If Hollywood feels like its own tiny town inside the city of Homewood, that’s because it once was. For three years in the last century, from 1926 to 1929, Hollywood existed as its own town before being folded into Homewood.
Its borders – roughly marked by U.S. Highway 31, U.S. Highway 280 and Lakeshore Drive – aren’t all that separates Hollywood from the surrounding city, though. Many of the homes in this neighborhood are built in a Spanish Colonial Architectural style, meant to emulate the then-trendy look of that other Hollywood.
Within Walking Distance…
Over Easy
Hollywood comes with a built-in breakfast spot: Over Easy, open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., offers a variety of early-morning staples, including omelets, hash browns, pancakes and grits. It’s not all just breakfast, either; Over Easy offers lunch sandwiches, including a decadent chicken-and-waffle sandwich, topped with Sriracha honey and powdered sugar.
Urban Cookhouse/Farm Bowl + Juice Co.
These two restaurants share a building in downtown Homewood, just across U.S. 31 from Hollywood. Urban Cookhouse offers a variety of sandwiches, salads and wraps made with locally sourced ingredients. Farm Bowl, meanwhile, features lighter fare, including açai and oatmeal bowls, smoothies and cold-pressed juice.
Piggly Wiggly
This neighborhood grocery, on U.S. 31, has a large selection of fresh produce and meat, and the store features an incredible variety of wine and craft beer, with knowledgable staff on-hand to help you pick your new favorites.
Schools
Nearby schools include Shades Cahaba Elementary, a 550-student K-5 school that has been ranked the sixth-best public elementary school in Jefferson County by niche.com. Also a short distance away are the Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School and Homewood’s Creative Montessori School.
Local Landmark
Hollywood is just a short distance from the Birmingham Zoo, which houses roughly 250 different species of animals and is home to a variety of events for all ages, including talks by animal experts, Easter festivities for kids and adults and birthday parties for its resident elephants.
Advice to the Buyer:
“We thought that with the election this year, the market would slow down, but it is not at all,” said LAH Real Estate’s Annalee Bright.
“It’s imperative for buyers to stay on top of everything, to be communicative with their agent. It’s imperative to be pre-approved beforehand with a good local lender. That makes a big difference. … If I get a request and the (applicant) isn’t pre-approved, I’m not even going to look at it. There are too many factors that can go into it,” she said. “Things are moving so quickly, and we’re seeing multiple offers on just about everything that’s priced well.”