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West Hollywood (abbreviated '''WeHo''') is a city in Los Angeles County, California , bordered on the north by the Santa Monica Mountains , on the north and east by the Hollywood District of Los Angeles , on the west by the city of Beverly Hills and on south by the Fairfax District of Los Angeles . West Hollywood is the first city in the USA to enact a law banning cat declawing. Council member John Heilman is the city's longest serving council member and has served continuously since 1984 and is currently serving his sixth term as mayor. The position is mostly a ceremonial post that rotates on an annual basis among the council members. HISTORY For many years, the area that is now the City of West Hollywood was an unincorporated area in the midst of the City Of Los Angeles that was under the jurisdiction of "the County ." It was illegal to Gamble in the city of Los Angeles, but legal in the county, and in the 1920s many Nightclub s and Casino s went in along the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood for this reason, specifically to avoid the heavy-handed policing of the LAPD, that had no jurisdiction in WeHo. Being that at the time the area was not a part of the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were in charge of policing the area, which they continue to do to this day. Movie people were attracted to this less restricted "county" area and a number of Architecturally fine apartment houses and apartment hotels were built. Movie Fans throughout the world knew that Ciro's , the Mocambo , the Trocadero , the Garden Of Allah , the Chateau Marmont , and Movie Star s could be seen on the Sunset Strip. Eventually, the area and its extravagant night spots lost favor with movie people. But the Strip and its restaurants, bars and clubs, continued to be an attraction for locals and out-of-town tourists. In the late 1960s , the Strip was transformed again during the Hippie movement. Young people from all over the country flocked to West Hollywood clubs such as the Whisky A Go-Go and the Troubadour . In the 1960s as Ciro's was on the decline it the held the first gay dance nights on Sunday nights. Men dancing together was illegal in those days but like the casinos and speakeasies that had gone before, the laws were not strictly enforced. This tolerance led to more gay clubs after Ciro's closed and the end of the anti-gay laws that prohibited dancing between two persons of the same gender in Los Angeles County. Those gay nights at Ciro's were commonly called "Tea Dances" "T-Dances" . Eventually Ciro's closed and the building is now the home of The Comedy Store. In the early 1970s , there was a large influx of Russian Jew s from the Fairfax District and Gays . In November 1984 , voters passed a proposal on the ballot to incorporate and the area became the City of West Hollywood because of a threat that united all the tenants in the area. That uniting factor was rent control. The county was in the process of abolishing rent control in all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. That factor however galvanized the residents of the area to band together and form the city and impose rent control on all rental units built before 1979. Because of the large gay population and the large numbers of gay-oriented businesses, West Hollywood became prominently known as a registration for its residents, and same gender Domestic Partner benefits for its employees. West Hollywood has a distinctive street design scheme, with postmodern street signs featuring a blue map of the city. L.A. County Sheriffs Dept. vehicles that patrol West Hollywood feature the same map of the city, but in the rainbow colors of the gay community. Today it contains some of the most exclusive condominium complexes on the West Coast with "name" buildings such as Shorham Towers, Sierra Towers, and on the exclusive cul-de sac, Alta Loma Road , the popular buildings known as The Empire West and The Park Wellington. Alta Loma Road is also home to the exclusive hotel "The Sunset Marquis" with its famous 45 person Whisky Bar and a recording studio that has been the home to many hits. Alta Loma Road was one of the main locations for the film '' Perfect '' but it was also the home a tragedy. In the 1970s it was the street on which Sal Mineo lived and died. GEOGRAPHY West Hollywood is located at 34°5'16" North, 118°22'20" West (34.087909, -118.372160). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 4.9 Km&2 (1.9 Mi&2 ). 4.9 km&2 (1.9 mi&2) of it is land and none of it is covered by water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 35,716 people, 23,120 households, and 5,202 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 7,335.1/km&2 (18,992.7/mi&2). There were 24,110 housing units at an average density of 4,951.6/km&2 (12,821.0/mi&2). This makes it one of the most densely populated cities in the US and the world. The racial makeup of the city was 86.43% White , 3.09% African American , 0.36% Native American , 3.78% Asian , 0.11% Pacific Islander , 2.87% from Other Races , and 3.35% from two or more races. 