West Hollywood, an incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California, was founded on November 29, 1984.
The total residential population is just over 37,000; however, the nighttime and weekend population swells to between 80,000 and 100,000, with a high of up to 500,000 during major events such as Halloween or the Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which provides police services for West Hollywood.
The city is one of the most notable gay villages in the United States.
The area is also referred to as WeHo and BoysTown.
West Hollywood is bordered on the north by the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, on the east by the Hollywood District of Los Angeles, on the west by the city of Beverly Hills, and on the south by the Fairfax District of Los Angeles.
History
Although most historical writings about West Hollywood begin in the late 18th century, the land was already inhabited when the Portuguese explorer Cabrillo arrived offshore, claiming the region for Spain.
Canoeing out to greet him were some of the 5,000 members of the Tongva tribe, a nation of gentle hunter-gatherers, known for their reverence of dancing and courage. These indigenous people were forcibly acculturated by the ever-encroaching Spanish mission system, and were almost wiped out by disease by 1771.
To add insult to injury, their tribal name was changed to “Gabrielinos”, a reference to the Mission de San Gabriel that ravaged their culture and took over their land.
By 1780, the now-famous "Sunset Strip" was the major connecting road for El Pueblo de Los Angeles and all ranches westward to the Pacific Ocean. The land went through various owners and names in the next one hundred years, with names such as La Brea and Plummer in the historical record. Most of the area was part of the Rancho La Brea, and eventually came under the ownership of the Hancock family.
In the last years of the nineteenth century, the first large development in what would become West Hollywood—the town of Sherman—was established by Moses Sherman and his partners in the Los Angeles and Pacific Railway, an interurban line which would become part of the Pacific Electric Railway system. Sherman became the location of the railroad's main shops, yards and carbarns.
Many working-class employees of the railroad took up residence in the town. It was during this time that the city began to earn its reputation fas a loosely-regulated, liquor-friendly spot for eccentric people wary of government interference. The town chose not to incorporate with Los Angeles, and was proud to be called “West Hollywood”, borrowing glamour and celebrity from the new movie colony bursting onto the scene one town to the east.
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 fell 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 enforcement by the LAPD.
(The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was and remains in charge of policing the district.)
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 on Santa Monica Boulevard were places where movie stars could be seen.
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, Barney's Beanery 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.
Always friendly to creative folks, the design and decorating industry took root in the 1950s, culminating in the completion of the 750,000 square foot Pacific Design Center in 1975.
The 1960’s brought “hippie” culture and a thriving music publishing industry to town. Emboldened by the Stonewall Riots of 1969, gays from all over Los Angeles flocked to West Hollywood, many fleeing from the homophobic harassment of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Still unincorporated, gays and lesbians found refuge here, patrolled by the markedly less brutal Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The most recent migration to West Hollywood came about after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when thousands of Russian Jews immigrated to the city.
A majority of the 5,000 to 6,000 Russian Jews settled in two major immigration waves, 1978-79 and 1988-92. Approximately 13 percent of the current city population is Russian-speaking.
West Hollywood, therefore, was a community of persecuted and creative citizens, ripe for the political organization which began in earnest in 1984. Still governed by the County of Los Angeles, there arose a great revolt when L.A. began planning to dismantle rent control.
This area was a densely-populated area of renters, many of whom would not be able to afford the skyrocketing prices in the rental market of that time. Greatly assisted by the Community for Economic Survival (CES), a tight coalition of seniors, Jews, gays and renters swiftly voted to incorporate as the City of West Hollywood, immediately adopting one of the strongest rent control laws in the nation.
(The vacancy-control part of this ordinance has since been rendered null by an act of the state legislature in the early 1990s called Costa-Hawkins that effectively ended "strong" rent control measures in California.)
The CES continues to hold much favor among the city’s voters, with 20 out of 24 council members (thus far) being CES-endorsed.
Social services
West Hollywood, with a gay population of 41%, has been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic which has ravaged the gay male population since the early 1980’s.
Always in the vanguard of services to its residents, the city funds or subsidizes a vast array of services for those living with HIV or AIDS. AIDS Healthcare Foundation parks a Mobile HIV/STD testing van outside of the city’s busiest nightclubs on Friday and Saturday nights, and again on Sunday afternoons.
This outreach attempts to intervene with those young people most at-risk for HIV infection. Another organization receiving city funding is Project Angel Food, which prepares and delivers hundreds of fresh lunches and dinners daily, specially prepared under the supervision of a registered dietitian who tailors the meals to meet individual client’s nutritional needs.
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) provides assistance to clients navigating the maze of available public benefits, and is a national leader for AIDS policy and advocacy issues. APLA also provides free dental, psychotherapy and pharmaceutical services.
AID for AIDS provides direct financial support, assisting clients with paying rent, utility and pharmacy expenses. With the ever-growing arsenal of anti-retroviral therapies, the City also subsidizes agencies that help clients train for a return to the workforce.
The city of West Hollywood permits all residents living with HIV/AIDS to have up to two pets in his or her home regardless of a landlord's specifications in the property's lease.
West Hollywood subsidizes programs for its growing population of children through a partnership with the USDA and local schools. “Healthy Start West Hollywood”, a program of the city’s Social Services division, introduces pre-Kindergarten through High School age kids to the benefits of good nutrition through such activities as collective vegetable gardens and yoga.
The special needs of senior citizens are addressed through a variety of programs. The City either funds or subsidizes agencies that offer adult day care, a roommate matching service, and nutritious meals.
The West Hollywood Senior Center is not only a place for recreation, excursions and socializing, but also offers counseling and case management as needed. The City of West Hollywood also seeks to address the health needs of residents who might not have adequate insurance by subsidizing the LA Free Clinic and The LA Gay and Lesbian Center.
Between these two sites, residents can access free medical, dental, legal and mental health services. The City’s Women’s Advisory Board publishes guides on sexual assault prevention, nightclub safety, and how to access rape services.
