In 1887, Harvey and Daeida Wilcox the founded the city of Hollywood. This photo gives us an idea of what the area looked like at around that time: lots of fruit trees, some shade trees, and every now and then a house pops up like the one being built in the middle of the photo. The orchard in the foreground is located at what would later become the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga Ave. It was Daeida who came up with the name Hollywood – one account I read said that Harvey favored the name Figwood, but “Hooray for Figwood” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?
There is a Highway Marker in Ohio where Daeida was born honoring her accomplishments:
The view looks toward the southwest where the store/hotel stood facing onto Cahuenga with Prospect passing alongside (horizontally in the image). That should place the photographer at about the higher end of Ivar. That open area east of the store would be where the Los Angeles—Pacific Railway did indeed build a passenger station and freight house on the south side of the boulevard. St. Stephens Episcopal Church went in next to the open area where the future Ivar extension was built, but that area served as a rail yard with freight house when PE moved over from the old LAP site (with Cosmo having been built on the east border of that land). From then on, the center of Hollywood would shift toward Vine even though it had originally just been the eastern edge. Cahuenga itself was the pioneer roadway from Los Angeles to the pass, which explains why the hotel did not face onto Prospect.
In 1887, Harvey and Daeida Wilcox the founded the city of Hollywood. This photo gives us an idea of what the area looked like at around that time: lots of fruit trees, some shade trees, and every now and then a house pops up like the one being built in the middle of the photo. The orchard in the foreground is located at what would later become the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga Ave. It was Daeida who came up with the name Hollywood – one account I read said that Harvey favored the name Figwood, but “Hooray for Figwood” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?
No. Figwood just doesn’t have that magic tone to it!
I always think of the way Cecil B. DeMille said it at the end of “The Lux Radio Theatre”– ” Good night from Holly—wood!”
Something special in his intonation?
Well, it was C.B., so that automatically carries with it a load of importance.
The view looks toward the southwest where the store/hotel stood facing onto Cahuenga with Prospect passing alongside (horizontally in the image). That should place the photographer at about the higher end of Ivar. That open area east of the store would be where the Los Angeles—Pacific Railway did indeed build a passenger station and freight house on the south side of the boulevard. St. Stephens Episcopal Church went in next to the open area where the future Ivar extension was built, but that area served as a rail yard with freight house when PE moved over from the old LAP site (with Cosmo having been built on the east border of that land). From then on, the center of Hollywood would shift toward Vine even though it had originally just been the eastern edge. Cahuenga itself was the pioneer roadway from Los Angeles to the pass, which explains why the hotel did not face onto Prospect.