Hollywood, Florida

Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a key suburb of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6.14 million people in 2020. As of the 2020 census, the population was 153,067, making it the third-largest city in Broward County, the fifth-largest city in the Miami metro area, and the 12th-largest city in Florida. The average temperature is between .
History
In 1920, Joseph Young arrived in South Florida to create his own "Dream City in Florida". His vision included the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean stretching westward with man-made lakes, infrastructure, roads, and the Intracoastal Waterway. He wanted to include large parks, schools, churches, and golf courses; these were all industries and activities that were very important to Young's life. After Young spent millions of dollars on the construction of the city, he was elected as the first mayor in 1925. This new town quickly became home to northerners known as "snowbirds", who fled the north during the winter and then escaped the south during the summer to avoid the harsh weather. By 1960, Hollywood had more than 2,400 hotel units and 12,170 single-family homes. Young bought up thousands of acres of land around 1920, and named his new town "Hollywood by the Sea" to distinguish it from his other real-estate venture, "Hollywood in the Hills", in New York.
The Florida guide, published by the Federal Writers' Project, describes the early development of Hollywood, an early example of a planned community that proliferated in Florida during the real-estate boom of the 1920s:
Prospective purchasers of land were enticed by free hotel accommodation and entertainment, and "were driven about the city-to-be on trails blazed through palmetto thickets; so desolate and forlorn were some stretches that many women became hysterical, it is said, and a few fainted. Young had a vision of having lakes, golf courses, a luxury beach hotel (Hollywood Beach Hotel, now Hollywood Beach Resort), country clubs, and a main street, Hollywood Boulevard. After the 1926 Miami hurricane, Hollywood was severely damaged; local newspapers reported that Hollywood was second only to Miami in losses from the storm. Following Young's death in 1934, the city encountered other destructive hurricanes, and the stock market crashed with personal financial misfortunes.
Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, wreaking widespread damage. Due to the spontaneity of the hurricane, nearly 700 elderly nursing-home residents died. In an investigation following the hurricane, some of the deaths were found to be not actually a result of the hurricane, but the poor conditions to which they were exposed in the aftermath. Four nursing-home staff charged with negligence and counts of manslaughter. Following the damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma in 2017, an initiative called Rebuild Florida was created by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to provide aid to citizens affected by the natural disaster. The initial focus of Rebuild Florida was its Housing Repair Program, which offered assistance in rebuilding families' homes that were impacted by Hurricane Irma. The program gave priority to low-income vulnerable residents, such as the disabled, the elderly, and those families with children under five. The success of this program has various results across the city, with hundreds of citizens claiming they were left without help.
Timeline
1921 – Hollywood by the Sea platted on land of Joseph Wesley Young
1923
Hollywood Hotel opens. Later renamed the Park View Hotel when the Hollywood Beach Hotel opens.
1925
Hollywood incorporated
Hollywood Police Department established
Hollywood Boulevard Bridge built (approximate date)
Joseph Wesley Young becomes mayor; C.H. Windham becomes city manager
Joseph Wesley Young House built
1926
Hollywood Beach Hotel in business
September 18: 1926 Miami hurricane demolished city
1928 – Port Everglades opened near Hollywood
1930
Hollywood Hills Inn built
Population: 2,689.
1932 – Riverside Military Academy Hollywood campus established
1935 – Fiesta Tropicale began
1937 – Florida Theatre built
1947 – Hurricanes occur
1948 – Broward County International Airport opened
1950 – Population: 14,351
1952 – Joseph Watson became city manager (until c. 1970)
1953 – Hollywood Memorial Hospital opened
1957
Seminole Tribe of Florida gained official recognition by the federal government, with tribal headquarters located in Hollywood.
McArthur High School opened
1958 – Diplomat Hotel in business
1959 – Seminole Tribe's Okalee Indian Village in business.
1960 – Population: 35,237
1962 – Arrow Drive-In cinema in business
1964 – Home Federal Tower hi-rise built.
