If there was such a thing as a prize for the most homophile city in the US – West Hollywood would probably be among the top favourites. Within an area of almost five square kilometres, the small town leads a kind of island existence in the middle of the moloch called Los Angeles. Added to this is the residents’ shared feeling of being outsiders – or let’s say something special. And that has a long tradition.

Already at the end of the 19th century, the district refused to become part of the city of Los Angeles. While the Californian metropolis imposed a strict ban on alcohol and gambling in the 1920s, the surrounding county and West Hollywood were subject to more liberal legislation. West Hollywood became the centre of nightlife – the ideal location between the film studios in the east and the noble Beverly Hills in the west still makes WeHo, as the little town is called in these days, the ideal base for an L.A. visitor.

Gays and lesbians discovered the permissive town in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in the 1970s and pushed for the city’s founding in 1984 and thus its separation from the county. More than 40 percent of the inhabitants are gay or lesbian, and the majority of the city council seats were occupied by homosexuals from the very beginning. Its own police division has its quarters in the midst of the gay scene on Santa Monica Boulevard – the colors of the rainbow are emblazoned on the vehicles. West Hollywood was the first city in the US to introduce a registered civil partnership for same-sex couples in 1985, which also benefited municipal employees in terms of employment law.

Exorbitant rent increases, such as in Los Angeles, were put a stop to, which prevented large waves of relocations of the scene. “The gays had found a place to live that they could shape according to their own ideas and laws,” says Steve, a blonde in his mid-thirties who earns his living designing websites and lives in a small apartment near Santa Monica Boulevard. He is a typical WeHo resident: young, handsome – and gay.

In contrast to the surrounding L.A., the City of West Hollywood is a place where you like to stroll along the streets – like Sunset Boulevard with the Sunset Plaza, popular with shoppers, and the chic hotels such as Mondrian, Andaz or the art-deco-style Sunset Tower, where Errol Flynn, John Wayne or Frank Sinatra once stayed. Up here, at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, you can also find the classics of the (heterosexual) club scene such as Roxy, House of Blues or Whisky a Go Go, which once produced greats like The Doors. The Viper Room, until 2004 partly owned by Johnny Depp, who has his luxurious Hollywood domicile not far away, made headlines especially with the drug death of River Phoenix on Halloween morning in 1993. 2011 will see a year of star-designed, oversized guitars on Sunset Boulevard – street art a la Hollywood.

WeHo is always a popular spot for celebrities – whether it’s Starbucks (“Gaybucks”) on Santa Monica Boulevard, restaurants like Cecconi’s, shopping along the Avenues of Art & Design or Melrose Avenue, famous for its “Pretty Woman”, where you can find fashion and shops for interior design. The highlight of the celebrity spotting season are the days before and the night of the Oscars. Numerous parties take place in the hotels and restaurants of West Hollywood, Elton John traditionally invites to his AIDS charity party in the architecturally striking Pacific Design Center in the heart of the small town.

The gay nightlife takes place only about one kilometre away on the parallel Santa Monica Boulevard. “Boy’s Town” is marked with rainbow flags and has bars, shops, restaurants and clubs all in one area – you can easily do without a car when you’re barhopping. One of the classics is The Abbey, which has become the meeting place of the gay scene over the last 25 years. With a large outdoor area, the complex consisting of a restaurant, bar and club offers plenty of opportunity to get into conversation with others. Other clubs like Rage or Eleven have daily changing motto evenings with go-go dancers and the biggest gay party in Greater L.A. rises at Factory club on weekends. The fact that the barmen and waiters in West Hollywood are considered to be the most attractive in the country is due to the enduring reputation of the city that this is a place where you could be discovered and become famous.

The numerous gay “actors”, “singers” and “models” from the remotest corners of the country seek their Hollywood luck and earn their money mainly as service personnel in the restaurants and bars until then. WeHo’s gay scene is above all trendy, cool and full of eye-candy. If you prefer a more down-to-earth crowd, you have to go to Silverlake and its leather bars and clubs about ten kilometres away.

During the day you are spoilt for choice: whether shopping in one of the nearby malls, visiting the famous but super-heterosexual Venice Beach or excursions to nearby Getty Center and neighbouring Universal Studios. Los Angeles county offers a large variety of entertainment, art and nature. A stop at Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame, Kodak and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is a must. The best time for a visit is around 9 a.m.  before the the invasion of busloads of tourists. It takes less than ten minutes by car from West Hollywood to the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Heights Avenue.

At the gay Will Rogers Beach in Pacific Palisades, which can also be reached quickly from West Hollywood, there is a lot happening, especially on weekends in summer. From here it’s just a stone’s throw to the magnificent collection of antiques of the Getty Villa, which sits high on the hills off Malibu. If you take the Pacific Coast Highway further north, the celebrity town Malibu presents itself with partly architecturally daring, but extremely impressive “beach houses” and villas. Stars like Cher, Britney Spears or Pierce Brosnan live here, Thomas Gottschalk also. With any luck you can spot Pamela Anderson, Bette Middler or Lindsay Lohan shopping at Malibu Colony Plaza or at lunch in the high-class restaurant Nobu.

A bit off the beaten touristy track are a hike to the famous Hollywood sign from a parking lot at the end of Beachwood Drive and a visit to the open-air cinema at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There is probably no bizarre place to watch old films of deceased stars right next to Rudolpho Valentino’s mausoleum built in an artificial lake. A real experience for cinema fans.

INFO

www.gogaywesthollywood.com
Official homepage of the tourism board for gays and lesbian visitors.

HOW TO GET THERE

Air France offers daily departures to Los Angeles from 11 German cities via Paris. Return tickets are available from 815 Euros in der Economy Class and from 1200 Euros in Premium Voyager Class. Keep your eyes peeled for special offers on the airline’s homepage, www.airfrance.de

HOTELS

Andaz West Hollywood (8401 Sunset Blvd.) Design hotel belonging Hyatt group with the most beautiful roof terrace including pool in West Hollywood and amazing view of downtown and the Hollywood Hills, www.westhollywood.andaz.com

Mondrian (8440 Sunset Blvd.) The classic amongst the design hotels with public pool parties on weekends, www.mondrianhotel.com

NIGHTLIFE

O-Bar (8279 Santa Monica Blvd.) Very stylish restaurant and bar with excellent cuisine, obarla.com

The Abbey (692 North Robertson Blvd.) The most popular meeting point of the gay scene in West Hollywood with bar, restaurant and dance floor has celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2010, www.abbeyfoodandbar.com

Fubar (7994 Santa Monica Blvd.) Rather unreserved cruising bar for Californian standards with entertainment by strippers, www.fubarla.com

Factory/Ultra Suede (652 North La Peer Drive) Biggest gay club in West Hollywood, simply bursting at the seams on weekends, www.factorynightclub.com

Please follow and like us: