Election Day at Hollywoodland Realty
Voting Today at Hollywoodland Realty/Hope Anderson ProductionsLike many residents of Beachwood Canyon, I'm lucky to have Hollywoodland Realty as my polling place. Located just inside the Hollywoodland Gates, the Realty office fulfills a community function that goes well beyond the business of real estate. It's where we go to vote and have our documents notarized. Tourists stop by for directions. And last December, in celebration of a major renovation, Hollywoodland Realty hosted a Christmas party for the neighborhood.
The first structure to be completed in Hollywoodland, it opened for business in early 1923. At first, Hollywoodland Realty sold lots to prospective home builders; afterwards, it sold and resold the houses that were built on them. For nearly 90 years, the Realty office has been the beating heart of the neighborhood, and the fact that it is our polling place helps to explain why.
The Hollywoodland Realty Office in 1923. The Developer S. H. Woodruff Stands At Center, Wearing Bow Tie/Courtesy Bruce Torence Today just after noon, on a day of heavy voter turnout, the wait was about 3 minutes--probably the longest I've experienced in seven years of voting here. The fact that many of us work at home helps stagger the voting throughout the day, so that the only really busy times are the first and last hours. But even if the line had been longer, waiting would have been a pleasure: meeting and talking to neighbors at Hollywoodland Realty connects us, not only to one another but to Hollywoodland's past.