Hollywood and Highland
Encyclopedia
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
and Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district in Los Angeles. The 387000 square feet (35,953.5 m²) center also includes Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
and the Kodak Theatre
Kodak Theatre
The Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles...
, home to the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. The historic site was once the home of the famed Hollywood Hotel
Hollywood Hotel
The Hollywood Hotel was a famous hostelry and landmark located on the north side of Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and Orchid Avenues in Hollywood, California.-History:The first section of the hotel was built in 1902 by H.J...
. Located in the heart of Hollywood, along the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, it is among the most visited tourist destinations in Los Angeles.
The complex sits just across of the El Capitan Theatre
El Capitan Theatre
El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is owned by Pacific Theatres and operated by the Walt Disney Company. It serves as the venue for many of Walt Disney Pictures' movie premieres...
and offers views of the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
and Hollywood Sign
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in and white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition...
to the north, Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
to the west and downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
to the east. The centerpiece of the complex is a massive three-story courtyard inspired by the Babylon scene from the D.W. Griffith film Intolerance
Intolerance (film)
Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a...
. The developer of the shopping center built part of the archway and 2 pillars with elephant sculptures on the capitals, just as seen in the film, to the same full scale. It gives visitors an idea of how large the original set must have been.
Tenants include 75 shops http://www.hollywoodandhighland.com/shop_categorical.php, two nightclubs and restaurants http://www.hollywoodandhighland.com/dine_restaurants.php, a movie theater, The Highlands nightclub and Level 3 nightclub and a bowling alley called Lucky Strike Lanes. The portion of the center facing Hollywood Boulevard houses retail tenants such as GAP
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
, American Eagle
American Eagle Outfitters
American Eagle Outfitters is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by Mark and Jerry Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc., a company which also owned and operated Silverman's Menswear...
, Banana Republic, Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and customized during their visit to the store, and is the...
, Sephora
Sephora
Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France in 1970 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries...
, Swatch
Swatch
Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
, and Express
Express (store)
EXPRESS is an American fashion retailer headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and New York, New York. Express operates over 550 stores in the United States and generates $1.8 billion in annual sales.-History:...
.
Hollywood & Highland also houses 65000 square feet (6,038.7 m²) of gathering spaces including the Grand Ballroom, used for the Oscars Governors Ball. The chef Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...
operates his regional headquarters out of the complex. The center also includes television broadcast facilities that in 2004 included the studios for the daily talk show On Air With Ryan Seacrest.
The 637-room Renaissance Hollywood Hotel is also part of the site. The LACMTA Red Line
LACMTA Red Line
The Red Line is a subway line running between Downtown Los Angeles via the districts of Hollywood and Mid-Wilshire to North Hollywood within Los Angeles where it connects with the Metroliner Orange line service for stations to the Warner Center in Woodland Hills.The red line, which is one of five...
's subway station of the same name
Hollywood/Highland (LACMTA Station)
Hollywood/Highland Station is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is located at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in the Hollywood District of Los Angeles...
is beneath the structure. Also, Metro Local
Metro Local
Metro Local is a bus system in Los Angeles County operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . This retronym designation was placed to differentiate it from the Metro Rapid service...
lines 212, 217, 222, 656 and Metro Rapid
Metro Rapid
Metro Rapid is a bus rapid transit service in Los Angeles County, California that operates in mixed traffic environments and has fewer stops than the Metro Local service. The system is mainly operated by LACMTA. Two routes are operated by Santa Monica Transit and one by Culver City Transit...
780 serve Hollywood & Highland.
Development
Developed by Trizec Properties and with funds from the Community Redevelopment Agency, Hollywood & Highland opened after three years of construction in November 2001 and is part of an overall effort to revitalize Hollywood Boulevard.The project is an example of joint development, in which a public agency leases the right to develop a parcel in exchange for improvements to the property, in this case, an enhanced portal to the Hollywood/Highland Metro
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
Red Line
Red Line
Red Line may refer to:* Red line , denotes the center of the playing surface on an ice hockey rink* Red Line Synthetic Oil Corporation, an oil manufacturer for automotive and other performance applications...
station. TrizecHahn leased 1.35 acres (5,463.3 m²) of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
land for 55 years at a rate of $492,000 per year (with additional increases added every five years based on the Consumer Price Index) and four 11-year optional extensions.
