WeHo’s (W. Hollywood) Past & Present

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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 Pasadena 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 Railway Co., the railway’s power generators and a small residential area for railway workers — a settlement he named “Sherman.”

The Original name, Town of Sherman

Film stars flock to W.H.-

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 inhabitants 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.

The Iconic Sunset Blvd is born

The link between Beverly Hills & Hollywood

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 region 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.

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.

Becoming West Hollywood

The city is born-

Meanwhile, dispossessed and underserved minorities, most notably gay, lesbian and genderqueer-identifying people, flocked to West Hollywood to escape the persecution they faced at the hands of the LAPD and other city departments. At the same time, an influx of Russian Jewish émigrés fled the USSR and began to settle in the area. By the early 80s, rent prices in West Hollywood had begun to skyrocket, and the region’s minority and elderly populations faced the prospect of being priced out of the neighborhood that they had helped create. In 1984, a coalition of gay men, Russian Jews and the elderly, spurred by the imminent expiration of L.A. County’s rent control protections, successfully held a vote to officially incorporate the area as the City of West Hollywood.

At present, the city has grown to 39,000 residents and remains Los Angeles’ hottest destination for the entertainment industry with its boutique hotels, celebrity-owned restaurants, unparalleled nightlife and shopping and world-renowned events like the HBO Emmy Party, Sir Elton John’s Annual Oscar Party, LA PRIDE and the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval, the largest Halloween street party in the world. West Hollywood 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.

REAL ESTATE MARKET SNAPSHOT

Calculated using the past 30 days

• Median List Price: $1.54M
• Avg. Sale / List: 100.9%
• Median List $/Sq Ft: $853K
• Median Sale Price: $850K
• Median Sale $/Sq Ft: $715
• Number of Homes Sold: 27

- Real Estate Highlights -

New Listing :: For Sale

Location | 821 N. Formosa, West Hollywood, CA

Just Reduced :: Price to SELL!

Location | 8751 Clifton Way | Beverly Hills

R.E. Information courtesy of Redfin.com

Blog details, images courtesy of Water & Power Associates & Sher She Goes

MEET BASYA GRADON

A vibrant member of Southern California’s real estate industry, Basya is well known for her positive approach to tackling every prospective deal, from the quaint starter-homes & investment properties to the elegant sprawling estates of Los Angeles. Her core focus includes the Hancock Park & Westside neighborhoods. With an approachable personality, Basya is a proud agent of Compass who makes herself available to her clients as if they were family.

“My perspective on homeownership in today’s real estate market is to bring out my clients’ driving forces behind their home purchase,” Basya says, “and ensure that all those needs & plans are recognized & incorporated into their home buying experience”.

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