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Mulholland Drive facts for kids

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Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive.png
Map of Mulholland Drive (orange) and Mulholland Highway (brown) in Los Angeles County
Namesake William Mulholland
Maintained by Bureau of Street Services, City of L.A. DPW
Length 21 mi (34 km)
West end US 101 (Ventura Fwy) in Woodland Hills
Major
junctions
  • Mulholland Highway
  • SR 27 (Topanga Canyon Boulevard)
  • I-405 / Skirball Ctr Dr to Sepulveda Blvd
  • Beverly Glen Blvd
  • Coldwater Canyon Ave
  • Laurel Canyon Blvd
East end US 101 (Hollywood Fwy)/Cahuenga Blvd in the Hollywood Hills
LA from Mulholland Drive
View of Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles from Mulholland Drive near its eastern terminus

Mulholland Drive is a famous road in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after William Mulholland, a smart engineer who helped build Los Angeles.

The western part of the road is called Mulholland Highway. This road has appeared in many movies, songs, and books. The director David Lynch made a movie named after it. He said you can feel "the history of Hollywood" there. Famous actor Jack Nicholson has lived on Mulholland Drive for many years.

Discovering Mulholland Drive's Past

The main part of Mulholland Drive opened in 1924. It was first called Mulholland Highway. Many developers who were building homes in the Hollywood Hills helped pay for it.

DeWitt Reaburn was the engineer in charge of building the road. He believed it would become one of the most popular and scenic roads in the United States.

View at dusk from Mulholland Drive across the southeast San Fernando Valley

Exploring the Geography of Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive at night
San Fernando Valley at night from Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive is about 21 miles (34 km) long. It mostly follows the top of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Hollywood Hills. The road connects two parts of U.S. Route 101. It also crosses several other important streets like Sepulveda Boulevard and Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

From Mulholland Drive, you can see amazing views. You can look down at the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and even Downtown Los Angeles. You can also see the famous Hollywood Sign.

Many of the most expensive and fancy homes in the world are on Mulholland Drive. Many Hollywood celebrities live there.

Navigating the Mulholland Drive Route

2004-04-02 - 31 - Mulholland Drive
A Mulholland Drive street sign in a residential neighborhood in Woodland Hills.

Mulholland Drive starts in the east at Cahuenga Boulevard. This is near the Hollywood Freeway. As you drive west, you get great views of the Hollywood Sign and Downtown Los Angeles. You can also see cities like Burbank and Universal City. Beyond them, you can see the San Fernando Valley and the mountains around it.

The road winds along the mountaintops. A few miles west of the Interstate 405 Freeway, the road changes. It becomes an unpaved, dirt road where cars are not allowed. People often call this part "Dirt Mulholland."

This dirt section connects to other trails for bikes. It also leads to an old military base that is now a park. This park remembers the Cold War.

The road becomes paved again east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Soon after, Mulholland Drive splits into two roads: Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Highway. Mulholland Drive ends at U.S. Route 101 (the Ventura Freeway). Mulholland Highway continues southwest. It ends at California State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) near the ocean. This is in Leo Carrillo State Park.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Mulholland Drive para niños

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