The Truth about That Famous Photo of Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald

Colorized 1950s photo of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe that has gone viral recently
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The famous shot of Marilyn Monroe from "The Seven Year Itch" that allegedly ruined her marriage
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Mocambo on the Sunset Strip in 1941, the venue where the viral photo of Ella and Marilyn was not taken
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The Tiffany Club, where the viral photo was actually taken
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When Ella Fitzgerald opened at Mocambo in March 1955, Marilyn Monroe was in New York appearing at benefits, including riding a pink elephant at a circus-themed charity event at Madison Square Garden
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dancing with writer Truman Capote at El Morocco in New York on March 15, 1955

FACT CHECK

A photo of the two legendary women sitting together in nightclub has gone viral in recent years, but the story behind it is shrouded in myth. Read more »

KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

Garden of Allah jigsaw puzzle offered for donations to the Kickstarter campaign to benefit the West Hollywood History Center

Please Donate to the West Hollywood History Center Kickstarter Campaign

Novelist Martin Turnbull, author of the nine-book series set at the Garden of Allah Hotel, and Nance-Sasser Studio are sponsoring a Kickstarter campaign to benefit the West Hollywood History Center. 

Awards include Garden of Allah themed postcards, a print to hang on your wall and a 16 x 20 inch, 504-piece jigsaw puzzle.

The goal is $3,500, and the campaign ends July 30. For much more information, CLICK HERE.

SPOTLIGHT

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Sunset Strip Documentary Poster 307

The History of the Sunset Strip in Five Rollicking, Animated Minutes

Under the opening credits in the definitive historical documentary, “Sunset Strip,” the filmmakers included a five-minute animation with the Strip denizens you see here exclusively in this slide show.
Check out the animation and our interview with “Sunset Strip” director Hans Fjellestad, whom The Hollywood Reporter called “the Kens Burns of the Underworld.”
It’s all right HERE > >

FEATURED EXHIBITS

Hacienda Park & the Origins of the Sunset Strip

In 1906, Sunset Boulevard was extended from Hollywood west into a new 140-acre development called Hacienda Park. Today that extension is known as the Sunset Strip. In this feature exhibit, we present the history of Hacienda Park and early residents, like A-list Hollywood madam Lee Francis, shown here during her trial in the 1940s. We fact check claims she ran a brothel in the Piazza del Sol.
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The Garden of Alla

A Place Called the Garden of Allah

‘I’ll be damned if I’ll believe anyone lives in a place called the Garden of Allah.’ – Thomas Wolfe, in a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, July 26, 1937
The most complete history available of the Garden of Allah Hotel, which for 32 year was an oasis of sophisticated hedonism in Hollywood. Its long list of celebrity guests included movie stars, world-renowned musicians, East Coast and European aristocrats and even a mobster or two.
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EXHIBITS

WEHO Vice

Charges dropped: from left, Allen Smiley, attorney Jerry Geisler, Patricia Dane Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey

Battle of the Balcony: The Mother of All Celebrity Brawls

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Rock n’ Roll

Micky Cohen

Excavating the Viper Room – Early History of One of the Sunset Strip’s Oldest Buildings

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WEHO Vice

The Strip was once a Gambler’s Playground, Why Not Let the Games Resume?

