I have a large collection of Brookfield T-shirts, and somewhere among them is one that reads “Can’t Stop That Hollywood Pride!”
Though this shirt must be at least 15 years old, I have absolutely no doubt that what it says is still true today. In fact, it has always been true, dating back 111 years ago, to 1895.
Hollywood pride has again manifested itself in the form of a residential rebellion against the Stronghill Group, which is yet another real estate development firm that has decided that what Brookfield needs most are high, gigantic, profitable condo complexes. Allegedly, this is OK because of the new specifications calling for increased residential density as mentioned in the Brookfield 2020 Master Plan.
On Sept. 27, around 150 residents came to voice their opinions on this matter at a Plan Commission hearing, which was cancelled. The residents didn’t leave for two hours, and shot questions and opinions at the developers. How many Hollywood residents were in attendance? That number is unknown, but I’d bet there were at least 125 of them.
The developers said they were surprised by the residents’ reaction at the meeting; that they had mailed out around 150 letters about this, and had gotten back only two.
I wasn’t surprised at all to hear this. Hollywood citizens probably took a good long look at their letters and asked themselves, “Why should we give them any ammunition to shoot us down at the Plan Commission hearing?”
Hollywood residents are the kind of people who assess a situation, then rally around a cause, circle their wagons and charge ahead, not taking any guff.
If only the Stronghill Group had come to me first, or to Hollywood historian Joe Stejskal, we would’ve set them straight on a few things. They would’ve known, at that point, that they’d have a hard time passing off this eyesore on this neighborhood, which is solidly territorial.
I could’ve told them, so easily, that incursions set on changing that section of Brookfield have always been met with focused, resistant attention.
Back on Oct. 3, 1895, the founder of the Hollywood subdivision, S. E. Gross, had the sign changed on the railroad station. Now, instead of the bucolic Hollywood, the sign read the unimaginative and terse “East Grossdale.” Residents were up in arms, still referring to their section as Hollywood.
A year later, Gross planned to extend Grossdale (Brookfield) Avenue, then west of Salt Creek, over across it, though there wasn’t any bridge there yet. Grossdale Avenue would cross into East Grossdale. Hollywood residents were against any more “Gross” coming into their community. When, in 1905, Grossdale became Brookfield, residents were only too happy to be rid of the “East Grossdale” sign on the station. However, due to legalities, the sign didn’t officially come down until 1907.
In the late 1920s, when the Brookfield Zoo was being built, Hollywood streets were set to be laid in solid concrete. Yet they resisted having this improvement until 1930. Why? Because they knew darn well that heavy vehicles used in building that very zoo would rumble down their improved streets, creating all sorts of problems, one chiefly being that such traffic would soon wreck those streets sooner than any others in Brookfield.
Also in the late 1920s, companies and individuals seeking to build apartment buildings here were delayed and outrightly spoken out against, as it was believed that they would destroy the character of the neighborhood. Today, at 3622 and 3626 Rosemear Ave., are two apartment buildings that made the grade, being no more than two-and-one-half stories high.
On the 3400 block of Arden Avenue are others, built in the Tudor style. When, in the 1950s, the Coronet Construction Company built the currently concerned apartments at 8544 Brookfield Ave., they did not exceed those height limits.
In 1929, Hollywood, Calif., decided that all other Hollywoods in the United States should change their names so that there be only one “true” Hollywood, the movie capital of the world.
Hollywood, Illinois residents took a dim view of that, and also in 1987, when Hollywood, California tried to trademark the name Hollywood. Neither of these attempts at “name piracy” succeeded, and that is why our local Hollywood still exists as such.
In 1989, the McDonald’s hamburger chain sent out their costumed representative, Mac Tonight, to present a plaque honoring Hollywood, Ill. as the inspiration for the name of Hollywood, Calif., which it was. But Hollywoodites were unimpressed. After the ceremony, the brass plaque was not laid in the sidewalk, and even now remains perched on a pole, gathering dust in the basement of the Brookfield Historical Society Museum.
So when I heard of what happened on Sept. 27, I just smiled and nodded, knowingly. This was just another case of that good, old Hollywood pride once again rising to the challenge. It has been reported that the morning after the meeting, the developers were changing their plans, which was one of the smartest things they could do.
The next hearing on this matter is set for Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Brookfield Village Hall, on 8820 Brookfield Avenue. If you want to see a demonstration of true community pride, come on out, and come early, because there just may be standing room only.
