West Hollywood, California
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West Hollywood's logo illustrates the city's borders. |
West Hollywood (abbreviated
WeHo) is a city in
Los Angeles County, California, bordered on the north by the
Santa Monica Mountains, on the north and east by the
Hollywood District of
Los Angeles, on the west by the city of
Beverly Hills and on south by the
Fairfax District of
Los Angeles. While West Hollywood is a distinct city, it is culturally very much a part of
Hollywood.
West Hollywood is the first city in the USA to enact a law banning cat declawing. Also, the city is one of 19 in California that has banned the use of gas-powered leaf-blowers [
1]. Council member
John Heilman is the city's longest-serving council member (having served continuously since 1984) and is currently serving his sixth term as mayor. This position is mostly a ceremonial post that rotates on an annual basis among the council members.
For many years, the area that is now the City of West Hollywood was an unincorporated area in the midst of the
City of Los Angeles, but was under the jurisdiction of
Los Angeles County. Because
gambling was illegal in the city of Los Angeles, but legal in the county, the
1920s saw the proliferation of many
nightclubs and
casinos along the section of the
Sunset Strip that did not fall within the Los Angeles city limits. As a result, these businesses were immune from the heavy-handed treatment by the LAPD. (The
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was and still is in charge of policing the area)
Movie people were attracted to this less restricted county area and a number of
architecturally fine apartment houses and apartment hotels were built. Movie
fans throughout the world knew that
Ciro's, the
Mocambo, the
Trocadero, the
Garden of Allah, the
Chateau Marmont and the Formosa Cafe were places that
movie stars could be seen on the Sunset Strip.
Eventually, the area and its extravagant night spots lost favor with movie people. But the Strip and its restaurants, bars and clubs continued to be an attraction for locals and out-of-town tourists. In the late
1960s, the Strip was transformed again during the
hippie movement. Young people from all over the country flocked to West Hollywood clubs such as the
Whisky a Go Go and the
Troubadour.
In the 1960s, a club called Ciro's held the first gay dance nights on Sundays, known as "Tea Dances" [or "T-Dances"]. Men dancing together was illegal in those days, but as with the casinos and speakeasies that had gone before, the laws were not strictly enforced. This tolerance led to more gay clubs after Ciro's closed, as well as the end of the anti-gay laws that prohibited dancing between two persons of the same gender in Los Angeles County. The building that Ciro's occupied is now the home of The Comedy Store.
In the early
1970s, there was a large influx of
Russian Jews from the
Fairfax District as well as
gays.
In November
1984, voters passed a proposal on the ballot to incorporate into a city. The uniting factor of this proposal was rent control; the county was in the process of abolishing rent control in all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. This galvanized the residents of the area into banding together, forming the city, and imposing rent control on all rental units built before 1979.
West Hollywood is located at (34.087909, -118.372160).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9
km² (1.9
mi²), all land.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 35,716 people, 23,120 households, and 5,202 families residing in the city. The
population density was 7,335.1/km² (18,992.7/mi²). There were 24,110 housing units at an average density of 4,951.6/km² (12,821.0/mi²). This makes it one of the most densely populated cities in the US and the world. The racial makeup of the city was 86.43%
White, 3.78%
Asian, 3.09%
African American, 0.36%
Native American, 0.11%
Pacific Islander, 2.87% from
other races, and 3.35% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 8.80% of the population.
There were 23,120 households out of which 5.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 16.4% were
married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 77.5% were non-families. 60.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.53 and the average family size was 2.50.
In the city the population was spread out with 5.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 48.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 123.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,914, and the median income for a family was $41,463. Males had a median income of $45,598 versus $35,750 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $38,302. About 7.3% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
According to
the city of West Hollywood's demographic profile, gleaned from the 2000 Census, the 2000 Customer Satisfaction Survey, the 1998 Community Needs Assessment Survey, and the 1994 Community Needs Assessment Survey, gay or bisexual men account for 41% of the population. Of these, 60% are between the ages of 25-44, 27% are living with HIV/AIDS, and 8% are living with a same sex partner/spouse.
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Abbey Bar and Restaurant*
Al & Ed's Autosound*
Barney's Beanery*
Beverly Center Mall*
Chateau Marmont*
Comedy Store*
Dudley Do-Right's Emporium*
Formosa Cafe*
House of Blues*
Hard Rock Cafe*
Here Lounge*
Hyatt West Hollywood*
Pacific Design Center*
Plummer Park*
The Roxy Theatre*
Tail O' the Pup*
Tower Records*
Troubadour*
Samuel Goldwyn Studios*
San Vicente Inn*
The Schindler House by mid-century architect
Rudolf Schindler*
Sunset Strip*
Whisky a Go Go*
Whisky Bar*
Viper RoomWest Hollywood has a distinctive street design scheme, with postmodern street signs featuring a blue map of the city.
