How Hollywood Blvd. in Homewood led Birmingham residents out of the “smoke zone”

In Homewood, there is a popular street—only two-thirds of a mile long—located east of Independence Drive (U.S. Hwy. 31), called Hollywood Boulevard. 

More like a residential street than a real life boulevard, the road winds through the now-affluent Hollywood Neighborhood, crossing Hwy 280 and connecting with Mountain Brook.

As part of our continuing series about roads and their namesakes, we ask the question… How did Homewood’s Hollywood Boulevard get its name?

Imagine living in Birmingham back in 1926 and seeing a subdivision development ad in the Shades Cahaba Elementary School’s yearbook that said:

HOLLYWOOD: “Out of the Smoke zone and into the Ozone.” 

For Magic City residents surrounded by steel mills and smokestacks, the tagline was music to their ears.

Hollywood: Leading new residents out of the smoke zone

The development was given the name Hollywood by founder Clyde Nelson after he visited California. It was there he saw the unique Spanish Colonial Revival homes, the architectural design that was used for the new community.  

The subdivision soon became a town in January 1927 and by October of 1929 annexed into Homewood, weeks before the stock market crash. The booming development came to a stop when the Great Depression hit.

According to Sheryl Spradling Summe’s book Homewood: The Life of a City, Nelson provided transportation away from the “smoke” to and from Birmingham, not by trolley like the Edgewood Neighborhood had done. 

Instead, he incorporated a 40-seat bus free of charge for Hollywood residents from the Hollywood development, over the mountain on 20th Street to Second Avenue in downtown Birmingham.

Hollywood Boulevard today

Today, Hollywood Boulevard is known for the beautifully crafted Spanish-style homes that line the boulevard and neighborhood. 

It also connects Homewood to Hwy 280 and Mountain Brook. 

Mayor-elect Jennifer Andress, who represented the Hollywood neighborhood, has worked for nearly a decade to make Hollywood Boulevard and the bridge over Hwy 280 more pedestrian- and bike-friendly and a welcoming gateway into Homewood. The project will come to fruition soon.

“My husband and I have lived in Hollywood for over 23 years and we love it as much today as we did the day we moved here.

My dream project is remaking our Hollywood Boulevard bridge, which is now a collaborative project with Mountain Brook, Birmingham and Jefferson County. 

We are ‘shovel-ready’ with our construction documents and are actively fundraising to complete the bridge. We have gotten support from every level of government, multiple municipalities, the county, state and now even federal. It’s taken a while, but it will be worth it!” 

Jennifer Andress, Homewood Mayor-elect

Do you have fond memories of Hollywood Boulevard that you would like to share? 

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