8.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 23,120 households out of which 5.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 16.4% were Married Couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 77.5% were non-families. 60.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.53 and the average family size was 2.50. In the city the population was spread out with 5.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 48.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 123.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,914, and the median income for a family was $41,463. Males had a median income of $45,598 versus $35,750 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $38,302. 11.5% of the population and 7.3% of families were below the Poverty Line . 10.0% of those under the age of 18 and 10.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. According to the city of West Hollywood's demographic profile , gleaned from the 2000 Census, the 2000 Customer Satisfaction Survey, the 1998 Community Needs Assessment Survey, and the 1994 Community Needs Assessment Survey, gay or bisexual men account for 41% of the population. Of these, 60% are between the ages of 25-44, 27% suffer from HIV/AIDS, and 8% are living with a same sex partner/spouse. LANDMARKS AND INTERESTING SPOTS
West Hollywood is also home to Sunset Plaza , a European-style shopping area on Sunset. Though only 1/2 mile long, it boasts tenants that would otherwise be on Rodeo Drive . The western stretch of Melrose Avenue , between Fairfax Avenue and Doheny Drive , is notable for its interior design shops, restaurants and antique stores, and is more sedate as compared to the eastern Hollywood stretch between Fairfax Avenue and Highland Avenue . At the west end of Melrose, near the Pacific Design Center you'll find the most exclusive furniture and interior design shops in the world. The area around Fountain Ave, Harper Ave, and Havenhurst Dr contains a high concentration of landmark 1920s Spanish Revival and Art Deco apartment buildings by noted architects such as Leland Bryant . The historic district has been home to many celebrities and at one time the Sunset Tower was home to Frank Sinatra , Errol Flynn , the Gabor Sisters, John Wayne and Howard Hughes . The Robertson/West 3rd Street area is home to some of the hippest stores and cafes in Los Angeles and in recent times, is known as the place where the paparazzi rent parking spaces by the month and young up and coming under 30 celebrities hang out when they "accidently" want to be seen and then claim that they "need their privacy". The Ivy is currently one of the most popular places that celebrites can hide in broad daylight. EVENTS West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval The West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is an event that takes place anually on October 31 . The largest Halloween street party in the United States (spanning over one mile of Santa Monica Boulevard from La Cienega Boulevard on the East to Doheny and the Beverly Hills border on the West), the 2005 Carnaval was reported to have more than 350,000 people in attendance, with some traveling from other countries specifically for this event. Christopher Street West (" CSW ") CSW is a Gay Pride parade and festival that was first held in June of 1970 in Hollywood to commemorate the first anniversary of Stonewall Riots in New York. After incorporation the event moved to West Hollywood and is typically held the second weekend in June so as not to conflict with the larger celebrations in San Francisco and New York , and with Father's Day (because many deputies request that day off and do not want to work overtime on that day). Frontrunners GLBT Pride Run is a 5k/10k run/walk held on the Sunday morning of GLBT Pride. WEST HOLLYWOOD FOLKLORE Legend has it that when they were assigning Zip Code in the 1960s, the Zip Code of the growing gay area of West Hollywood was assigned 90069 out of sequence for the area when one looks at the Zip Code map. Zip Codes when they were originally set out in 1944 only contained three digits describing the region of the country. When the Zip Code policy was enacted during the 1960s, the person who was assigning the Zip Codes for Los Angeles County was a frequent customer of Ciro's on Sunday nights and thought the "69" code could be used to identify that the area was tolerant of Gay s in the era before the Stonewall Riots . EXTERNAL LINKS
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