Historically, the area now known as Los Angeles had its beginnings with the
occupation of California in 1769 when an exploratory expedition of more than
60 persons led by Gaspar de Portola moved through the region. In September
1771, Father Junipero Serra and a group of Spaniards founded the San Gabriel
Mission as the center of the first community in an area inhabited by Gabrielino
Indians. On 4 September 1781, a community was established by the Pobladores in
the area discovered by Portola and over time the area became known as the Ciudad de Los Angeles, City of Angels. California continued under Spanish rule until 1822 when Mexico assumed jurisdiction. Following a two-year period of hostilities with Mexico starting in 1846, the U.S. assumed control of the area. In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo made California a United States Territory. Several months before California was admitted to the Union, the County of Los Angeles was established on 18 February 1850, as one of the 27 original counties. On 4 April 1850, the City of Los Angeles became incorporated and in 1851 the County of Los Angeles was divided into six townships.
The region continued to expand as population growth increased and in 1886-87 Los Angeles
experienced a boom time. In the same year, the first public high school opened in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce was established in 1888 at a meeting of the city's principal boosters. In 1889, the first college football game was played in Los Angeles between USC and Saint Vincent's College (Loyola). Orange County was established from the southern portion of Los Angeles County. In 1890, the first Tournament of Roses Parade was held in Pasadena. The following year, President Benjamin Harrison's visit to Pasadena became the first U.S. President to visit the Los Angeles area. In 1895, Wilshire Boulevard became the name for the heavily traveled Los Angeles thoroughfare. Two years later, J. Philip Erie drove the first known automobile to appear on the streets of Los Angeles. It was built by S.D. Sturgis in a downtown L.A. shop. The increasing popularity of automobiles lead to the establishment of the Automobile Club of Southern California in 1900. The following year, President William McKinley became the first U.S. President to visit the City of Los Angeles. On 1 January 1902, the first Tournament of Roses football game, Michigan versus Sanford, was played. Michigan won 49-0. In 1903, William Randolph Hearst established the Los Angeles Examiner, which later joined the Herald to become, in 1962, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner.
With the ever increasing popularity of the burgeoning film industry in the northeast, it's no wonder that the sunny weather conditions of Southern California and the incentive of avoiding imposed fees from Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company (The Trust) would lure independent filmmakers to the Los Angeles area. In 1906, the first motion picture studio was established in Los Angeles, later the same year, the first movie theater opened. Although the film industry had its start in the northeast twelve years prior, it would soon be surpassed and overshadowed in Los Angeles.
In 1907, filmmaker Francis Boggs finished his motion picture, The Count of Monte Cristo (1907) in Los Angeles. Later, Boggs' Chicago-based employer instructed him to set up a permanent film operation in Los Angeles. The following year, Boggs completed
In the Sultan's Power (1908), the first motion picture entirely made in Los Angeles. By 1910, German-born Carl Laemmle changed the face of the industry by creating the star system,
much to the chagrin of other movie companies who chose to keep their stars anonymous. The publicity stunt involving Biograph girl Florence Lawrence shook the very core of the film industry, forcing studios to recognize and compensate actors for their roles. In 1912, Laemmle merged his Independent Motion Picture Company with Bison 101, Nestor Films, the U.S. production facilities of French studio Eclair, and several other film companies to create Universal Film Manufacturing Company. The following year Cecil B. DeMille telegramed his New York partners for authority to rent a barn in Hollywood to film the motion picture The Squaw Man (1914).
With the success of D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1914), Los Angeles became the center of the motion picture industry.
