From the Archives
Nyla Arslanian
Founding Editor of Discover Hollywood Magazine informs residents and visitors about the unique culture and lore of Hollywood, the place. I want everyone to have a wonderful experience of this exciting town I call home.
I don't look back very often, not because of any particular reason other than the past is just that, past. I love the Norman Lear quote at age 99: “There are two little words in the English language that we don’t?recognize as being as important as they are: And they are ‘Over’ and ‘Next.’ And if there was a hammock in the middle of those two words, that would be I think what the philosophers tell us is living in the moment.”?
When we moved our office from Crossroads of The World to our home in July 2020, forty years of accumulated stuff was either tossed in the recycle dumpster or brought home (for what reason, I don't know). However, every now and then I'll come across something that brings the past into the present. So, a few days ago I came across a sponsor solicitation for Discover Hollywood: A Summer Festival of the Arts campaign that the Hollywood Arts Council had launched. Sometimes, coming across old memorabilia is a look back into how technology has made our lives easier, producing flyers, photographs, magazines.
The piece was primitive by today's standards, but what was inside was not just a trip down memory lane, it was a bittersweet look at what many today call Hollywood's down times. Believe me, there was nothing "down" in 1984. We had the summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the arts were thriving with the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theatre, Universal Amphitheatre (then open air) all with a full summer calendar. Added to that were small live theatres from the Pantages to a small 46-set black box store front. Art galleries lined Melrose Avenue. To proclaim Hollywood a Summer Festival, a full calendar of events from June thru September was included in a 20-page tabloid that was inserted in eleven weekly newspapers printed by Meredith Newspapers--200,000 circulation. Thirty billboards proclaiming Discover Hollywood were placed around the city and brightly colored banners decorated Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards.
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Seeing that promotional piece and reflecting on the 30 years that came after was a joyous reflection of what's possible. When I turned over the reins of the Hollywood Arts Council to an Executive Director and new leadership, I really didn't think of how extraordinary that accomplishment was. Sadly, neither did they. None of us really knew all that it takes to keep a dream alive.
Today the Hollywood Arts Council is struggling to find new footing and the same is true for Hollywood. Still, I know what's possible and Hollywood has a lot more going for it today than it did those many years ago when so few saw its potential.
All it takes is what Margaret Mead proclaimed “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world.?In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”?