1967 – Hollywood West Elks Lodge founded
1970 – Population: 106,873
1971
Pageant of the Unconquered Seminoles held in Hollywood
Topeekeegee Yugnee Park opened
1972 – Broward County Historical Commission established
1974 – Broward County Library System established.
1975 – Art and Culture Center of Hollywood opened
1981
July 27: Murder of Adam Walsh
"U.S. Supreme Court affirms Tribe's right to high-stakes bingo at Hollywood in Seminole Tribe of Florida vs. Butterworth"
1982 – West Lake Park opened
1983 – Seminole Tribune newspaper begins publication.
1996
Kolb Nature Center opened in West Lake Park
City website online (approximate date)
1997 – New Times Broward-Palm Beach newspaper began publication
2004 – Seminole Tribe of Florida's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in business
2010 – Population: 140,768
2013 – Frederica Wilson became U.S. representative for Florida's 24th congressional district
2016 – Josh Levy became mayor
2018 - The first hotel in almost 50 years, Circ By Sonder, opens in Downtown Hollywood.
2019 – Hard Rock Live guitar shaped hotel opened, with pool and manmade lake
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are covered by water (11.23%).
Hollywood is in southeastern Broward County, and includes about of Atlantic Ocean beach, interrupted briefly by a portion deeded to Dania Beach.
Climate
Hollywood has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af), with long, hot, humid, and rainy summers and short, warm, and dry winters.
Demographics
As of 2000, Hollywood had the 75th-highest percentage of Cuban residents in the U.S., at 4.23% of the city's population, and the 65th-highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.26% of the city's population (tied with both the town and village of Mount Kisco, New York.) It also had the fifty-seventh highest percentage of Peruvian residents in the US, at 1.05% of the city's population (tied with Locust Valley, New York), and the 20th-highest percentage of Romanian residents in the US, at 1.1% of its population (tied with several other areas in the US).
Economy
Prior to their dissolutions, Commodore Cruise Line and its subsidiary Crown Cruise Line had their headquarters in Hollywood.
Aerospace and electronics parts manufacturer HEICO has its headquarters in Hollywood.
Since 1991, the Invicta Watch Group, a manufacturer and marketer of timepieces and writing instruments, has had its headquarters in Hollywood, where it also operates its customer-service call center.
Top employers
According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Tourism
Guided tours along the Intracoastal Waterway are common in Hollywood. The waterway, parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, provides both tourists and locals with the exploration of nature and observation of surroundings.
Young Circle, named after the City's founder, is another area surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars. A Food-Truck Takeover occurs every Monday, during which dozens of local food trucks park and offer a variety of cuisines, including Cuban, Venezuelan, Mediterranean, Mexican, Jamaican, and Peruvian foods, in addition to barbecue, burgers, gourmet grilled cheese, and desserts.
Parks and recreation
Hollywood has about 60 parks, seven golf courses, and sandy beaches.
Hollywood Beach has a broadwalk that extends about 2.5 miles along the Atlantic Ocean. Parking is available on side streets or in parking garages for a fee, and public trolleys run through the day. Restaurants and hotels line the broadwalk, along with a theatre, children's playground, and other attractions, including bicycle-rental shops, ice-cream parlors, souvenir shops, and a farmer's market. The broadwalk is used for walking and jogging, and has a bike lane for bicyclists and rollerbladers.
Government
Mayor
Joseph Wesley Young, circa 1925
Arthur W. Kellner, circa 1935
Lester Boggs, 1943–1947, 1949–1953
Alfred G. Ryll, 1954–1955
William G. Zinkil Sr., 1955–1957, 1959–1967
E. L. McMorrough, c. 1959
David Keating
Mara Giulianti, circa 2002
Peter Bober, circa 2016
Josh Levy, 2016–present
Education
Hollywood has a diverse and broad number of educational institutions throughout the city, including 32 public (and charter) schools with 24 private schools. The public schools are operated by the Broward County Public Schools.
