Hollywood Heritage Launches Advocacy Campaign “Come Back to Hollywood,” to Revitalize Hollywood Boulevard on the 40th anniversary of its National Register Historic District Designation.

HOLLYWOOD - In honor of the 40th anniversary of Hollywood Heritage’s successful designation of Hollywood Boulevard as a National Register Historic District, the premier Hollywood historic preservation advocacy non-profit organization launches its new campaign “Come Back to Hollywood,” designed to assist in revitalizing Hollywood Boulevard, a highly unique and culturally significant part of Los Angeles. A December 4, 2025 press conference with Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez (CD 13) marks the official opening of Hollywood Heritage’s Preservation Resource Center, located at 6411 Hollywood Boulevard at Cahuenga. Added to the Center’s use as an exhibition, meeting, and archive space celebrating and educating on the history of the area will be its central outreach role for its Hollywood Boulevard activities. Hollywood Heritage also operates the Hollywood Heritage Museum on Highland, in the historic 1901 Lasky-DeMille barn where feature filmmaking in Hollywood began. Margot Gerber is the President of the organization.



40th Anniversary of Hollywood Boulevard Being Placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Hollywood Boulevard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places at the highest level possible in America in 1985. Professionally researched with an extensive historic survey led by Christy Johnson McAvoy, the Keeper of the Register found the boundaries of this Commercial and Entertainment Historic District to be eligible from El Cerrito to Argyle. 104 buildings qualified for inclusion across a 1.5 mile stretch of 12 blocks of central Hollywood, manifesting the meteoric rise of the “movie capitol of the world” In the Prime Period from 1915-1939. Within the district are excellent examples of American 20th century architecture, ranging from the last (former) residential structure (the Janes House) to period revival styles (Spanish, Classical, etc.) to Art Deco and mid-century modern.


“COME BACK TO HOLLYWOOD” CAMPAIGN

Hollywood Heritage actively monitors the status, challenges, and promises of the historic district. In 2026 efforts will focus on preparing Hollywood for its “closeup” during the FIFA World Cup 2026, Super Bowl LXI in 2027, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.


“How can Hollywood possibly be ready for its closeup, receive attention from worldwide media, and host millions of visitors with boarded up landmarks, dirty sidewalks, and dark storefronts?” said Brian Curran, former President of Hollywood Heritage. “Yes there are reasons why some properties can’t be restored immediately, but there are just as many small smart techniques to successfully bring life back to Hollywood’s main street” he continued. “Reactivate storefronts, bring in lighting and art, foster pop-up uses, spotlight historic facades, hold street fairs and events, and bring back city life in a renewed and attractive urbanity. Let’s make our stars and boulevard shine for a growing number of residents and visitors alike!”


Crucial to address in this advocacy campaign is education on the range of issues that cause buildings to remain vacant, including many of Hollywood’s most historic and significant landmarks. Hollywood Heritage will host a series of outreach events at its Preservation Resource Center, convening revitalization conferences starting with property owners to understand their issues, and reaching out to residents, renters, businesses, tenants, realtors, elected representatives, and others—to identify and advocate for practical and implementable solutions to reinvigorate our vacant landmarks. Working with established organizations such as the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Partnership, Hollywood Heritage has a role in spotlighting the re-use possibilities and adaptability of many of these structures, to counteract the lease-up and physical problems which are keeping activities in them away.


There are “4 keys” to understanding the status, challenges, and promises of “coming back” to America’s

historic Main Streets. Each will be addressed with short run, do-able fixes, while long-run remedies are studied.

THE HOLLYWOOD 11

Hollywood Heritage has identified eleven visible historic buildings on Hollywood Boulevard and its surroundings. The organization refers to these as “The HOLLYWOOD 11.“ For various reasons these hidden gems are vacant. Each building is either a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments (HCMs) or it is documented as a “contributor” to the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment National Historic District, or eligible for historic designation. These structures all scored high on aesthetics, access to transit, and other indicators of “usability.”


The “HOLLYWOOD 11”, illustrate that many of our oldest and best-known historic landmarks are empty and desolate but can and should contribute to the commercial viability of Hollywood.


Magnin Department Store (former): 6340 Hollywood Blvd

Regal Shoes (former) : 6349 Hollywood Blvd

Palmer Building: 6362 Hollywood Blvd

Security Trust and Savings Building: 6381 Hollywood Blvd

Warner Pacific Theater: 6423 Hollywood Blvd

Attie Building: 6436 Hollywood Boulevard

Kress Building: 6606 Hollywood Blvd

First National Bank Building (former): 6777 Hollywood Blvd

Earl Carroll Theatre: 6230 Sunset Blvd.

Hollywood Reporter Building (former): 6713 Sunset Boulevard

Pacific Cinerama Dome: 6380 Sunset Blvd.


“Hollywood Heritage is ready to spotlight the hidden gem that make Hollywood Boulevard significant, with our call to ‘COME BACK TO HOLLYWOOD,” says Fran Offenhauser one of Hollywood Heritage’s original founders. “We invite our neighbors, our businesses, and all groups to join us in actively getting Hollywood Boulevard ready for its close up at the 2028 Olympics, so that it is attractive, interesting, clean, and secure for us, the Hollywood community, and our visitors. It’s not too much to ask!”


ABOUT HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE


Hollywood Heritage was founded by five women: Marian Gibbons, Christy Johnson McAvoy, Frances Offenhauser, and Susan Peterson St. Francis, who identified the need to preserve the historic core of Hollywood in 1980.


Hollywood Heritage is a California state and federal 501(c)(3) membership non-profit organization. Donations and memberships are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Since 1980, Hollywood Heritage continues to preserve and protect the historic built environment of Hollywood by actively interacting with city, state and federal agencies and by educating the public through the continued operation of the Hollywood Heritage Museum housed in the historic Lasky DeMille Barn, and by sponsoring and presenting programs at the museum on historical topics regarding preservation and film history. The organization officially opened its Preservation Resource Center on Hollywood Boulevard on December 4, 2025. The PRC houses an exhibition space for the “Hollywood Miniature,” and serves as a meeting space for the “Come Back to Hollywood” campaign to revitalize the historic Boulevard.


Our museum is the only Los Angeles museum dedicated to the early history of motion pictures. The Lasky-DeMille Barn is Hollywood Heritage’s most important artifact. It is the oldest extant Hollywood studio and the location where film industry pioneers, producer Jesse L. Lasky and director Cecil B. DeMille made the first feature-length film in Hollywood in 1913. They rented this 1901 horse barn as a production facility at the corner of what is now Selma Avenue and Vine Street. By 1916 Lasky had joined forces with Adolph Zukor and Paramount. Their growing operation eventually became Paramount Pictures. The “barn” moved to the new Melrose Paramount Studio in 1926. In 1982 Hollywood Heritage moved the barn to its current location to preserve it. In 1955 it was designated a CA State Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.


CONNECT WITH US

Hollywood Heritage can be found on Facebook and Instagram


Contact:

Brian Curran, Preservation Committee Co-Chair

preservation@hollywoodheritage.org or cell: 323-596-5087

Media Contact: Margot Gerber, margot@hollywoodheritage.org