On 15 March 1915, Carl Laemmle opened Universal Studios on 230-acre chicken ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles later called Universal City. Laemmle made it a policy to invite visitors to tour the facilities and observe the behind-the-scenes magic of movie-making. During the mid 1910's to early 1920's, the Los Angeles film industry experienced a great deal of turmoil as the major players competed for power. Movie production companies were bought and sold almost daily and stars moved to rival studios. Under-the-table dealings became the norm as studios vied vigorously to be number one. Out of the chaos, several significant new studios emerged. Some were due to mergers, while others were formed from individuals working with prior studios. In 1916, Adolph Zukor's Famous Players and Jesse Lasky's Feature Players merged to form the Famous Players-Lasky. Charlie Chaplin, while still making films for other studios, built his own movie studio in Los Angeles in 1917. He filmed all of his classic Little Tramp silent films at this studio. At the time, Adolph Zukor became a major controlling force in the film industry. Zukor required exhibitors to show only his films. He would offer them block-booking which included a block of 104 films each year. Exhibitors had no idea what films they were acquiring. They would be charged more money if they wanted to pick their titles. Zukor's power-hungry practice became the resentment of the leading movie exhibitors. Consequently, in 1917, Thomas L. Tally, a Los Angeles theater owner, organized local area exhibitors to buy and distribute their own films. Along with West Virginia theater owner, John D. Williams, Tally formed the First National Exhibitors Circuit. First National increased its 100 theaters to 600 nationwide and soon became a thorn on Zukor's side and his studio. First National produced films until 1935. In 1926, the El Capitan and Grauman's Chinese Theaters opened. The same year also saw the opening of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
In 1927, the Academy of Arts & Sciences was organized in Hollywood and the first Academy Awards Ceremony would be held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1929. Also in 1927, Warner Brothers would end the silent era of movie-making with their talkie The Jazz Singer (1927). The following year Walt Disney would release the first Mickey Mouse cartoon. From the mid 1920's to the mid 1930's the movie industry experienced a shift in power. Although there were a number of independent filmmakers, most of the major films were being produced by eight primary studios. The industry referred to these as the Big Five and the Little Three. The Big Five category included MGM, Paramount Pictures, RKO Pictures, Warner Brothers Pictures and 20th Century Fox. The Little Three comprised of Columbia Pictures, United Artists and Universal Pictures. Significant contributions made to the movie industry by other studios included Walt Disney Company, Monogram Picture Corporation, Republic Pictures, Selznick International and American International Pictures.
Today, Hollywood is a trendy and all encompassing catch phrase for the legendary Los Angeles dream machine.
The name evokes visions of screwball and slapstick imposed laughter,
colorful epic grandeur and wondrous adventure in filmmaking on the big screen
as well as on television. This area has been the setting for hundreds of films.
Over the years, many area residences, stores, restaurants, hotels, banks, office
buildings, schools, avenues and streets have all served as backdrop locales for
the dream machine. Some of the more famous and recognizable edifices and
locales on the silver screen include those seen in The Music Box (1932),
King Kong (1933), Going My Way (1944), It's a Wonderful Life (1946),
Sunset Boulevard (1950), War of the Worlds (1953), Rebel Without a Cause (1955),
Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Funny Girl (1968), Conquest of the Planet of
the Apes (1972), The Sting (1973), Chinatown (1974), Grease (1978),
Halloween (1978), Blade Runner (1982), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982),
Beverly Hills Cop (1984), The Terminator (1984), Back to the Future (1985),
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Ruthless People (1986),
Lethal Weapon (1987), Die Hard (1988), Pretty Woman (1990), Father of the Bride (1991),
The Rocketeer (1991), Scenes From a Mall (1991), In the Line of Fire (1993),
Jurassic Park (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Pulp Fiction (1994), Heat (1995),
L.A. Confidential (1997) and The X Files (2000). These collectively represent
a diverse cross-section of entertainmnent escapism through time. Many of the same
locales as seen on the big screen have also appeared on television. These
include Adventures of Superman, Perry Mason, Bonanza, The Beverly Hillbillies,
Dragnet, Kojak, The Incredible Hulk, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Hill Street
Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Knight Rider, Remington Steele, L.A. Law and Melrose
Place just to name a few. Hollywood is driven by the tremendous entertainment
energy of Los Angeles. California remains the leading supplier of entertainment to the world, while Los Angeles County produces by far the vast majority of the state's output. Although filmmaking in the United States had its roots in West Orange, New Jersey, the dream machine was perfected in Los Angeles and the business continues to boom. Visitors to the Los Angeles area walk on movie-making hallowed ground.