Leading up to the construction of the development the City of Los Angeles was persuaded, through its Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), to contribute at least $90 million in 1998 toward the initial construction of Hollywood and Highland. This was in addition to the costs of constructing the Red Line subway station below the mall.
Trizec Properties Inc. sold its interest in the development for over $200 million in 2004 to CIM Group. This was a substantial loss and represented an investment failure as it was estimated that Trizec spent at least $625 million to develop the center.
The current owner, CIM Group, describes itself as a premier real estate fund manager that makes private equity and/or debt investments in urban communities throughout North America. CIM is headquartered in Hollywood in the TV Guide Building located across the street from Hollywood and Highland. (CIM also owns and manages the TV Guide Building.) CIM has active projects in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Orange County, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Oakland, Washington D.C., Austin TX, Boulder CO, as well as other communities. One of their better known projects in the Los Angeles region is the Third Street Promenade
Third Street Promenade
The Third Street Promenade is a public entertainment venue in the downtown area of Santa Monica, California. It is considered a premier shopping and dining district on the Westside and draws crowds from all over Los Angeles County...
in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
. CIM rebranded Hollywood and Highland and repositioned the center with higher end tenants. In 2005, the center underwent renovations to add additional features such as escalators leading visitors from Hollywood Boulevard directly to the third floor of the central courtyard, new signage, and new stores.
Controversy and criticism
The Hollywood and Highland complex opened in 2001 with a conditional use permit that enabled, among other things, for the complex to have special exemptions of Los Angeles billboard ordinances. Despite objections of some residents and neighbors, in 2002 this agreement was amended and extended for an additional 20 years. L.A. City Councilman Eric GarcettiEric Garcetti
Eric Michael Garcetti is an American municipal politician. He is a member of the Los Angeles City Council. He serves as its President and represents the 13th District. He is the son of the former Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early...
, who represents the district of Hollywood, supported extending this special permit.
The design of the center has been criticized. In 2007, "Curbed L.A.", an online magazine, named Hollywood and Highland the "winner" of their Ugliest Building in Los Angeles contest. In selecting Hollywood & Highland, they cited its aesthetics, pedestrian unfriendliness, confusing circulation, and "mish-mash of architectural styles".
Impact
The center may have played a role in attracting development to other parts of Hollywood. The TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
Hollywood Center (also owned by CIM) across the street reconstructed the ground floor has attracted new tenants such as American Apparel
American Apparel
American Apparel is a clothing manufacturer in the United States. It is a vertically integrated clothing manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer that also performs its own design, advertising, and marketing...
, Baja Fresh
Baja Fresh
Baja Fresh is a chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Newbury Park, California in 1990 and headquartered in Cypress, California. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, and each restaurant features a self-serve salsa bar....
, Hooters
Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida...
, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Further east on Hollywood Bouelvard., several new, more upscale shops and restaurants have opened. Several blocks further east at Vine Street
Vine Street
Vine is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north-south from Melrose Avenue up past Hollywood Boulevard. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine was once a symbol of Hollywood itself...
, two major projects have been announced, including one with a W Hotel.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
and as such is one of the few locations where the star memorials are "doubled up" rather than being placed linearly, in order for more stars to be accommodated in front of the center.
In February 2006, it was announced that the clothier H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
is opening a location just across the street from Hollywood and Highland, and in May 2007, it was announced that the Spanish retail chain Zara
Zara (clothing)
Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. It is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group; the fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Oysho, Uterqüe, Stradivarius and...
will be opening nearby as well.
In February 2005, the Academy Awards statuettes were put on display for public viewing at Hollywood and Highland before the ceremony on March 5. Visitors could have a picture taken outside with a giant prop Oscar that was to be used on the red carpet and in the exhibit could learn about the history of the Academy Awards, see the statuettes that were to be presented, and even get their picture taken holding an actual Oscar statuette. It became extremely popular, so the Academy decided to continue it. The exhibit opened on February 9, 2006 and closed February 24, when the Oscars were removed and paraded down the red carpet into the Kodak Theatre.
The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel is where contestants from reality shows America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
and So You Think You Can Dance
So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
stay during the Semi-Finals and Final Rounds.