Hollywood, Florida, United States

🇺🇸 Hollywood, Florida, USAHollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now the 12th largest city in Florida. Hollywood is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. 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. 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.

— 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. 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. After the 1926 Miami hurricane, Hollywood was severely damaged; local newspapers reported that Hollywood was second only to Miami in losses from the storm. Following Young's death in 1934, the city encountered other destructive hurricanes, and the stock market crashed with personal financial misfortunes.

Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, wreaking widespread damage. Due to the spontaneity of the hurricane, nearly 700 elderly nursing home residents died. In an investigation following the hurricane, it was found that some of the deaths weren't actually a result of the hurricane, but the poor conditions that they were exposed to following the aftermath. This saw four nursing home staff charged with negligence and counts of manslaughter. 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 priorities low-income vulnerable residents, such as the disabled, the elderly and those families with children under five. The success of this program has various results across the city, with hundreds of citizens claiming they were left without help.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.8 square miles (80 km²), of which 27.34 square miles (71 km²) is land and 3.46 square miles (9 km²) is covered by water (11.23%).

Hollywood is in south-eastern 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.

Neighborhoods These neighborhoods and communities are officially recognised by the City of Hollywood: • 441 Corridor • Alandco • Arapahoe Farms • Beverly Hills • Beverly Park • Boulevard Heights • Camino Sheridan • Carriage/Carriage Hills • Central Business District • Condo presidents • Downtown Hollywood • Driftwood/Driftwood Acres • East Lake • Emerald Hills • Emerald Oaks • Emerald Point • Estates of Fort Lauderdale • Highland Gardens • Hillcrest • Hollywood Beach • Hollywood Gardens • Hollywood Hills • Hollywood Lakes • Hollywood North Beach • Hollywood South Central Beach • L'Etoile at Emerald Point • Lake Eden • Lakes of Emerald Hills • Lawnacres • Liberia • Mapleridge • Martin Luther King Jr. Community • North Central • Oak Point • Oakridge • Oakwood Hills • Park East • Park Side • Playland/Playland Village • Playland Estates • Quadomain • Royal Poinciana • Sheridan Oaks • Stirling Commercial • The Homes at East Lake • The Townhouses of Emerald Hills • The Wood of Emerald Hills • T.Y. (Topeekeegee Yugnee) Park • Washington Park • West Hollywood.

Economy Prior to their dissolutions, Commodore Cruise Line and its subsidiary Crown Cruise Line had their headquarters in Hollywood.

Aerospace and electronics parts manufacturer HEICO has its headquarters in Hollywood.

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.

Economy: Top employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 Memorial Healthcare System; 2 City of Hollywood; 3 Chewy; 4 Publix Supermarkets; 5 Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood; 6 Memorial Regional Hospital South; 7 Great Healthworks; 8 BrandsMart USA; 9 Toyota of Hollywood; 10 HEICO.

Tourist Industry Guided tours along the Intercostal Waterway are common in Hollywood. The Intercostal 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.

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. 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.

Transport Hollywood is served by Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the 22nd busiest airport in the United States. Broward County Transit operates several bus routes that pass through the city of Hollywood, such as the 1 on US 1 (federal highway). It is also served by Tri-Rail stations at Sheridan Street and Hollywood.