Concrete & Stardust: A Dam and Sign that Helped Build Hollywood

A serene lake surrounded by mountains covered with pine trees and chaparral is the least likely image conjured when one thinks of Hollywood, California.  But some of Hollywood's most famous neighborhoods, such as Beechwood Canyon and Laurel Canyon, are located in the Hollywood Hills, which are part of the Santa Monica mountain ridge that spans forty miles from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County.  The Hollywood Hills are steep canyons with curvy roads, mature trees and lush foliage, which served as a perfect location to build a lake in the 1920s. 

To meet the water needs of a rapidly growing city, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power built a dam in Weid Canyon to serve as a water reservoir for the Los Angeles aqueduct system.  The dam was built during the United States City Beautification movement which advocated for public infrastructure to embody civic pride, beauty and monumental grandeur.  The curved dam features decorative bear-head medallions that represent California's official state animal, the bear.  The grandiose facade or downstream side of the dam could be seen miles away and looked like it had been carved into the canyon by giants, but in the 1930s the facade was covered with landfill and trees. When the dam was completed in 1924, it was named Mulholland Dam in honor of  Chief Engineer William Mulholland, who designed and supervised its construction and the lake was named Hollywood Reservoir, but is more commonly referred to as Lake Hollywood today.

But this story doesn't end here.  One year earlier in 1923, a new community was being formed adjacent to Weid Canyon.  The new community was located  in Beechwood Canyon and to prominently advertise the new homes, the real estate developers erected a large sign on Mount Lee with the following bold white letters: "Hollywoodland".  Well, the sign became such an iconic symbol of the movie industry that the sign stayed but by 1949 the last four letters were dropped. 

One hundred years later, the Hollywood Sign, the Mulholland Dam, and Lake Hollywood serve as monumental landmarks that helped transform Hollywood from a small rural farm town into a sprawling metropolis.  But Lake Hollywood is still a remote, peaceful and scenic escape form the busy city and it has the best views of the Hollywood sign.  

William Mulholland, on the right, inspecting the plans for the dam.
Source: The Huntington Library 

Invitation to the Mulholland Dam dedication, 1925.
Source: The Claremont Colleges Digital Library

Mulholland Dam dedication ceremony on March 17,1925.
Source: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Mulholland Dam and Lake Hollywood Reservoir, 1926.
Source: Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection

Mulholland Dam and Lake Hollywood Reservoir with views of Hollywood Hills (circa 1930s).
Source: The Huntington Digital Library Collection

View of the Mulholland Dam from Vine and Yucca Streets in Hollywood, California (circa 1920s).
Source: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Postcard of Mulholland Dam (circa 1930s).
Source: CSUDH Gerth Archives & Special Collections