North Hollywood, California

North Hollywood, California is a community within the city of Los Angeles. Despite its name, North Hollywood, which is in the eastern San Fernando Valley, is not adjacent to Hollywood. There is a mountain range – specifically, the Santa Monica Mountains – separating the two areas, not to mention North Hollywood’s neighboring communities to the south and southeast: Studio City, Valley Village, Universal City, and Toluca Lake. To the southwest is the neighborhood of Sherman Oaks.

At the northeast corner of North Hollywood is the 555-acre Hollywood Burbank Airport. Hollywood Burbank Airport accommodates about 3.7 million passengers and about 107 million pounds of cargo annually. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, a government agency created under a joint powers agreement of the three named municipalities, owns and operates Hollywood Burbank Airport. Also nearby is Whiteman Airport, a general aviation airport owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles. A third area airport, Van Nuys Airport, one of the world’s busiest general aviation airports, is owned by Los Angeles World Airports.

Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce promotes the thousands of large and small businesses that comprise the area’s business community.

The area surrounding the North Hollywood station of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) B (Red) Line North Hollywood Station has been transformed into a hub of social and economic activity. At the same location is the eastern terminus of the Metro G (Orange) Line busway. As with at many other Metro transit station locales, the development of large-scale residential and mixed-use complexes was part of the revitalization program.

Unique to North Hollywood is the NoHo Arts District, which covers about 1.5 square miles. The area already was home to several theaters, but with the new development, more and larger theaters were added, and old ones have been restored. Now the district is home to many theaters, all within walking distance of the transit hub. Adding to the attractiveness of the performance spaces are cafes, shops, and other amenities to draw in residents and inspire visitors to extend their stays beyond the showtimes. The area is known for its walkability as well. One spot worth walking to is the Lankershim Train Depot. Built in 1896, the station was in operation up to 1952. Also of interest are the Noho Commons, a large complex with apartments and eateries; the Television Academy and the Saban Media Center; and the WACO Theatre Center. The Metro B (Red) Line North Hollywood Station provides easy access to the NoHo Arts District.

Not entirely considered part of North Hollywood because it sits in the zone between where Hollywood ends and North Hollywood begins is Universal City. Universal City is a world-renowned entertainment, shopping, and dining complex surrounding a major working movie studio. Universal City features an amusement park, and a planned pedestrian zone around a large cinema complex, shops, and restaurants. Travelers from around the world put this place on their to-do list. Universal Studios Hollywood is an amusement/theme park and movie studio that alone employs hundreds of hourly workers to run rides, shows, and concessions. An attraction unique to the park is its World-Famous Studio Tour of Universal Studios’ backlot. Other park attraction highlights include the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which has two rides as well as themed shops. The upcoming Super Nintendo World will include an interactive ride along with themed dining and shopping. Universal CityWalk is a shopping, entertainment (with a 7-story IMAX theatre), and dining complex.

Lankershim Boulevard, once touted as the commercial heart of the San Fernando Valley, is now a City of Los Angeles Jobs and Economic Development Incentive zone, the aim of which is to create jobs and stabilize local businesses.

In 1847, Lt. Col. John C. Fremont of the United States and General Andres Pico of Mexico met at the Tomas Felez adobe (demolished in 1900, a replica now stands in its place) in Campo de Cahuenga in what is now the North Hollywood Universal City area to sign the Treaty of Cahuenga (also known as the Capitulation at Cahuenga) that ended the fighting of the Mexican-American War in California. In 1869, Isaac Lankershim headed a group of investors that purchased much of the San Fernando Valley, including the area now known as North Hollywood. The land was used first for raising sheep and then for wheat cultivation. Lankershim formed Lankershim Ranch Land & Water Co. as a real estate development, which included present-day North Hollywood.

The area was known as Toluca (named after Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico, capital of México estado) when established as a town in 1887. In the 1890s the Southern Pacific Railroad established a rail line and station in Toluca.

The area was renamed Lankershim in 1896. Pacific Electric Railway red cars extended to Lankershim in 1911. In 1923, the citizens of Lankershim, which had limited local water sources, voted to the annexation of Lankershim by the city of Los Angeles, thereby securing access to water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was the first engineering project to bring water to Southern California from distant sources.

Amid Los Angeles’ land and real estate boom of the 1920s, Lankershim was renamed North Hollywood in 1927 to capitalize on the newfound glamour of nearby Hollywood. During this period, the area was known for what was believed to be the world’s largest apricot tree. Also in 1927, voters approved a park bond measure and two local families sold 90 acres for what would become North Hollywood Recreation Center and North Hollywood Park.

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Mortuary, located partially in North Hollywood, was established in the early 1920s and serves as the resting place for such luminaries as Oliver Hardy and several aviation pioneers.

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