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BECOMING WEST HOLLYWOOD
TONGVA PEOPLE: Tongva People lived nearby in a village called "Kawee’nga"(“Place of the fox") and that the Spanish called "Cahuenga." In the 1820s Rancho La Brea was awarded to a Californio family. Its footprint today encompasses Hollywood, Hancock Park and West Hollywood.
TONGVA PEOPLE: Tongva People lived nearby in a village called "Kawee’nga"(“Place of the fox") and that the Spanish called "Cahuenga." In the 1820s Rancho La Brea was awarded to a Californio family. Its footprint today encompasses Hollywood, Hancock Park and West Hollywood.
RANCHO LA BREA: In 1860, Henry Hancock, a Harvard-trained lawyer and surveyor, acquired Rancho La Brea and its asphaltum mines at the tar pits. Many years after he died, Hancock’s widow and son became wealthy overnight when they struck oil under what is now Park La Brea.
RANCHO LA BREA: In 1860, Henry Hancock, a Harvard-trained lawyer and surveyor, acquired Rancho La Brea and its asphaltum mines at the tar pits. Many years after he died, Hancock’s widow and son became wealthy overnight when they struck oil under what is now Park La Brea.
SHERMAN YARDS: In the 1890s, Moses Sherman and partners built a streetcar yard at what is now the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente Blvds. The village of Sherman grew up around the yards, establishing the historic core of West Hollywood.
SHERMAN YARDS: In the 1890s, Moses Sherman and partners built a streetcar yard at what is now the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente Blvds. The village of Sherman grew up around the yards, establishing the historic core of West Hollywood.
VICTOR PONET: Belgian émigré Victor Ponet, a wealthy Los Angeles financier, bought 280 acres north of Sherman. Years later, his heirs, the Montgomery family, developed Sunset Plaza there. They still operate the high-end retail and dining zone today.
VICTOR PONET: Belgian émigré Victor Ponet, a wealthy Los Angeles financier, bought 280 acres north of Sherman. Years later, his heirs, the Montgomery family, developed Sunset Plaza there. They still operate the high-end retail and dining zone today.
STUDIOS CITY: In 1919, Charlie Chaplin built a studio on La Brea Avenue - it's the Jim Henson Studio today. That same year Jesse Hampton built a studio on Santa Monica. It later became the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios and is now called The Lot.
STUDIOS CITY: In 1919, Charlie Chaplin built a studio on La Brea Avenue - it's the Jim Henson Studio today. That same year Jesse Hampton built a studio on Santa Monica. It later became the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios and is now called The Lot.
FAMOUS NIGHTSPOTS: In 1934, Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson opened Café Trocadero, a hive of elegance on the Strip. In 1940, he opened Ciro’s down the street where Hollywood elites dined and danced. Mocambo, another world-famous club on the Strip, opened soon after.
FAMOUS NIGHTSPOTS: In 1934, Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson opened Café Trocadero, a hive of elegance on the Strip. In 1940, he opened Ciro’s down the street where Hollywood elites dined and danced. Mocambo, another world-famous club on the Strip, opened soon after.
HOLLYWOOD MOB: The 1947 assassination of Bugsy Siegel (above) ignited a war for control of the millions generated by illegal gambling on the Strip. Attacks by the Jack Dragna mob on Siegel’s successor, Mickey Cohen, outraged the public and signaled the end of high-stakes gambling on the Strip.
HOLLYWOOD MOB: The 1947 assassination of Bugsy Siegel (above) ignited a war for control of the millions generated by illegal gambling on the Strip. Attacks by the Jack Dragna mob on Siegel’s successor, Mickey Cohen, outraged the public and signaled the end of high-stakes gambling on the Strip.
GAY ON THE STRIP: Cross-dressing acts like Karyl Norman, “the Creole Fashion Plate,” and Rae Bourbon (above), performed on the Strip. Café International and Jane Jones’ Little Club catered to lesbians, while Café Gala and Club Bali were popular with gay men.
GAY ON THE STRIP: Cross-dressing acts like Karyl Norman, “the Creole Fashion Plate,” and Rae Bourbon (above), performed on the Strip. Café International and Jane Jones’ Little Club catered to lesbians, while Café Gala and Club Bali were popular with gay men.
ROCK MECCA: The opening of PJ’s Discotheque on Santa Monica at Crescent Heights in 1961 introduced rock ‘n roll to West Hollywood. Four years later, the Whisky a Go-Go opened on the Strip, launching a revolution.
ROCK MECCA: The opening of PJ’s Discotheque on Santa Monica at Crescent Heights in 1961 introduced rock ‘n roll to West Hollywood. Four years later, the Whisky a Go-Go opened on the Strip, launching a revolution.
RUSSIAN EMIGRES: In the waning decades of the Soviet Union, thousands of Russians emigrated to West Hollywood, including many were fleeing religious and political persecution. Since the 1970s, as many as 13,000 Russian natives have made the city their homes.
RUSSIAN EMIGRES: In the waning decades of the Soviet Union, thousands of Russians emigrated to West Hollywood, including many were fleeing religious and political persecution. Since the 1970s, as many as 13,000 Russian natives have made the city their homes.
GAY RIGHTS: In 1951, the pioneering gay rights group ONE formed in West Hollywood. Over the ensuing decades, the area became a center of LGBT life and a focus for gay civil rights nationwide.
GAY RIGHTS: In 1951, the pioneering gay rights group ONE formed in West Hollywood. Over the ensuing decades, the area became a center of LGBT life and a focus for gay civil rights nationwide.
CITYHOOD: In the late 1970s, a coalition primarily of seniors and gay activists coalesced around renters’ rights and other issues. The movement culminated in a vote that established the city of West Hollywood in 1984.
CITYHOOD: In the late 1970s, a coalition primarily of seniors and gay activists coalesced around renters’ rights and other issues. The movement culminated in a vote that established the city of West Hollywood in 1984.
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IN THIS SITE

The Crescent Heights Market, including world-famous Schwab's Drug Store, on the south side of Sunset between Laurel and Crescent Heights

A Story Like No Other

Few cities West Hollywood’s size have histories as rich and storied as ours. Read more » 

About the Center

A nonprofit organization whose mission is telling the story of West Hollywood.
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A Museum without Walls

A virtual museum and projects that the community with its incomparable past. Read more »

West Hollywood History

An overview of the story of our first 150 years. Read more »

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