One of the Most Cultural Icons in the World Sprouted from the Wheat Fields of Kansas

Hollywood may be dubbed "Tinsel Town," but it isn’t a town at all. It is a neighborhood, a community, an area, a state of mind, a lifestyle, and an industry. It represents dreams, glamour, celebrities, palm trees, and the famed Hollywood sign is an image found on billions (probably) of tsotchkes, t-shirts, and artwork around the world. Hollywood symbolizes the epitome of success, money, and fame.

It all started with the dreams of Harvey Henderson Wilcox and his wife, Daeida (Ida), but they were very different than the ones that people who are California dreamin’ have today. In fact, the couple mandated that no alcohol was to be found in Hollywood. How that turned out is obviously another story.

Before coming west to Los Angeles, Harvey and Ida lived in Topeka, the capital of Kansas. He, a real estate agent and landlord, and she, a boarding house matron. They resided in the boarding house, which was next to his office on the main street, Kansas Ave. Today the site is home to a national car rental agency, which somehow seems apropos. Ida was Harvey’s second wife, and 29 years his junior. Harvey was also involved in politics in Topeka; he served as president of the City Council for one term in 1870, and served as Topeka City Clerk from 1877 though 1880. Harvey owned a cattle ranch in addition to his real estate dealings, and joined several other men in founding another, albeit much smaller, town in Shawnee county—Rossville.

After saving up a significant amount of money from rental property and real estate trading in Topeka, they decided, in 1883, to head West with their coachman and pair of pinto horses. Harvey was wheelchair bound, a victim of polio many years earlier. Once they arrived, Harvey did his thing. He opened a real estate office and started buying land in the outlying areas surrounding Los Angeles.

Harvey and Ida frequented the Cahuenga pass and valley area, and Ida became entranced by a fig orchard, which is now the middle of Hollywood Boulevard. They purchased the orchard in 1886 and an additional 120 acres, which encircled it for $150 an acre. This sounds amazingly cheap considering what Los Angeles real estate markets for today, but when the farmers he purchased it from original acquired the land, they had paid an average of $1.25 per acre. The Wilcoxes really gave the local farming economy a boost.

In 1887, Wilcox filed a plat with the county, showing a rectangular grid with a main street called Prospect Avenue—now Hollywood Boulevard. A name for the subdivision was required, and Ida had the perfect one. A friend had a summer home near Chicago called "Hollywood," and Ida loved the name. It struck the right chord. With the help of Chinese and Mexican workers, Harvey laid out the tracts, and Ida had what would later be the streets lined with Pepper trees. In fact, Hollywood historian Edwin O. Palmer credits the Wilcoxes with planting Hollywood’s first citrus grove. In 1903, Hollywood was incorporated, and then was merged into the City of Los Angeles in 1910.

Sadly, in 1891, Harvey died of an unknown illness. Ida was only 30 years old, but she took over the business and the mission.

“She was a woman of great personal charm, a genial companion, the best and truest of friends, and a worthy opponent,” wrote historian Palmer. “Her word was her oath, and she spared no pains to accomplish her undertakings. In benevolence, she was outstanding.”

After Harvey’s death, Ida not only continued the Hollywood mission, including seeing it become part of the city of Los Angeles, but she also donated the land for First Christian Church, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, the Hollywood Public Library, and Hollywood City Hall. She also built the Wilcox Building (located at today’s Hollywood and Cahuenga boulevards) for a bank and The Hollywood Club. She also married Philo Beveridge, the son of a former Illinois Governor. Together, they continued the mission.

Ironically, if the Wilcoxes had not stipulated the "no alcohol rule," the film industry might have taken a different turn. One of the consequences of the rules was that the Blondeau Tavern, a local staple in the area, was turned into a General Store. This didn’t go over well, and it sat empty until the Blondeau family sold it to a fledgling company from the East Coast called Nestor Film Company—which became the first actual studio in Hollywood. Scores and scores of studios and film investors moved into the area soon after, thanks to the four seasons, which were conducive to filming and a wide variety of landscapes to emulate almost any setting. A more important reason was that it was a place where filmmakers couldn’t be sued for infringement on patents, which were held by Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company.

While scores of these companies did fail, many thrived. The first film completed in Hollywood was The Count of Monte Cristo, although it began production in Chicago. As for a film done in its entirety in Hollywood, In Old California takes the gold. By 1915, most of the major motion-picture companies had relocated to Hollywood from the East Coast. The story of Hollywood and the film industry is not unfamiliar.

While there are actually cities in Los Angeles called West Hollywood and North Hollywood, there is no “Hollywood.” But more than pop culture, it has become a name synonymous with a lifestyle, as well as an industry. The area or neighborhood known as Hollywood is located in the original Wilcox plat, but it’s not lined with studios anymore; they began moving out in the 1920s and 30s, but merchants needed the myth and a location where tourists could go since they weren’t allowed in the studio lots. During World War II, the canteen is what really gave Hollywood a boost. All throughout the war, over one million servicemen came to the area, and each wanted to see Hollywood. A huge industry popped up, with tourist traps and establishments to accommodate the servicemen.

Ida’s grandson, David Brunson, stated in 1987, “The merchants maintained the myth. They came up with the idea of putting a bunch of stars names in the sidewalk, though for the life of me I can’t understand why retailers would want to make the guy who’s walking in front of his store look at the sidewalk instead of the display window.” Oddly, neither Harvey nor Ida have stars on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, nor do they have any sort of plaque or statue in Topeka, Kansas.

But the world has Hollywood.