Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the third-largest city in Broward County, the fifth-largest in the Miami metropolitan area, and the 12th-largest in Florida. The average temperature is between 69 and 83F (and 28C).
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, all industries and activities that were very important to him. After Young spent millions of dollars constructing the city, he was elected its first mayor in 1925. The town quickly became home to northerners known as "snowbirds", who fled the north during the winter and then escaped the south during the summer. 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.
The Florida guide, published by the Federal Writers' Project, describes the development of Hollywood, an early example of the planned communities 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 Intracoastal 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.
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 lakes, golf courses, a luxury beach hotel (Beach Hotel, now Hollywood Beach Resort), country clubs, and a main street, Hollywood Boulevard. Hollywood was severely damaged by the 1926 Miami hurricane; local newspapers reported that it was second only to Miami in losses from the storm. After Young's death in 1934, the city encountered other destructive hurricanes, and the stock market crashed, causing personal financial misfortunes.
Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, causing damage and power outages in Hollywood. 12 residents of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died of heat exposure. Four nursing-home staff were charged with negligence and manslaughter. Charges were dropped against the 3 nurses and the nursing home chief was acquitted.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity created Rebuild Florida, an initiative to provide aid to citizens affected by Irma. Its initial focus was its Housing Repair Program, which offered assistance in rebuilding families' homes. The program prioritized low-income vulnerable residents, such as the disabled, the elderly, and families with children under five. The program had varied results across the state, with hundreds of citizens claiming they were left without help.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 30.8 square miles (of which 3.46 square miles (are covered by water (is in southeastern Broward County, and includes about 5 to 6 miles (to 9.7km) of Atlantic Ocean beach, interrupted briefly by a portion deeded to Dania Beach.
Hollywood has a tropical rainforest climate (climate classification Af), with long, hot, humid, and rainy summers and short, warm, and dry winters.
As of 2000, Hollywood had the 75th-highest percentage of Cuban residents in the U.S., at 4.23% of its population, and the 65th-highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.26% (with both the town and village of Mount Kisco, New York.) It also had the 57th-highest percentage of Peruvian residents in the US, at 1.05% (with Locust Valley, New York), and the 20th-highest percentage of Romanian residents in the US, at 1.1% (with several other areas).
Before it dissolved, Commodore Cruise Line and its subsidiary Crown Cruise Line were headquartered in Hollywood.
Aerospace and electronics parts manufacturer HEICO is headquartered in Hollywood.
Since 1991, the Invicta Watch Group, a manufacturer and marketer of timepieces and writing instruments, has been headquartered in Hollywood, where it also operates its customer-service call center.
According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, its top employers are:
Guided tours along the Intracoastal Waterway are common in Hollywood. The waterway, parallel to the ocean, allows people to explore nature and observe their surroundings.
Young Circle, named after the city's founder, is surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars. A Food-Truck Takeover occurs every Monday, during which dozens of local food trucks offer a variety of cuisines, including Cuban, Venezuelan, Mediterranean, Mexican, Jamaican, and Peruvian, in addition to barbecue, burgers, gourmet grilled cheese, and desserts.
Hollywood has about 60 parks, seven golf courses, and sandy beaches.
Hollywood Beach has a broadwalk that extends about 2.5 miles along the ocean. Parking is available on side streets or in garages for a fee, and public trolleys run through the day. Restaurants and hotels line the broadwalk, 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 broadwalk is used for walking and jogging, and has a bike lane for bicyclists and rollerbladers.
Hollywood has 32 public (charter) schools and 24 private schools. The public schools are operated by the Broward County Public Schools.
Broward County operates 24 public schools, consisting of four high schools, six middle schools, and 14 elementary schools.
The public high schools in Hollywood are Hollywood Hills High School, McArthur High School, South Broward High School, and Sheridan Technical College and High School.
The public middle schools include Apollo Middle School, Attucks Middle School, Driftwood Middle School, McNicol Middle School, Olsen Middle School, and Beachside Montessori Village.
Hollywood is served by Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the nation's 22nd-busiest airport.[unreliable source?] Broward County Transit operates several bus routes that pass through the city, such as the 1 on US 1 (highway). It is also served by Tri-Rail stations at Sheridan Street and Hollywood.
The Hollywood Police Department is an entity within the city government tasked with law enforcement in Hollywood.
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.
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.
The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is the exterior of the police substation in the TV show The Glades.
The comedy series Big Time in Hollywood, FL is set in Hollywood.