Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood

TUCKED away in the Hollywood Hills between Griffith Park and Lake Hollywood is the scenic enclave of Beachwood Canyon. Home to more than 22,000 residents, it was first developed in the 1920s by a syndicate composed of Gen. M. H. Sherman, the founder of West Hollywood; Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler; and real estate mogul Sidney Woodruff. Its architecture and landscaping drew inspiration from the southern regions of France, Italy and Spain.

Identical twin brothers died in a car crash early Monday in the close-knit Hollywood Hills neighborhood where they grew up. Los Angeles Police said Jesse Brackett, 23, was driving north in the 2600 block of Beachwood Drive about 2:30 a.m. when he lost control of his 1996 Acura Integra, crossed into the southbound lanes and struck a U-Haul truck parked at the curb. The impact forced the truck into a 1990 Cadillac Seville parked behind it. Brackett was killed instantly, police said.

Identical twin brothers died in a car crash early Monday in the close-knit Hollywood Hills neighborhood where they grew up. Los Angeles Police said Jesse Brackett, 23, was driving north in the 2600 block of Beachwood Drive about 2:30 a.m. when he lost control of his 1996 Acura Integra, crossed into the southbound lanes and struck a U-Haul truck parked at the curb. The impact forced the truck into a 1990 Cadillac Seville parked behind it. Brackett was killed instantly, police said.

TUCKED away in the Hollywood Hills between Griffith Park and Lake Hollywood is the scenic enclave of Beachwood Canyon. Home to more than 22,000 residents, it was first developed in the 1920s by a syndicate composed of Gen. M. H. Sherman, the founder of West Hollywood; Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler; and real estate mogul Sidney Woodruff. Its architecture and landscaping drew inspiration from the southern regions of France, Italy and Spain.

Between the Hollywood sign and the bustle of Hollywood itself is a canyon community that more than 22,000 call home. The uppermost portion of the canyon, originally dubbed "Hollywoodland" in the 1920s, was developed first. Today, the area stretching along Beachwood Drive from Franklin Avenue to the Hollywood sign is called Beachwood Canyon. A star is born Back in 1923, developer S.H. Woodruff paved Beachwood Drive to build Hollywoodland, in the hills of Beachwood Canyon.

Tourists who want to experience the real Hollywood might want to make a stop at a Fountain Avenue community room on Tuesday. That's where Hollywood residents and Los Angeles leaders will debate how best to deal with hordes of sightseers who daily clog the narrow hillside streets beneath the Hollywood sign. Residents and officials agree that GPS devices, websites and a proliferation of tour bus and van operators have opened the 87-year-old neighborhood to growing numbers of visitors who want to get as close as possible to the iconic sign.

Residents living on the narrow lanes beneath the Hollywood sign have quarreled for months over small directional signs pointing tourists to a place where the iconic Tinseltown symbol can be viewed and photographed. The road signs benefited homeowners on the street that dead-ends at the locked fire road that leads to Mt. Lee and the Hollywood sign. Unfortunately, the signs funneled sightseers and tour buses onto other nearby streets. Then the signs mysteriously disappeared. Whether that's a crime depends on which street you live on. But now real thieves have stolen two signs that nearly everyone in the hillside neighborhood mourns losing: the historic 1923 "Hollywoodland" bronze plaques that marked the stone gateway to the community.

Under pressure from the City Council and a vocal group of neighborhood activists, the Police Commission agreed Tuesday to take up the issue of redeploying LAPD's senior lead officers, the community liaisons who have been reassigned to routine patrol duties. At the commission's weekly meeting, President Gerald L. Chaleff announced that he was sending a letter to Police Chief Bernard C. Parks asking for a fuller accounting of his approach to community policing.

In 1970, when I left Los Angeles, I had no reason to look back. I was headed north to UC Santa Cruz, which was-at that moment-the hottest, hippest campus in the country. The day before I left, I realized there was one thing I would miss: Damon's Steak House on Central Avenue in Glendale. Damon's had been there since 1937, a date that was disconcerting because the restaurant felt like a late-1940s bar.

Community leaders and senior lead police officers expressed cautious optimism Friday about the decision by the mayor and police chief to support restoring the officers' role as community liaisons. The decision requires Los Angeles Police Commission approval to take effect, and is scheduled to be considered by the panel Tuesday. "We're a little skeptical right now.

Between the Hollywood sign and the bustle of Hollywood itself is a canyon community that more than 22,000 call home. The uppermost portion of the canyon, originally dubbed "Hollywoodland" in the 1920s, was developed first. Today, the area stretching along Beachwood Drive from Franklin Avenue to the Hollywood sign is called Beachwood Canyon. A star is born Back in 1923, developer S.H. Woodruff paved Beachwood Drive to build Hollywoodland, in the hills of Beachwood Canyon.

The landmark Hollywood sign could be breaking out in giant black spots soon. Don't suspect fungus or graffiti on the 45-foot-high letters. Instead, anticipate a proposed marketing stunt for the Nov. 27 opening of a movie about a big bunch of two-toned canines. And expect a snarly dogfight over the possible use of Los Angeles' Historic Cultural Monument No. 111 to promote the live-action remake of "101 Dalmatians." Those ever-eager marketeers for the Walt Disney Co.

There is a move afoot to add a three-letter word to one of Los Angeles' most famous landmarks--the huge hillside HOLLYWOOD sign. A certain company wants to revise the sign for just one week to read: FOX HOLLYWOOD. The idea is the inspiration of some promotional executives at Fox Broadcasting Co., the new owners of television Channel 11. Fox also wants to illuminate the big sign, beginning April 5.