Early Hollywood

The image of Hollywood often translates as some otherworldly dreamscape filled with fantastic lives and fantasy fulfillment. The real deal was carved from the Southern California desert as an outpost northwest of Los Angeles. The movie industry arrived when tumbleweeds were not simply props and actual horsepower pulled the loads. Everyday workers civic management and Main Street conventionalities nurtured Hollywoods growth as did a balmy climate that facilitated outdoor photography and shooting schedules for filmmakers. Splendid vintage photographs from the renowned collections of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and Bison Archives illustrate Hollywoods businesses homes and residents during the silent-film era and immediately after as the Great Depression led up to World War II. These images celebrate Hollywood before and after its annexation into the city of Los Angeles in 1910 and its subsequent ascension as the worlds greatest filmmaking center.