To most people, Hollywood means American movies and movie stars. Hollywood is an area in central Los Angeles. There are about 300,00 people living in the Hollywood area now, but 150 years ago, it was a small farming area with less than 300 people. A lot of people think Hollywood got its name from a common plant there called the English Holly, but it was actually the idea of the rich businessman Hobart Whitley and his wife.
Whitley is “the Father of Hollywood.” He bought and developed the area into the most important movie town in the world. Movie companies started moving to Hollywood from New York and New Jersey because of the nice weather, beautiful scenery, and a lot of open spaces. Another reason was the famous inventor Thomas Edison. At that time, Edison owned almost all of the patents related to movie making. It would be easier to make movies without Edison’s control. In 1909, the first movie studio in Hollywood was built.
|
|
