Hollywood didn't start off big. In the 1870s is was a small community and became a municiplaity in 1903.
I didn't realize this. What led to its growth and popularity?
The film industry mostly. It's now a densly populated area with several historic studios. 
What studios are located in Hollywood?
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation (also known simply as Paramount) is an American film studio based in Hollywood, California, that has been a subsidiary of the American media conglomerate Viacom since 1994. Paramount is the fifth oldest surviving film studio in the world, the second oldest in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios still located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood.
In 1916, film producer Adolph Zukor put 22 actors and actresses under contract and honored each with a
Hollywood
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California, notable as the home of the U.S. film industry, including several of its historic studios. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the industry and the people associated with it.
Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It was consolidated with the city of Los Angeles in 1910 and soon thereafter, a prominent film industry emerged, eventually becoming the most recognizable film industry in the world.
History.
History Early history