The City of West Hollywood has a long and colorful history. Once home to the Gabrielino Indians, the area roughly bordered by what is now Robertson Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, Gower Street, and the Cahuenga Pass, was granted to Antonio Jose Rocha by Mexico in 1828. Named Rancho La Brea, the Westernmost portion in 1874 was home to Los Angeles' Robin Hood, Tiburcio Vasquez, until he was captured near his hideout at what is now the top of Kings Road. Rancho La Brea was subsequently sold to Henry Hancock, for whom Hancock Park is named.

In 1874, Don Eugenio Plummer acquired a portion of what is now West Hollywood and built his home and farm. This land was soon subdivided and parcels were sold to farms growing fruits and vegetables for the Los Angeles Markets.

One of the early movers and shakers in Los Angeles was Moses H. Sherman, who had a plan to lay an electric railway (later known as the Red Car system) to connect Los Angeles with the beaches of Santa Monica. In 1898, his Pacific Railway Company complex was erected at the corner of Venice and San Vicente and dubbed Sherman Station. The settlement of workers' houses and small neighborhood stores which developed there became known as the town of Sherman within the unincorporated part of Los Angeles County. Sherman eventually spread north into the area which is now West Hollywood.

In the 1920's, the world discovered Hollywood, and the glittery nightclubs just beyond its western border became the place for celebrities to be seen - the Sunset Strip. The twenties and thirties also brought the construction of several movie studios and many architecturally distinct apartment houses and hotels catering to the free spending stars.

The changing economy during the War years and the two decades that followed brought a decline in popularity to the area. The star system was a thing of the past. New studios sprang up in the Valley and those in Culver City turned their attention to television. "Hollywood" as a life-style disappeared and West Hollywood was no longer in fashion. Families who built homes there in the twenties and thirties stayed and became the core of West Hollywood's senior population. The aging apartment houses with their comparative low rents attracted young singles. At this time, West Hollywood became known for its progressive social environment. Thus, the city attracted a large number of gays, many of whom bought and renovated the old houses, equipping them with new stylish facades.

In the late sixties young rockers rediscovered West Hollywood and its new nightclubs, including the now famous Whisky-A-Go-Go and The Troubadour. This led to the establishment of West Hollywood as home to a thriving music publishing industry. Within a few years, commercial revitalization, including all around enhancement of West Hollywood, was apparent.

In 1979, at the urging of the Coalition for Economic Survival, (CES), the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors enacted a rent control law for its unincorporated areas. In 1983 the law was extended but was expected to expire in 1985 given the weakness of the ordinance.

With residents fearful of no rent control, the CES, the Golden State Mobil Home Owners League and the Marina Tenants Association joined together to support, promote and be a fighting force behind Proposition M, an effort to impose strict rent control. Proposition M failed countywide by a sixty/forty margin. It passed easily in Marina Del Rey, however, and in West Hollywood it passed by a vote of five to one.

With the five members of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors acting as a sort of absentee governing body for the West Hollywood area, coupled with the likelihood of no rent control when the county ordinance expired, the climate was right for consideration of Cityhood. Work towards Cityhood began after the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) issued a report indicating that it was fiscally feasible for West Hollywood to incorporate. The West Hollywood Incorporation Committee (WHIC), which was organized to do initial research on incorporation, speared the work on possible cityhood, while building a community base for incorporation.

The prospect of Cityhood soon had seniors talking about crime rates, gays speaking out about anti discrimination ordinances and tenants anticipating passage of their City' 5 rent control law.

Today West Hollywood is a completely developed, diversely populated area of 1.981 square miles, or 1273 acres, located approximately eight miles northwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center. It extends for a maximum east-west distance of about 2.9 miles and 1.25 miles from north to south. It is surrounded on three sides by the City of Los Angeles; on the north by the Hollywood Hills, on the east by the community of Hollywood, on the south by the Beverly-Wilshire district, and on the west by the City of Beverly Hills.

The diversity which characterizes West Hollywood is reflected in the uniqueness of its population, economy and land use. Within the eastern end of West Hollywood is a group of refugees--Russian Jews, who settled in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles, Included in this area are many senior citizens and young families with children. The community as a whole has a population consisting of single adults and senior citizens.

By incorporating, the City of West Hollywood became the 84th city in Los Angeles County. As such, the City of West Hollywood is responsible for administering City government, providing community services and managing future development of the City.

Contributions from:
An article written by Robert Vulcan, Founder West Hollywood Historical Society,
Gay Pride: Will Success Spoil West Hollywood?, Ron Stone, L.A. Weekly, June 24-30, 1983,
Helen Albert, West Hollywood City Councilmember,
Larry Gross, Coalition for Economic Survival,
Barbara Sultan, Office Worker, City of West Hollywood,
and Conrad Corral, Researcher Administrative Analyst, City of West Hollywood.

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