In my 60 years of living in Los Angeles I have with great effort have told everyone who planned to visit "Hollywood" to skip it. Certainly Hollywood Blvd.
There is/was no such thing.
There are plenty of places to go and see around that area but certainly nothing to see of "Hollywood".
There is/was no such thing.
There are plenty of places to go and see around that area but certainly nothing to see of "Hollywood".
1
Hollywood has come quite a ways in the past 10 years. Unfortunately the Hollywood & Highland nexus seems intent on going full Times Square, but that's still better than the dingy t-shirt and tchotchke shops that were formerly ubiquitous (and still plentiful). Hollywood is still the place to go for clubbing (on most nights), but for more low key outings I'd travel slightly east to Silver Lake or Los Feliz (or south to Koreatown for the hip) for trendy dining etc.
And for the love of God, do not take one of those Starline/TMZ Tours. They are beyond pathetic.
And for the love of God, do not take one of those Starline/TMZ Tours. They are beyond pathetic.
1
As a fan of the movies and the days when the studios were the bosses, I enjoyed reading this article.
Movie stars are not as revered as they once were; everyone who has accomplished nothing thinks they're worthy to be called a star. I cringe to think that those are on reality TV put themselves in the same categories as actors & actresses - the talent that you see on the big screen
There's a reason why porn stars are called models and not actors & actresses & those in reality TV don't have a SAG card.
Movie stars are not as revered as they once were; everyone who has accomplished nothing thinks they're worthy to be called a star. I cringe to think that those are on reality TV put themselves in the same categories as actors & actresses - the talent that you see on the big screen
There's a reason why porn stars are called models and not actors & actresses & those in reality TV don't have a SAG card.
Kind of a silky, smooth description of Hollywood, but with a lots of non-sense about a place which has to be one of the biggest, for the savvy traveler, disappointments on the planet. Ho hum, America's fascination with celebritydom never ends. Lived in Hollywood for years and I'm just returning from a short visit; but see no description of the jaded, dark, violent, and brooding place that is LA; Hollywood not excepted. South of the border, Tijuana, is a much warmer and safer haven even with the narco-trafficking problem. In short, I wouldn't get too romantic or carried away with Los Angles or Hollywood; it's definitely seen better days.
3
It is really impossible to cover all the highlights of Hollywood in joust one travel piece. There are all kinds of things to see and do, and many of them are only a block or two off the main streets where tourists typically go. For example, how many tourists know that there are castles in the Hollywood Hills and a tribute to the Apollo 11 astronauts at the corner of Hollywood and Vine? How to find the sites where dozens of classics or popular movies and TV shows were filmed? Where JFK's most infamous mistress, Judith Campell Exmer, lived? Sites associated with former presidents and two assassins? Or sites that inspired songs like the "Sunset Grille" and "Dead Man's Curve"? If this is of interest to you, check out "The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book."
What about the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, although technically not in Hollywood.
From the Mel Blanc gravestone inscription ("that's all Folks") to the John Huston Mausoleum to the beautiful art deco Tyrone Power grave site, it's a must stop on my tour of Hollywood for out of town relatives. Recent find; the very cool Toto Memorial.
From the Mel Blanc gravestone inscription ("that's all Folks") to the John Huston Mausoleum to the beautiful art deco Tyrone Power grave site, it's a must stop on my tour of Hollywood for out of town relatives. Recent find; the very cool Toto Memorial.
1
hollywood: the ultimate triumph of style over substance.
4
This is a good companion to Stephanie Rosenbloom's NYT travel piece 'Los Angeles, as a Pedestrian' most walking tour from December 2014. The photography by Chad Ress is beautiful, I love the shot through the window of Adam and Ben's room in the Chateau Marmont looking west down Sunset Blvd toward the art deco masterpiece Sunset Tower and the night shot of the Basin from behind the Hollywood Sign is epic.
Having no interest in looking at brass and terrazzo stars or handprints and signatures embedded in the sidewalk I'd suggest a day at Universal Studios including the Hollywood simulation of Hollywood, 'City Walk', and then a hike up the Mt Hollywood Trail rising behind Griffith Observatory starting out 45 minutes before sunset. My primary recommendation would be to rent a car and just drive. Southern California beyond "Hollywood" is vast and varied from the beaches to the mountains to the deserts.
Having no interest in looking at brass and terrazzo stars or handprints and signatures embedded in the sidewalk I'd suggest a day at Universal Studios including the Hollywood simulation of Hollywood, 'City Walk', and then a hike up the Mt Hollywood Trail rising behind Griffith Observatory starting out 45 minutes before sunset. My primary recommendation would be to rent a car and just drive. Southern California beyond "Hollywood" is vast and varied from the beaches to the mountains to the deserts.
