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West Hollywood (abbreviated WeHo), a city in Los Angeles County, California, was founded on 29 November 1984. The city, along with Beverly Hills, forms an enclave within the city of Los Angeles. West Hollywood is bordered on the north by the Santa Monica Mountains, on the north and east by the Hollywood District of Los Angeles, on the west by the city of Beverly Hills and on south by the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. While West Hollywood is technically a distinct city, it is culturally very much a part of Hollywood and the rest of Los Angeles.
History For many years, the area that is now the City of West Hollywood was an unincorporated area in the midst of the City of Los Angeles, but was under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Because gambling was illegal in the city of Los Angeles, but legal in the county, the 1920s saw the proliferation of many nightclubs and casinos along the section of the Sunset Strip that did not fall within the Los Angeles city limits. As a result, these businesses were immune from the heavy-handed treatment by the LAPD. (The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was and still is in charge of policing the area.) Movie people were attracted to this less restricted county area and a number of architecturally fine apartment houses and apartment hotels were built. Movie fans throughout the world knew that Ciro's, the Mocambo, the Trocadero, the Garden of Allah, the Chateau Marmont and the Formosa Cafe on Santa Monica Boulevard were places that movie stars could be seen. Eventually, the area and its extravagant night spots lost favor with movie people. But the Strip and its restaurants, bars and clubs continued to be an attraction for locals and out-of-town tourists. In the late 1960s, the Strip was transformed again during the hippie movement. Young people from all over the country flocked to West Hollywood clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go and the Troubadour. In the 1960s, a club called Ciro's held the first gay dance nights on Sundays, known as "Tea Dances" or "T-Dances". Men dancing together was illegal in those days, but as with the casinos and speakeasies that had gone before, the laws were not strictly enforced. This tolerance led to more gay clubs after Ciro's closed, as well as the end of the anti-gay laws that prohibited dancing between two persons of the same gender in Los Angeles County. The building that Ciro's occupied is now the home of The Comedy Store. In the early 1970s, there was a large influx of Russian Jews from the Fairfax District as well as gay people. In November 1984, voters passed a proposal on the ballot to incorporate into a city. The uniting factor of this proposal was rent control; the county was in the process of abolishing rent control in all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. This galvanized the residents of the area into banding together, forming the city, and imposing rent control on all rental units built before 1979. Politics West Hollywood is the first city in the USA to enact a law banning cat declawing. Also, the city is one of 19 in California that has banned the use of gas-powered leaf-blowers *. Council member John Heilman is the city's longest-serving council member (having served continuously since 1984) and is currently serving his sixth term as mayor. This position is mostly a ceremonial post that rotates on an annual basis among the council members. Geography West Hollywood is located at (34.087909, -118.372160). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²), all land. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 35,716 people, 23,120 households, and 5,202 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,335.1/km² (18,992.7/mi²). There were 24,110 housing units at an average density of 4,951.6/km² (12,821.0/mi²). This makes it one of the most densely populated cities in the US. The racial makeup of the city was 86.43% White, 3.78% Asian, 3.09% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 2.87% from other races, and 3.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.80% of the population. There were 23,120 households out of which 5.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 16.4% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 77.5% were non-families. 60.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.53 and the average family size was 2.50. In the city the population was spread out with 5.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 48.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 123.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,914, and the median income for a family was $41,463. Males had a median income of $45,598 versus $35,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $38,302. About 7.3% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over. According to the city of West Hollywood's demographic profile, gleaned from the 2000 Census, the 2000 Customer Satisfaction Survey, the 1998 Community Needs Assessment Survey, and the 1994 Community Needs Assessment Survey, gay or bisexual men account for 41% of the population. Of these, 60% are between the ages of 25-44, 27% are living with HIV/AIDS, and 8% are living with a same sex partner/spouse. Landmarks and interesting spots West Hollywood has a distinctive street design scheme, with postmodern street signs featuring a blue map of the city. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department vehicles that patrol West Hollywood feature the same map of the city, but in the rainbow colors of the gay community. Because of the large gay population and the large numbers of gay-oriented businesses, West Hollywood became prominently known as a gay village. The section of Santa Monica Boulevard from La Cienega Boulevard to Robertson Boulevard, known as "boys town," is among the most important gay neighborhoods in the world, with numerous well-known spots such as the nightclubs Rage and Mickys. West Hollywood was the first city in the country to have a majority-gay city council*, and in 1985 it was the first city to have same gender domestic partnership registration for its residents, as well as same gender domestic partner benefits for its employees. The city is also one of 92 jurisdictions in the country where it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression *. Today, West Hollywood contains some of the most exclusive condominium complexes on the West Coast with "name" buildings such as Shorham Towers and Sierra Towers. On the exclusive cul-de sac Alta Loma Road are the popular buildings known as The Empire West and The Park Wellington. Alta Loma Road is also home to the exclusive hotel "The Sunset Marquis" with its famous 45-person Whisky Bar and a recording studio that has been the home to many hits. Alta Loma Road was one of the main locations for the film Perfect. Actor Sal Mineo lived on this street in the 1970s; he was murdered in his carport just around the corner from Alta Loma Road on Holloway Drive. The western stretch of Melrose Avenue, between Fairfax Avenue and Doheny Drive, is notable for its trendy clothing boutiques, interior design shops, restaurants and antique stores. The west end of Melrose, near the Pacific Design Center, is especially known for its exclusive furniture. The area around Fountain Avenue, Harper Avenue and Havenhurst Drive contains a high concentration of landmark 1920s Spanish Revival and Art Deco apartment buildings by noted architects such as Leland Bryant. This historic district has been home to many celebrities and at one time the Sunset Tower was home to Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, the Gabor Sisters, John Wayne and Howard Hughes. The Robertson/West 3rd Street area is another area in West Hollywood with hip shops and cafés. West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval The West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is an event that takes place annually on October 31. The largest Halloween street party in the United States (spanning over one mile of Santa Monica Boulevard from La Cienega Boulevard on the East to Doheny and the Beverly Hills border on the West), the 2005 Carnaval was reported to have more than 350,000 people in attendance, with some traveling from other countries specifically for this event and has already been estimated to have peaked over 500,000 this year where pop diva Tiffany performed and was named honorary mayor of the city. Christopher Street West ("CSW") CSW is a Gay Pride parade and festival that was first held in June 1970 in Hollywood to commemorate the first anniversary of Stonewall riots in New York. After incorporation, the event moved to West Hollywood and is typically held the second weekend in June so as not to conflict with the larger celebrations in San Francisco and New York City, and with Father's Day (because many deputies request that day off and do not want to work overtime on that day). Frontrunners GLBT Pride Run is a 5k/10k run/walk held on the Sunday morning of GLBT Pride. West Hollywood folklore Legend has it that when ZIP codes were being assigned in the 1960s, the ZIP code of the growing gay area of West Hollywood was designated 90069, out of sequence, because the person who was assigning the ZIP codes for Los Angeles County was a frequent customer of Ciro's on Sunday nights and thought the "69" code could be used to identify the area as tolerant of the gay community in the era before the Stonewall riots. Education West Hollywood is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Most of West Hollywood is zoned to West Hollywood Elementary School in West Hollywood. Some of it is zoned to Rosewood Elementary School in Los Angeles, and some adjacent areas of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills are zoned to West Hollywood Elementary. All of West Hollywood is zoned to Bancroft Middle School and Fairfax High School, both of which are in Los Angeles. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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