Hollywood Movie Stars Experience - Book This Product

Hollywood

Hollywood is at once a town, an industry, and an illusion, and you'll experience all of these as you stroll along the famed Hollywood Boulevard. Its history encompasses the birth of the movies, the Golden Age of film premieres and o crushing decline as the studios moved elsewhere. But recent years have seen a renaissance along the boulevard - the Hollywood and Highland complex is a major development, and many of the grand movie palaces once again host glamorous film openings. At its core, Hollywood is a museum - the huge sign in the hills, movie stars "at your feet" on the Walk of Fame, the bars that hosted greats such as Ernest Hemingway - this is still the place to rekindle childhood dreams about the "stars."

Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood's main artery, one of the district's most glamorous streets during its pre-World War II heydays, has been revitalized in recent years. The focus of this rejuvenation is the extravagantly designed Hollywood and Highland complex, but old favorites such as Mann's Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame have also received a fresh sheen.

Hollywood Sign

From the very beginning, the shiny white Hollywood sign atop Mount Lee was meant to attract attention, originally for the real estate developer and publisher Harry Chandler. Built in 1923 at a cost of $21,000, the sign was once illuminated by 4,000 bulbs and had its own caretaker. Each letter is 50 ft (15 m) tall and is made of sheet metal. In 1932, unemployed actress Peggy Entwistle immortalized herself by leaping to her death off the H. It's illegal to hike to the sign, but the top of Beachwood Drive gets you fairly close to LA's most recognizable landmark.

Hollywood Bowl

Hollywood

A night at the world's largest natural amphitheater is as much part of Los Angeles summer tradition as backyard barbecues and fun at the beach. The world's finest artists - from Sinatra to Pavarotti - have performed here since 1922. In 1924, Lloyd Wright designed the first concert shell, greatly improving acoustics.

2301 N Highland Ave

Hollywood Heritage Museum

This museum is housed in the 1895 barn where Jesse Lasky and Cecil B. De Mille set up Hollywood's first major film studio in 1913. Originally located at Selma Avenue and Vine Street, De Mille shot Hollywood's first full-length feature The Squaw Man here in 1913-14. Exhibits include a recreated studio as well as plenty of photographs, props, and memorabilia from the silent movie era.

2100 N Highland Ave

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Founded in 1899, this cemetery has the densest concentration of celebrity corpses in the world. The long list of those interred here includes Rudolph Valentino, Jane Mansfield, and Cecil B. De Mille. The grandest memorial, though, belongs to Douglas Fairbanks Sr. who, since 2000, has shared his marble tomb with his son, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Buy a map of the graves from the nearby flower shop.

6000 Santa Monica Blvd

Paramount Studios

The only major movie studio still located in Hollywood, Paramount traces its pedigree back to 1916 when movies were made with the Paramount logo. The studio has always had a stunning star roster and in 1929, Paramount's Wings took home the first ever Best Picture Oscar. More recent hits include Psycho The Godfather, Forrest Gump, and Titanic. Studio tours have been suspended indefinitely but you can enter the ornate gates by being part of a live audience for a TV show taping.

5555 Melrose Ave

Cinerama Dome

Hollywood landmark and site of many a movie premiere, this white dome of interlocked triangles is LA's most unusual movie theater. The world's only concrete geodesic dome was built by Welton Beckett in 1963 to show Cinerama movies, a revolutionary wide-screen technique requiring three 35 mm projectors. Today, it is part of a brand new complex that also includes the ArcLight movie theaters.

Crossroads of the World

The centerpiece of this unique architectural metaphor is a shiplike Art Deco building that "sails" into a courtyard flanked by cottages in styles ranging from Spanish Colonial to German gingerbread. A quiet office complex, it was built in 1936 by Robert Derrah, who designed Downtown's Coca-Coca Bottling Plant.

6671 Sunset Blvd

Silver Lake & Los Feliz

The twin neighborhoods of Silver Lake and Los Feliz constitute one of Los Angeles's oldest movie colonies with bohemianchic dining, shopping, and nightlife scenes. The hills are studded with Modernist masterpieces such as Frank Lloyd Wright's 1924 Ennis-Brown House and the Lovell House built 3y Richard Neutra.

Ennis-Brown House, 2655 Glendower Ave, Lovell House, 4616 Dundee Dr

Hollyhock House

Los Feliz is also home to the Hollyhock House, a community arts center. The Mayan-style mansion was designed by Frank Lloyd in 1921 for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall. Depictions of the hollyhock, her favorite flower, appear everywhere on facades and in furniture.

4808 Hollywood Blvd

Bars & Dance Clubs

Places to eat