Page 102 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

WEST HOLLYWOOD
A place to indulge your senses and let loose
B Y J A C Q U E L I N E Y A U
SUNSET BOULEVARD at night, above;
the Carthay Circle Theatre was one
of the most famous movie palaces of
Hollywood’s Golden Age, below;
Sunset Strip music festival, opposite.
KNOWN FOR ITS live-and-let-live atti-
tude since the late 19th century, West
Hollywood (WeHo to the locals) has always
been a little looser than its neighbors. This
central Los Angeles area, formerly an unin-
corporated stretch known as “Sherman”
during Prohibition, was loosely regulated
and out of reach of the L.A. Police Depart-
ment—an ideal place for opportunists,
developers, mafia money and celebrities.
Speakeasies, nightclubs and casinos prolif-
erated along the Sunset Strip where glam,
glitz and grit rubbed shoulders. Marilyn
Monroe had her first date with baseball
Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio at the Rainbow
Bar & Grill, right across the street from the
iconic music venue, The Roxy Theatre—the
birthplace of many a rock legend.
The decadent era of the 1920s and ’30s
gave way to the counterculture movement
in the ’60s, bringing to the area musicians,
seekers, publishers, promoters and hip-
pies, fueling a Renaissance in music clubs
that are now part of rock ’n’ roll lore and
landmarks including Troubadour and
Whisky a Go Go. The Troubadour cultivated
singer-songwriters like Randy Newman,
Neil Diamond and Elton John, who per-
formed his first U.S. show there in 1970.
And Whiskey a Go Go served as a rock incu-
bator, hosting early performances of The
Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Blondie, Guns N’
Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and gave
The Doors their start as the house band.
Creative City
West Hollywood is a densely packed 1.9
square miles, a key-shaped city within a
city, straddling the iconic Sunset Boule-
vard and Santa Monica Boulevard, part of
the historic Route 66. Today, this cosmo-
politan and self-styled “creative city” is
where music, art, fashion and design inter-
sect. A mix of Spanish Colonial Revival and
Art Deco buildings, designer flagship
stores, furniture showrooms, art galleries,
restaurants and clubs vie for attention.
Music lovers, entertainers, fashionistas,
glitterati and people-watchers alike
indulge their senses and let loose here.
West Hollywood is home to a vibrant gay
and lesbian community and the largest
100 2014 T R AV E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A
SCOTT R. SMITH. TOP: GERRY BOUGHAN/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: JOSHUA BARASH