Public schools
Broward County operates 24 public schools, consisting of four high schools, six middle schools, and 14 elementary schools.
The public high schools situated in Hollywood are: Hollywood Hills High School, McArthur High School, South Broward High School, and Sheridan Technical College and High School.
The public middle schools include: Apollo Middle School, Attucks Middle School, Driftwood Middle School, McNicol Middle School, Olsen Middle School and Beachside Montessori Village.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Hollywood is served by Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the 22nd busiest airport in the United States. Broward County Transit operates several bus routes that pass through the city of Hollywood, such as the 1 on US 1 (federal highway). It is also served by Tri-Rail stations at Sheridan Street and Hollywood.
Police department
The Hollywood Police Department is an entity within the city government tasked with law enforcement.
Notable people
Davey Allison, former NASCAR driver
Jayne Atkinson, actress, House of Cards
Herbert L. Becker, former magician known as Kardeen, author, businessman
Steve Blake, retired NBA player
Lauren Book, politician
Ethan Bortnick, piano child prodigy
Chris Britton, baseball pitcher, San Diego Padres
Marquise Brown, NFL player
Janice Dickinson, model, author
Joe DiMaggio, iconic professional baseball player, lived and died in Hollywood
Mike Donald, professional golfer
Scotty Emerick, singer-songwriter
Seth Gabel, actor
Josh Gad, actor
Adam Gaynor, former member of Matchbox Twenty
Alan Gelfand, developer of Ollie (skateboarding trick)
Michael Heverly, model
Rosemary Homeister, Jr., jockey
Erasmus James, defensive end in the NFL
Evan Jenne, politician
Victoria Justice, actress, model, singer
Joe Klink, retired MLB pitcher
Veronica Lake, actress, World War II pin-up girl
Bethany Joy Lenz, actress, One Tree Hill
Jeff Marx, composer and lyricist of Broadway musical Avenue Q
Oddibe McDowell, MLB center fielder
Bryant McFadden, cornerback for NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers
Danny McManus, former CFL quarterback; broadcaster for TSN's CFL games
Fred Melamed, actor
Tracy Melchior, actress
Billy Mitchell, videogame player
Michael Mizrachi, professional poker player
Mike Napoli, MLB catcher and first baseman, member of 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox
Norman Reedus, actor
Moshe Reuven, music artist
Ian Richards, County Court Judge of Florida's 17th Judicial Circuit
Patti Rizzo, golfer, 1982 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year
Jon Pernell Roberts, drug trafficker
Latrice Royale, drag entertainer
Jabaal Sheard, defensive end for Super Bowl LI champion New England Patriots
Megan Timpf, Canadian softball player, competitor at 2008 Summer Olympics
Joe Trohman, Fall Out Boy lead guitarist
John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted
Scott Weinger, actor, writer, producer
Robert Wexler, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Lorenzo White, former Houston Oilers running back
Crime and terrorism
In popular culture
The television game show Hollywood Squares taped a week of shows at the historic Diplomat Hotel in 1987 and featured aerial footage shot over Hollywood, Florida.
Episode 15 of season six of the HBO crime drama The Sopranos featured scenes shot in the vicinity of the Hollywood Beach Marriott along Carolina Street.
The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is the exterior of the police substation in the now-cancelled TV show The Glades.
The comedy series Big Time in Hollywood, FL is set in Hollywood, Florida.
Sister cities
Hollywood's sister cities are:
Baia Mare, Romania
Ciudad de la Costa, Uruguay
Diego Bautista Urbaneja, Venezuela
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Herzliya, Israel
Higüey, Dominican Republic
Laayoune, Morocco
Vlorë, Albania
See also
Big Time in Hollywood, FL
Notes
References
Bibliography
Florida, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, 2004, pg. 132
External links
Hollywood Office of Tourism
Items related to Hollywood, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
1921 establishments in Florida
Beaches of Broward County, Florida
Beaches of Florida
Cities in Broward County, Florida
Cities in Florida
Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean
Populated places established in 1921
Seaside resorts in Florida