Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami.[5] As of 2020 census, Hollywood had a population of 153,061, and an estimated population of 153,131 in 2021.[6] Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now the 12th-largest city in Florida.[7] Hollywood is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,138,333 people in the 2020 census, and an estimated 6,091,747 in 2021.[8] The average temperature is between 68 and 83 °F (20 and 28 °C).
History
In 1920, Joseph Young arrived in South Florida to create his own "Dream City in Florida". His vision included the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean stretching westward with man-made lakes, infrastructure, roads, and the Intracoastal Waterway. He wanted to include large parks, schools, churches, and golf courses; these were all industries and activities that were very important to Young's life. After Young spent millions of dollars on the construction of the city, he was elected as the first mayor in 1925. This new town quickly became home to northerners known as "snowbirds", who fled the north during the winter and then escaped the south during the summer to avoid the harsh weather. By 1960, Hollywood had more than 2,400 hotel units and 12,170 single-family homes.[9] Young bought up thousands of acres of land around 1920, and named his new town "Hollywood by the Sea" to distinguish it from his other real-estate venture, "Hollywood in the Hills", in New York.
A photo of Hollywood Beach taken in late October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Florida guide, published by the Federal Writers' Project, describes the early development of Hollywood, an early example of a planned community that proliferated in Florida during the real-estate boom of the 1920s:
During the early days of development here, 1,500 trucks and tractors were engaged in clearing land and grading streets; two yacht basins, designed by General George Washington Goethals, chief engineer in the construction of the Panama Canal, were dredged and connected with the Intracostal Waterway. A large power plant was installed, and when the city lights went on for the first time, ships at sea reported that Miami was on fire, and their radio alarms and the red glow in the sky brought people to the rescue from miles around.
[10]
— Federal Writers' Project, "Part III: The Florida Loop", Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State (1947)
Prospective purchasers of land were enticed by free hotel accommodation and entertainment, and "were driven about the city-to-be on trails blazed through palmetto thickets; so desolate and forlorn were some stretches that many women became hysterical, it is said, and a few fainted.[10] Young had a vision of having lakes, golf courses, a luxury beach hotel (Hollywood Beach Hotel, now Hollywood Beach Resort), country clubs, and a main street, Hollywood Boulevard.[11] After the 1926 Miami hurricane, Hollywood was severely damaged; local newspapers reported that Hollywood was second only to Miami in losses from the storm.[9] Following Young's death in 1934, the city encountered other destructive hurricanes, and the stock market crashed with personal financial misfortunes.[11]
Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, wreaking widespread damage. Due to the spontaneity of the hurricane, nearly 700 elderly nursing-home residents died.[12] In an investigation following the hurricane, some of the deaths were found to be not actually a result of the hurricane, but the poor conditions to which they were exposed in the aftermath. Four nursing-home staff charged with negligence and counts of manslaughter.[13] Following the damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma in 2017, an initiative called Rebuild Florida was created by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to provide aid to citizens affected by the natural disaster. The initial focus of Rebuild Florida was its Housing Repair Program, which offered assistance in rebuilding families' homes that were impacted by Hurricane Irma. The program gave priority to low-income vulnerable residents, such as the disabled, the elderly, and those families with children under five.[citation needed] The success of this program has various results across the city, with hundreds of citizens claiming they were left without help.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.8 square miles (80 km2), of which 3.46 square miles (9 km2) are covered by water (11.23%).[33]
Hollywood is in southeastern Broward County, and includes about 5 to 6 miles (8.0 to 9.7 km) of Atlantic Ocean beach, interrupted briefly by a portion deeded to Dania Beach. It is bounded by these municipalities:
Neighborhoods
These neighborhoods and communities are officially recognized by the City of Hollywood:[34][35]
As of 2000, of 59,673 households, 24.9% had children under 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were not families. About 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.31, and the average family size was 3.00.
