Leaders like Abbe Land, left and Lindsey Horvath made lasting marks in West Hollywood. Jane Fonda honored them in 2013. (photo by Josh Barash)

Telling stories chronicles history in creative and compelling ways. The city of West Hollywood is striving to chronicle its history by doing just that. The WeHo Stories oral history project intertwines personal roles and memories, creating a map of the city’s 40-year history.

Originally proposed in 2017 by now-Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, 3rd District, when she served on the West Hollywood City Council, and completed by documentarian and archivist Barbara Grover, the project features an interactive website and coffee table book of first-person histories related to the founding of the city. It is scheduled to launch in November.

Horvath said the project was inspired by a desire to document the many powerful stories about the city’s founding.

“Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of hearing many community leaders share their powerful stories – the struggles, triumphs and everyday moments that shaped West Hollywood,” Horvath said. “Their voices, rich with wisdom and resilience, inspired me to initiate the WeHo Stories archival project to preserve our community’s history for future generations.”

Horvath approached Grover – who served as a consultant for the Coalition for Economic Survival while the group spearheaded West Hollywood’s cityhood campaign in the 1980s – to conduct interviews and photograph people who were instrumental in the city’s founding. Over the years, Grover photographed the people who made West Hollywood what it is today.

Cityhood advocate and former mayor Abbe Land narrates how she supported rent control and helped develop the city’s women’s and disability advisory boards during her decades-long tenure on the City Council. Vice Mayor John Heilman, who has served intermittently on the council since the city’s founding, talks about how the city has evolved since the founding. Cityhood activist and former transportation commissioner Margot Siegel tells the story of drafting the city’s community plan to fight for increased rent control.

Beyond local government leaders and activists, business leaders such as former Whisky a Go Go owner Mikey Maglieri spoke about how music and entertainment shaped West Hollywood and the Sunset Strip before his death in 2023.

“Everyone is really proud of the city,” Grover said. “I think everybody feels it’s unique in that the amount of community involvement is not found in many places and the importance of community involvement in making change.”

Grover said she also hopes the project illuminates the history of the city beyond its role as a haven for the LGBTQ+ community. Rent control was a key part of the cityhood fight, Grover added, as the L.A. County Board of Supervisors was moving to end rent control across the city at the time.

Land said she hopes the project will educate people about the real issues that cityhood advocates faced and how they addressed them. She also stressed the importance of setting aside differences to collectively fight for a cause.

“I hope people know that change can be made – that people from diverse backgrounds can come together, find common ground even if for different reasons, but work towards a common goal,” she said. “Activism takes many forms. By reading WeHo Stories, people will learn ways to plug into a change movement. I also hope people take away the importance of having shared values, as that helps ensure the change you are working for lives up to your expectations.”

While conducting interviews, Grover said she found people repeatedly highlighted the courage of city leaders and residents in advocating for important issues that other cities would not address. Residents also shared that local voices can still be heard at the local government level.

“People still feel, despite the development, that it is a small town, and you walk down the street and you see people, and they want to smile and talk to you,” she said. “You can still make a difference if you speak up, if you go to council meetings, if you participate.”

More than anything, Horvath said, she hopes the project, which was funded by private donors and L.A. County, will honor the community leaders who fought for positive change.

“West Hollywood’s story is truly unique – a city born from a movement to protect renters, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and the response to the AIDS crisis,” she said. “This project captures and shares the voices of activists, artists, cultural leaders and longtime residents whose experiences are often unheard but are at the heart of our community. I’ve been deeply moved by these stories and hope others will be too.”