2
sunset tower is the most magical hotel ever. Jeff Klein the owner is a genius.
Once an actor or director gets established in one way or another, there is no longer any need to live in Los Angeles. With crafts workers who would like to jump from movie to movie and be employed close to full time, living there makes sense, but not for the bigger names, at least not unless they just want to live there. Robert Duvall lives in Virginia and works when he wants to.
It is also my impression that most of the so called movie stars stay don't generally go out in public any more. There was a time when it was common to see this or that well known actor at a grocery store or cafe, but it is mainly younger actors who are hoping to attract photographers to keep their names in the news who venture out. Many celebrities, through the insistence of security people, that going out and about was no longer an option after the murder of John Lennon in 1980.
That doesn't mean that there isn't a "scene" one can pick up on if one pays attention and gets lucky. Over breakfast once long ago, we overheard a couple of eager guys pitching the story that became the movie Coccon (It was the "most unique" story, they kept saying) while the best known sportscaster of that day had breakfast on the other side of us. Touring to look at "the stars homes" just seems dumb, especially since many of the maps sold are faked.
Like NY, LA is a great American city, part of who and what we are as a nation and a people. The real LA is all over the map and worth seeing.
Doug Terry
It is also my impression that most of the so called movie stars stay don't generally go out in public any more. There was a time when it was common to see this or that well known actor at a grocery store or cafe, but it is mainly younger actors who are hoping to attract photographers to keep their names in the news who venture out. Many celebrities, through the insistence of security people, that going out and about was no longer an option after the murder of John Lennon in 1980.
That doesn't mean that there isn't a "scene" one can pick up on if one pays attention and gets lucky. Over breakfast once long ago, we overheard a couple of eager guys pitching the story that became the movie Coccon (It was the "most unique" story, they kept saying) while the best known sportscaster of that day had breakfast on the other side of us. Touring to look at "the stars homes" just seems dumb, especially since many of the maps sold are faked.
Like NY, LA is a great American city, part of who and what we are as a nation and a people. The real LA is all over the map and worth seeing.
Doug Terry
4
I think it was always a diiferent Hollywood - Most people who went here to chase their dreams would end up disillusioned, some having a nightmare.
1
So basically it's still about celebrity? Not interested...
The ironic comment in the story:
“What I like about Hollywood is it stays authentic”
The ironic comment in the story:
“What I like about Hollywood is it stays authentic”
2
Thanks for your insightful article.
The one little thing you forget to promote or gloat about is the wonderfully warm, sunny weather of SoCal.
Something we could all use a little dose of right about now.
The one little thing you forget to promote or gloat about is the wonderfully warm, sunny weather of SoCal.
Something we could all use a little dose of right about now.
2
Cold and snow can be draining to the human emotion... But I don't think the march toward desertification is preferable.
1
Read your Chandler. Hollywood was always sleazy, creepy and dangerous. Sure, there are a few good joints, but not much. The Hollywood where movies are made is in The Valley.
The Valley is as dull as it gets.
The Valley is as dull as it gets.
7
A) Chandler's work demonstrates a love-hate relationship with Hollywood. It wasn't all negative. Chandler himself moved to LA at age 25 and stayed there for the rest of his life.
B) Most movies are not made in the The Valley. Warner Bros, Universal and Disney are in The Valley, but Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment are on the LA side. In truth, more Hollywood movies are made in New Zealand, Prague, the Caribbean or Atlanta than in either Hollywood or The Valley.
B) Most movies are not made in the The Valley. Warner Bros, Universal and Disney are in The Valley, but Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment are on the LA side. In truth, more Hollywood movies are made in New Zealand, Prague, the Caribbean or Atlanta than in either Hollywood or The Valley.
4
I thought more Hollywood films were made in Vancouver and Toronto.
Hollywood was always sleazy, creepy and dangerous? Ha! Not for those of us who grew up and went to school there. There was so much to do and see. Our perennial after-school question was, shall we go play ball or see the latest movie? All the better when we eventually got after-school jobs, because then we could afford to do many more things -- or chip in for gas to cruise around. And the weather was almost always perfect.
There aren't many places where you could while away an afternoon being a gofer on a movie set someplace around the neighborhood, like in the Hollywood Hills or the old, abandoned quarry that was regularly transformed into a set for a jungle, western, noir, military, or adventure movie.
There's an old saying about throwing stones in glass houses. Know it? Compared to Brooklyn, Hollywood was hardly "sleazy, creepy and dangerous."