The city's age distribution was 21.3% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 women 18 and over, there were 90.9 men.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,714, and for a family was $55,849. Males had a median income of $33,102 versus $21,237 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,097. About 9.9% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 66.94% of residents, Spanish accounted for 21.62%, French made up 2.06%, French Creole consisted of 1.32%, Italian comprised 1.12%, Romanian was at 0.91%, Hebrew at 0.88%, Portuguese 0.84%, and German as a mother tongue was 0.72% of the population.[42]
As of 2000, Hollywood had the 75th-highest percentage of Cuban residents in the U.S., at 4.23% of the city's population,[43] and the 65th-highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.26% of the city's population (tied with both the town and village of Mount Kisco, New York.)[44] It also had the fifty-seventh highest percentage of Peruvian residents in the US, at 1.05% of the city's population (tied with Locust Valley, New York),[45] and the 20th-highest percentage of Romanian residents in the US, at 1.1% of its population (tied with several other areas in the US).[46]
Aerospace and electronics parts manufacturer HEICO has its headquarters in Hollywood.[48]
Since 1991, the Invicta Watch Group, a manufacturer and marketer of timepieces and writing instruments, has had its headquarters in Hollywood, where it also operates its customer-service call center.
Top employers
According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[49] the top employers in the city are:
Guided tours along the Intercostal Waterway are common in Hollywood. The waterway, parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, provides both tourists and locals with the exploration of nature and observation of surroundings.
Young Circle is another area surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars. A Food-Truck Takeover occurs every Monday, during which dozens of local food trucks park and offer a variety of cuisines, including Cuban, Venezuelan, Mediterranean, Mexican, Jamaican, and Peruvian foods, in addition to barbecue, burgers, gourmet grilled cheese, and desserts.[50]
Parks and recreation
Hollywood has about 60 parks, seven golf courses, and sandy beaches.
Hollywood Beach has a boardwalk that extends about 2.5 miles along the Atlantic Ocean.[5] Parking is available on side streets or in parking garages for a fee, and public trolleys run through the day. Restaurants and hotels line the boardwalk, along with a theatre, children's playground, and other attractions, including bicycle-rental shops, ice-cream parlors, souvenir shops, and a farmer's market. The boardwalk is used for walking and jogging, and has a bike lane for bicyclists and rollerbladers.
Hollywood has a diverse and broad number of educational institutions throughout the city, including 32 public (and charter) schools with 24 private schools. The public schools are operated by the Broward County Public Schools.[5]
Public schools
Broward County operates 24 public schools, consisting of four high schools, six middle schools, and 14 elementary schools.
The public middle schools include: Apollo Middle School,[55] Attucks Middle School, Driftwood Middle School, McNicol Middle School, Olsen Middle School and Beachside Montessori Village.[56]
The 14 elementary schools comprise:
Mary M. Bethune Elementary School
Beachside Montessori Village
Boulevard Heights Elementary School
Colbert Elementary School
Driftwood Elementary School
Hollywood Central Elementary School
Hollywood Hills Elementary School
Hollywood Park Elementary School
Oakridge Elementary School
Orange Brook Elementary School
Sheridan Hills Elementary School
Sheridan Park Elementary School
Stirling Elementary School
West Hollywood Elementary School
Public (charter) schools
In addition to these public schools, eight public 'charter' schools operate independently from Broward County. They are: Hollywood Academy of Arts and Science (K–8), New Life Charter Academy, Championship Academy of Distinction at Hollywood K–5,[57] Championship Academy of Distinction, Avant Garde Academy of Broward (K–12), BridgePrep Academy at Hollywood Hills, Ben Gamla Preparatory Academy and Bridge Prep Academy.[58]
Private schools
Hollywood, Florida has an abundance of private schools scattered across the city. These are:
The television game show Hollywood Squares taped a week of shows at the historic Diplomat Hotel in 1987 and featured aerial footage shot over Hollywood, Florida.[69]
Episode 15 of season six of the HBO crime drama The Sopranos featured scenes shot in the vicinity of the Hollywood Beach Marriott along Carolina Street.[70]
The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is the exterior of the police substation in the now-cancelled TV show The Glades.
