The history of the Hollywood section of Abington was featured today by The Philadelphia Inquirer in an article titled “Abington’s Hollywood neighborhood has a glittering name and a complicated past“.
According to the story, the 174-house neighborhood was founded by “a love-struck builder named Gustav Weber”. A 2007 Inquirer article notes that Weber filed plans to build a small subdivision in 1928 and that the homes were built in pastel colors with flat roofs, similar to Spanish-style homes in the Los Angeles area. Streets were named Los Angeles, San Diego, Pasadena and San Gabriel.
The builder’s motivation is apparently unclear to this day. One narrative holds that Weber built Hollywood because his wife, a California native, was homesick. Another claims that Weber himself is from the West Coast.
“Weber … was quite a guy,” developer Sidney Robin — who finished Hollywood in the late 1940s — said in a 1982 interview with The Inquirer, nothing that he “took off” and left “thousands of dollars in debts” as well as half-finished homes.
According to the story, he may have abandoned his Hollywood dream after his spouse ran away with his brother. Hidden City Philadelphia also took a deep dive in the town’s history in 2021. You can find it here.
“All of us who live here have a deep passion for this neighborhood,” resident Michele Medori-Henrysen told The Inquirer. “I love telling people I live in Hollywood … and then they say, ‘Oh, you mean that neighborhood across Huntingdon Pike from where the Penn Fruit [supermarket] used to be?’”
“They all look like Hollywood houses,” said Peggy Devaney, who bought her house 37 years ago. “But they built the houses with materials they would use in Hollywood, California.”
Most of the homes were built nearly a century ago and cost around $3,000. Today, they sell for $300,000. The historied Hollywood Tavern is in the process of being sold after operating along Huntingdon Pike for roughly 80 years.
“Everybody is very friendly, and I take care of them,” said Leona Backukas, 83, owner of Hollywood House Dog Grooming. “I don’t charge for clipping their dog’s nails, as long as they promise to make a donation to their church or synagogue or some other charity.”
Township commissioner Drew Rothman said the neighborhood “is the furthest thing from cookie-cutter” and “adds to the character” of Abington.
“Hollywood looks and feels like a comfortable place to be,” he said. “The houses are similar, but still unique. It’s cool.”
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has listed the area as eligible for national registry, which means residents may apply for federal grants to maintain the historical character of the neighborhood.
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Photos: The Library Company of Philadelphia, Wikipedia