in the early 1900s.
Depending on which source work you reference, one of Johnston McCulley's California residences was either in Hollywood or Los Angeles.
The Hillview Hollywood Apartments are located at 6533 Hollywood Blvd and were originally constructed in 1917 by Sam Goldwyn and Jesse Lasky to house their actors, since most apartments and rooming houses in the Hollywood area would not take actors as tenants.
The first multi-story building in Hollywood (and the oldest apartment house) has quite a colorful history. Many silent film stars stayed at the hotel at the beginning of their careers. Charlie Chaplin was once a proprietor of the Hillview. And rumor has it that the ground level of the building was once home to a speakeasy run by Rudolph Valentino.
Exactly when McCulley established a residence here is not known, but, considering the distance between this location and his home in Twin Peaks, he would definitely needed a place to stay overnight when visiting.
Today, the area around the Hillview is a combination of former grandeur and decaying inner city. The Hollywood Walk of Fame runs past the Hillview on both sides of the street and we passed the corner of Hollywood and Vine just after we exited the freeway. The Pantages Theater is just to the east, with Capitol Records, Mann's Chinese and the Egyptian to the west. Yet, the shops along the street are quite rundown, the majority featuring tattoos and tobacco, and the general seediness of the area made me glad we were there in mid-afternoon.
