Hollywood, Memphis

Hollywood is a neighborhood on the North side of Memphis, Tennessee.

Geography

Hollywood, North Memphis, is one of the largest neighborhoods in the Memphis urban area, and takes its name from Hollywood Street, which bisects it north to south. Its range expands from the point of North Hollywood Street and Chelsea Avenue in the north side of Memphis. The Hollywood neighborhood is bounded by North McLean Boulevard to the west and Warford Street (Douglass) to the east. The Douglass Community and the Hollywood Community were divided by the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is also bordered by Binghampton on the south.

History

In the early 1900s Hollywood was the place to go, if you lived in the communities of Douglass and Jackson - near Greg Junior High School. Young men and women would dress up and head out on foot to go to nice restaurants in Hollywood rather than travel an hour on the number 8 bus to go downtown or to transfer one or more buses to Beale Street or Mid-town. The Hollywood Community had movie theaters, an outdoor shopping mall, the community center and many large grocery and shopping stores.

Through the years, the Hollywood Community began to change. The junior high school was closed and its students were bused to Douglass in the Douglass Community. Hollywood school never went beyond the ninth grade but its junior high basketball team, the maroon and white Birddogs, were a force in the 1940s and early 1950s. It's 1949 City Championship team was undoubtedly the most successful for that era. Students from Hollywood during the late 1940s and 1950s and 1960s went on to high school primarily to Memphis Technical or "Tech" with some going on to Humes High School, in 1954 a few started going east to Treadwell High School. Hollywood had very good, competent and dedicated long-tenured principals and teachers also during those days, as was later evidenced by their students' high school and later-life accomplishments. The movie theater began to play re-runs daily of old Bruce Lee movies. Many of the families moved out of the community despite the newly built clinic just off the main street of Chelsea in the approximate year of 1980. Soon, all the major stores except Piggly Wiggly were closed as well. Hollywood remains one of North Memphis's high crime areas. In 2008 Hollywood contributed in the multitude of murders in Memphis.

Music

Three 6 Mafia members, and brothers Juicy J and Project Pat are from the Hyde Park area near Hollywood. It is sometimes referred to by fellow Memphians as "Holly-Hood", "Pocket Town." and "Tha Park".

Gang And Drug Related Violence

Like most other communities with a high level of poverty, Hollywood is no exception in Memphis for gang and drug related violence. Drugs bring the money but the need for money is so great and not everyone can come to an agreement, and this leads to the manifestation of gangs. With both being high in numbers Vicelords and GDs rival for territory. Vicelords (VLs) lead in numbers in Memphis but there is not a huge gap. In Hollywood alone, there is a mixture of gangs; Vicelords, Bloods, Crips, and Gangster Disciples (GDs), with VL coming in 1st and GD following behind and Crip sets hold the third spot. Bloods of North Memphis can usually be found in the community of Klondike, which is approximately 7 blocks from University Street. Gang and drug violence reached staggering highs in the years of 1996-2009. The Gang Investigation Unit (GI Unit) along with Operation Blue C.R.U.S.H. produced improvements in the year of 2010 and 2011, but still new gangs; and mobs or squads have been introduced in Memphis. For example: Young Mob, Murda Squad, and Fam Mobb.

See also

Gangs in Memphis, Tennessee

External links

• Article about the neighborhood