Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US gay) a predominantly homosexual area, e.g. West Hollywood/Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles; Hillcrest in San Diego, etc.

1962		G.S. Nielsen Personality Research 44: [...] described [...] as having heavy concentrations pf homosexuals — the ‘swish Alps’.
1974		C.A. Warren Identity & Community in the Gay World 20: Some areas have so many gay people that the gay community gives them special names, like the ‘Swish Alps’ for one particular part of Los Angeles.
1981		G. Classco Second Nature 53: ‘You know what they call the Hollywood Hills, don’t you [...] the Swish Alps’.
1995		C. Hitchens in Love, Poverty and War (2005) 151: The plush European homes and mansions known to some as ‘the Swish Alps.’.
1996		D. Rubin in Buhrke Matter of Justice 179: ‘Have you heard what they call Hillcrest (San Diego’s gay neighborhood) the “Swish Alps”’.
2002		(con. 1950s) J. Ellroy ‘Where I Get My Weird Shit’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 30: We lived in West Hollywood. My dad called it the Swish Alps.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 149: Silver Lake. Due east of Hollywood Hills [...] Wags called it the ‘Swish Alps’.