Hollywood then and now: How a 1900s rural idyll was carpeted in concrete to build Tinseltown


Before Hollywood became the glamorous home to the movie industry, it was a simple agricultural town filled with citrus groves and fields.



Black and white photos compiled by the Los Angeles Public Library and California Historical Society show the amazing transformation of the town from the 1900s to become the booming cinema city of today.



The town was actually developed by H.J. Whitley, who is know fondly remembered as the Father of Hollywood.



He was a land developer, who made his mark developing the infrastructure in Oklahoma in the 1870s.



Mr Whitley moved to Southern California and purchased E.C. Hurd ranch, a 500 acre plot of land, in the 1880s. He began developing the area and in 1902 founded Hollywood Hotel.



Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It became a popular destination for the motion picture industry by 1915.



The name Hollywood was coined by Whitley and his wife, who thought of the name while the couple were on their honeymoon.

Quaint: A horse and buggy was the most efficient form of transportation to get across the Franklin Avenue Bridge near Bronson Ave

Modern times: Franklin Avenue is now filled with cars and lined with strip malls

Untouched: This barren plot of land (left) would become the location for Hollywood High School (right)



Nature: In 1906, the Hollywood Highland area was sparsely populated with a full view of the hills

Commercial: Now a huge shopping center stands on corner of Hollywood Blvd. and North Highland Avenue

Rural: The view of Hollywood from Whitley Heights, now an exclusive residential area, in 1905

Neighborhood: Whitley Heights is now a historic area filled with luxury homes. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982

Serene: With just a few trees, the future site of Melrose and Normandie (pictured in 1906) was calm and provided stunning views of the horizon

Bustling: The corner of Melrose and Normandie is now a well populated intersection, with the hills barely visible in the backround

Wine country: In 1909, a vineyard sate on the site that would become Franklin and Western Avenues

Changed: A much different view of Franklin and Western today

Town center: A general store sat at Cahuenga and Sunset in 1903