The area was a lemon grove until 1903, when Daeida Beveridge allowed one corner of the dirt intersection on her property to be used for the Hollywood Memorial Church.

[3] In the 1930s, radio station KFWB spoke of "broadcasting live from Hollywood and Vine," and newspaper columnists Hedda Hopper and Jimmie Fidler regularly touted the intersection's mystique.

It took several decades for redevelopment to take hold, and visitors looking for Hollywood dreams were often taken aback by the area's contrast with shinier tourist meccas.

[1][8] In Hollywood's golden age, every studio as well as Charlie Chaplin, Will Rogers, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had offices in the building.

[14] East of the Equitable Building is the Art Deco Hollywood Pantages Theatre, designed by B. Marcus Priteca and built as a movie palace in 1930, then converted to a live theater in the 1977.

[8] To the north of the former Laemmle Building is a Spanish Colonial style Hollywood Playhouse, opened on January 24, 1927 designed by H. L. Gogerty and Carl Jules Weyl.

[22] South of the building is the Hollywood Plaza Hotel, built by Walker & Eisen in 1924[8] and at one point home to silent film star Clara Bow's "It Cafe".

[23] Six of the aforementioned buildings are listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments:[24] Furthermore, nine of the aforementioned buildings are listed as contributing properties in the National Register of Historic Places Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District:[8] A number of high-profile projects have attempted to restore the lost luster of the area, most notably the $600 million W Hollywood Hotel and Residences,[25] which opened in 2010.