The City of West Hollywood

West Hollywood sits within the 90069, 90046, 90048, and 90038 zip codes and is bordered by Beverly Hills to the west,  Hollywood Hills neighborhoods  of Doheny Estates and Sunset Plaza, to the north, Hollywood to the east, and Beverly Grove and Miracle Mile to the south.

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West Hollywood History:

The area now known as West Hollywood was initially populated by the Tongva Tribe of Native Americans known for their tradition of ritual dance and their seafaring canoes, which they waterproofed with pitch from the La Brea tar pits.  The area was claimed by Spanish explorers in the late 18th century, governed by the monastic order established at the Mission de San Gabriel, and was later incorporated into Alta California , a territory of New Spain.  The land was then granted to rancheros Antonio Jose Rocha and Nemisio Dominguez, who called  it Rancho La Brea, in 1826.  When Alta California was annexed by the United States after the Mexican American War, Rocha was permitted to retain his land grant under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but the legal expenses of defending his claim bankrupted the Rancho and it passed into the hands of his lawyer Henry Hancock.

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In 1886 , a real estate developer and entrepreneur named Moses Hazeltine Sherman bought a portion of Rancho La Brea from Hancock in order to construct segments of two electric railways, the Pacific and the West Hollywood lines, which connected Los Angeles to the small, beachfront town of Santa Monica.  At the intersection of the two railways, he established the headquarters of his Los Angeles Pacific Railways Co. , the railway's power generators and a small residential area for railway workers a settlement he named "Sherman."  As the town of Sherman grew, it began to integrate with the nearby cities of Fairfax, Melrose, Hollywood and Los Angeles, raising the possibility of annexation.  Although Fairfax, Melrose and Hollywood all voted to become part of the City of Los Angeles, West Hollywood (fearing higher property taxes) resisted attempts at annexation, developing its own municipal services and remaining under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County.

With the emergence of the motion picture industry in the early 20th century, the town of Sherman became an attractive residential area for film stars working in nearby Hollywood, and soon the movie business entered the city itself.  After founding the United Artists production company, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks established the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios near Santa Monica Boulevard, which still exists today as The Lot.  In 1925, the inhabitant of Sherman voted to change the name to West Hollywood in order to emphasize its relationship to its glamorous neighbor.  However, the West Hollywood still technically remained not a city but an unincorporated region of Los Angeles County.

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Due to its unincorporated status, West Hollywood both existed outside the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department and lacked a police department of its own.  Loosely overseen by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the regions became a hotbed of liquor and nightlife.  The dirt road at the northern border of West Hollywood, which served as the main commuter route between Beverly Hills and Hollywood, became known as Sunset Blvd., and nightclubs, hotels and restaurants sprung up along The Sunset Strip.  Gambling, which was legal in Los Angeles  County but not in the City of Los Angeles, brought money and the attention of mobsters like Bugsy Segal and Micky Cohen, regulars at Strip nightclubs like Ciro's (now the Comedy Store) and the Melody Room (now Viper Room).  In the Golden Age of Hollywood, West Hollywood was the swankiest, most glamorous nightlife destination in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.

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West Hollywood added to its growing legend throughout the following decades.  In the 60s and 70s, it became a major gathering place for the counterculture, with hippies, musicians and artists flooding the streets.  Acts like Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Elton John won over crowds in emerging music venues such as The Troubadour, The Whisky a Go Go, and The Roxy.  The Strip continued to be a cultural center for punk rock and New Wave during the late 1970s, and evolved into the epicenter of the colorful glam metal and heavy metal scenes during the 1980s.  Groups including Van Halen, Motley Crue and Guns N Roses redefined the standard for excess, with West Hollywood serving as their playground.

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In  1984, a coalition of gay men, Russian Jews and the elderly, spurred by imminent expiration of LA County's rent control protections, successfully held a vote to officially incorporate the area as the City of West Hollywood, electing a city council  and immediately passing a series of rent control measures to protect its longtime citizens.  West Hollywood soon developed a reputation as a self-governed gay city and became a vanguard for progressive legislation, social change and LGBTQ culture.

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Today, the city has grown to over 40,000 residents and continues to set the standard for progressive, creative individuals on the cutting edge of trends and new ideas, working together as a community in one of the most exciting destinations in the country.