The intersection of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles so embodies the myth of the Hollywood Dream, some believe the surrounding buildings are haunted by ghosts of Hollywood’s past. Over the years it has been home to a number of iconic landmarks, including restaurants, theaters and production studios in which many of our most beloved movies, radio and TV shows were created and aired.
Originally purchased by Horace H. Wilcox and subdivided in 1887, he named the main thoroughfare Prospect Avenue and the cross-street Weyse Avenue. Prospect was soon renamed Hollywood Boulevard and Weyse became Vine Street, more commonly known today as the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine.
It was a large lemon grove in 1903 with only a church building on it, until the early 1920s. In the early years of silent movies, entrepreneurs such as Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin used it as an outdoor backlot for their films. Others movie-makers found it the perfect wide-open, rural area to shoot westerns and chase scenes.
It didn’t take long for Hollywood and Vine to become the second busiest intersection in Los Angeles (next to Wilshire and Western to the south), driven by a huge population increase in the 1920s. Also, movie-making moved inside after 1914 when it was discovered directors could have more control of indoor lighting to better the light their stars. The famous Lasky-Paramount Studios moved south to Melrose but still kept a presence at Hollywood and Vine.
New buildings began to spring up on Hollywood Boulevard. The Taft Building, a 12-story high-rise in the Renaissance Revival style, was the first as it replaced the church on the southeast corner at Vine in 1923. Charlie Chaplin and Will Rogers and all the studio moguls kept offices there throughout the 1920s and 1930s. From 1935 to 1945, it was the home of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The Hollywood public relations machine continued to keep the myth of Hollywood and Vine as the center of Hollywood alive through the 1930s. The popular “CBS Lux Radio Theater” announced it was broadcasting live from Hollywood and Vine at the beginning of each show. Hedda Hopper mentioned the intersection often as she reported the latest Hollywood gossip in her newspaper column.
Another high-rise, the Laemmele Building designed by famed architect Richard Neutra, appeared on the northwest corner in the International Style in 1932. It was demolished in 2008. Next to it is a building designed by Neutra’s rival Rudolf Schindler in the same style. Sardi’s Restaurant leased this property for years, and it is now the home of the Cave Theater. The art deco Pantages Theater, built in 1930, stands next door.
On the southwest corner, the Broadway-Hollywood department store, with its art deco annex built in 1931 lasted until 1982 when it was replaced with a luxury apartment building. To its south on Vine, Clara Bow owned a café called “The ‘IT’ Room” located in the Hollywood Plaza Hotel in the 1920s next to the old Lasky-Paramount Studios. Later NBC and then ABC moved in. Across the street, the Brown Derby restaurant appeared in 1929 in a Spanish Colonial Revival building with its famous iconic hat façade.
The intersection is also known for being the center of the Hollywood Walk of Fame which branches out from its center to encompass over 15 blocks along Hollywood Blvd., and 3 blocks along Vine. Over 10 million visitors come each year to see over 2,400 brass stars in pink terra-cotta bearing the names of famous Hollywood stars along this route.
In 1960s, the area fell into disrepair. Store owners moved out and crime increased. Eventually redevelopment projects turned the area around and a renaissance began. The Metro Line opened directly beneath the intersection in 1999, which led to even more sustained development.
In 2003, Hollywood and Vine was officially named “Bob Hope Square” to commemorate the actor-comedian’s 100th birthday. To feel the ghosts of hollywood past, all one has to do is stand on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.