. Griffith and performed for inclusion in the Biograph Company.
On the other hand, the Néstor Film Company was the first studio in Hollywood, founded in 1911 by the Centaur Film Company of New Jersey, on a corner of Sunset Boulevard.
This venture was quickly followed by major film companies such as Columbia, Paramount, RKO, and Warner Bros.; who also installed their studios in this town as well as other small businesses.
In this way, already in the 1920s, the studios were completely in charge of the production, distribution and exhibition of their creations; becoming the fifth largest industry in the United States.
Such was the fame of Hollywood that it was accredited as “City of Tinsel” and “Dream Factory”; with which the resplendent image of a thriving film industry was made clear. Discover other curiosities of Los Angeles in our blog.