Historic Hollywood Photographs

The Mulholland Dam, known as “Lake Hollywood” was named for William Mulholland, the self-taught civil engineer who designed and built the Owens River Aqueduct, among other marvels of water engineering. A man-made reservoir built between August 1923 and December 1924, it was filled and officially dedicated in 1925. The dam is capable of holding more than 2.5 billion gallons of water and is located in Weid Canyon, east of the Cahuenga Pass, just south of the Hollywood Sign. It is 210 feet high, 933 feet long and 16 feet wide at the crest with a maximum depth of 183 feet. 172,000 cubic yards of concrete were used for the construction of the dam. After the failure of the Saint Francis Dam, the Mulholland Dam was reinforced in 1933. When the department of Water & Power mandated that reservoirs be covered and chlorinated in 1988, homeowners groups advocated to save the existing “lake”. According to the Hollywood Knolls Community Club, two new Toyon tanks, among the largest in the world, have taken over the water storage role previously played by both Hollywood Reservoirs. The reservoirs remain full in case of emergency, but reservoir's water is no longer used for drinking. This Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument is a much loved recreation area for the Hollywood Knolls, Beachwood Canyon, and Lake Hollywood communities.

The 41 photographs in this gallery show over five decades of its history.