HOLLYWOOD’S NAME
The distinction of giving Hollywood its name goes to Daeida Wilcox. She and her real estate developing husband, Harvey Wilcox, came from Kansas to Los Angeles in 1883 and in 1886 purchased 120 acres in the Cahuenga Valley at, what is now, Hollywood Blvd. and Cahuenga Ave. The following year, Daeida traveled by train to her old home in the east. On the train, Mrs. Wilcox met a woman who described her summer home, which she called Hollywood. Daeida was so enamored with the name that, when she returned home, she prevailed on her husband to name there property Hollywood. The following year, in 1887, Mr. Wilcox recorded the area’s first real estate subdivision, which he appropriately called HOLLYWOOD.
HOLLYWOOD BECOMES A CITY
Shortly after the turn of the century, the residents of the Cahuenga Valley were faced with three pressing problems. The streets were not getting the attention in proportion to the tax being levied by the county; a lack of school facilities and a growing sentiment for prohibition. In August, 1903, a petition was submitted to the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors requesting the incorporation of thE City of Hollywood. The election for city hood was held on November 14, 1903 with voting lasting until 5:00 PM. After all the ballots were counted, the vote was eighty-eight for incorporation and seventy-seven against. Hollywood became a city of the sixth class with geographic boundaries extending from Normandie on the east, to Fairfax on the west, and from the top of the Santa Monica Mountains on the north to DeLongpre and Fountain avenues on the south. City hood for Hollywood only lasted six years. Hollywood’s population had grown too rapidly for the then existing water and municipal facilities. Annexation to the City of Los Angeles would assure the burgeoning community of adequate water, sewage and municipal services. The election, held in 1910, was an overwhelming victory for annexation.