L.A. County Sheriffs Dept. vehicles that patrol West Hollywood feature the same map of the city, but in the rainbow colors of the gay community.
Because of the large gay population and the large numbers of gay-oriented businesses, West Hollywood became prominently known as a
gay village. The section of Santa Monica Boulevard from
La Cienega Blvd to
Robertson Blvd, known as "boys town," is among the most important gay neighborhoods in the world, with numerous well-known spots such as the nightclubs Rage and Mickys. West Hollywood was the first city in the country to have a majority-gay city council[
2], and in 1985 it was the first city to have same gender
domestic partnership registration for its residents, as well as same gender
domestic partner benefits for its employees. The city is also one of 90 jurisdictions in the country where it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression [
3].
Today, West Hollywood contains some of the most exclusive condominium complexes on the West Coast with "name" buildings such as Shorham Towers and Sierra Towers. On the exclusive cul-de sac
Alta Loma Road are the popular buildings known as The Empire West and The Park Wellington.
Alta Loma Road is also home to the exclusive hotel "The Sunset Marquis" with its famous 45 person
Whisky Bar and a recording studio that has been the home to many hits. Alta Loma Road was one of the main locations for the film
Perfect. In the 1970s, it was the street on which
Sal Mineo lived and died.
Sunset Plaza is a European-style shopping and dining area on Sunset Boulevard. Though only 1/2 mile long, it boasts tenants and restaurants that rival those on
Rodeo Drive.
The western stretch of
Melrose Avenue, between
Fairfax Avenue and
Doheny Drive, is notable for its interior design shops, restaurants and antique stores, and is relatively sedate compared to the eastern
Hollywood stretch between
Fairfax Avenue and
Highland Avenue. At the west end of Melrose, near the
Pacific Design Center, the most exclusive furniture and interior design shops in the world can be found.
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 noted architects such as
Leland Bryant. This historic district has been home to many celebrities and at one time the
Sunset Tower was home to
Frank Sinatra,
Errol Flynn, the Gabor Sisters,
John Wayne and
Howard Hughes.
The Robertson/West 3rd Street area is home to some of the hippest stores and cafes in Los Angeles. The area is also known as the place where the paparazzi rent parking spaces by the month, and where young, up-and-coming celebrities hang out when they "accidentally" want to be seen (and then claim that they "need their privacy"). The Ivy is currently one of the most popular places where celebrites can hide in broad daylight. Another less conspicuous locale is the 2nd floor cafe in the adjacent Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where confidentiality rules are the norm.
The
West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is an event that takes place annually on
October 31. The largest
Halloween street party in the United States (spanning over one mile of Santa Monica Boulevard from
La Cienega Boulevard on the East to Doheny and the Beverly Hills border on the West), the 2005
Carnaval was reported to have more than 350,000 people in attendance, with some traveling from other countries specifically for this event.
CSW is a
Gay Pride parade and festival that was first held in June 1970 in
Hollywood to commemorate the first anniversary of
Stonewall riots in New York. After incorporation, the event moved to
West Hollywood and is typically held the second weekend in June so as not to conflict with the larger celebrations in
San Francisco and
New York City, and with
Father's Day (because many deputies request that day off and do not want to work overtime on that day).
Frontrunners GLBT Pride Run is a 5k/10k run/walk held on the Sunday morning of
GLBT Pride.
Legend has it that when
ZIP codes were being assigned in the
1960s, the
ZIP code of the growing gay area of West Hollywood was designated
90069, out of sequence, because the person who was assigning the
ZIP codes for
Los Angeles County was a frequent customer of
Ciro's on Sunday nights and thought the "
69" code could be used to identify the area as tolerant of the
gay community in the era before the
Stonewall riots.
West Hollywood is zoned to
Los Angeles USD schools.
Most of West Hollywood is zoned to West Hollywood Elementary School in West Hollywood. Some of it is zoned to Rosewood Elementary School in Los Angeles.
All of West Hollywood is zoned to
Bancroft Middle School and
Fairfax High School, both of which are in Los Angeles.
*
West Hollywood Official Website*
West Hollywood Convention & Visitors Bureau*
West Hollywood City Map & Data*
Avenues of Art & Design Official Website