There aren't many places where you could while away an afternoon being a gofer on a movie set someplace around the neighborhood, like in the Hollywood Hills or the old, abandoned quarry that was regularly transformed into a set for a jungle, western, noir, military, or adventure movie.
There's an old saying about throwing stones in glass houses. Know it? Compared to Brooklyn, Hollywood was hardly "sleazy, creepy and dangerous."
1
Maybe I'll take this tour just to see.... but "Hollywood" seems more transparently self-centered and thin and repulsive now than it ever has been before. Its hard to find charm in the physical artifacts, when you have to try hard not to suffer the fools in the media every day.
2
Hollywood is a tourist mecca owned and run by foreign interests. The Grauman's Chinese theater is finely owned by the Chinese. TCL Chinese Theaters, Inc. Hollywood is where the movie industry hang the wreckage of our past They also offer tours of star's graves and the homes they once owned. If you like billboards and hookers Hollywood is for you . . .
How could uou not mention my favorite and most famous, Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows? You mentioned the lesser Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The Beverly Hills Hotel is the best in class in that burgh.
1
Hollywood is only slightly above the dump it used to be. I still won't go there unless I have to.
2
“What I like about Hollywood is it stays authentic,”
That is the cool thing about the denizens of LA - you can never tell whether they are being ironic or just obtuse.
That is the cool thing about the denizens of LA - you can never tell whether they are being ironic or just obtuse.
5
Hollywood was Cracktowne in late 80s/early 90s and many of the apartments were offering 2 months free rent on a 12 month lease, with zero move in cost.
While we ultimately could not afford the rent, we sure could afford the several months free! Then, when the crack-head manager finally got around to filing the eviction papers, we'd move on to the roof of a building the neighborhood, or back down to Venice to sleep on the beach, and then back on the road if the Dead happened to be on tour... Good Times!
While we ultimately could not afford the rent, we sure could afford the several months free! Then, when the crack-head manager finally got around to filing the eviction papers, we'd move on to the roof of a building the neighborhood, or back down to Venice to sleep on the beach, and then back on the road if the Dead happened to be on tour... Good Times!
2
Very nice article, Adam. Don't I know you from NYC? It seems that you made a wonderful move. All the best.
1
I lived there once, it was a hoot. I eventually discovered that what looks like the mountain from far away you find up close is only seven feet tall and made of paper mache. 'Larger than life' is way more fun when you step back..way back.
Are you sure the Hollywood Bowl events you mention to illustrate the range of the venue's repertoire weren't actually the same show? Didn't John Williams compose the music for STAR WARS? Suffice to say, the Hollywood Bowl offers classical, jazz, pop, Broadway, Hollywood and many more styles in its diverse range of shows.
2
I lived in Los Angeles for several years back in the '90s. When I moved there (from San Francisco, another place I love) I thought I would loathe it.
Instead, I came to love and appreciate it.
Los Angeles is quirky and beautiful and surprising and Sun Belt prototype and international metropolis. It's brainy and banal and blossoms and blotches.
It's a much-misunderstood and much underrated place.
Instead, I came to love and appreciate it.
Los Angeles is quirky and beautiful and surprising and Sun Belt prototype and international metropolis. It's brainy and banal and blossoms and blotches.
It's a much-misunderstood and much underrated place.
4
Loved living in Hollywood in the Seventies, grit and all. And we often had drinks at Musso & Frank's, glad to hear it's still there!
1
Don't restrict yourself to Hollywood, particularly Hwood Blvd which is kind of like going to Gatlinburg (do see the Egyptian Theatre and the neon marquee on the El Capitan). Try walking down Broadway for a wonderful mix of beautiful old theatres - now mostly in decay - and lively storefronts. Also, lots of beautiful old buildings in downtown along w some fun dive bars.
One of the best places to get somewhat of the feel of Old Hollywood used to be eating at the Polo Lounge in The Beverly Hills Hotel. Unfortunately, it is now being boycotted by people over Brunei's treatment of gay people. While the issue certainly needs attn, it's strange that many people who boycott the hotel pay thousands to hobnob w the prez, whose admin is working on a trade deal that includes Brunei; but what wld Hwood be w/out hypocrisy?
One of the best places to get somewhat of the feel of Old Hollywood used to be eating at the Polo Lounge in The Beverly Hills Hotel. Unfortunately, it is now being boycotted by people over Brunei's treatment of gay people. While the issue certainly needs attn, it's strange that many people who boycott the hotel pay thousands to hobnob w the prez, whose admin is working on a trade deal that includes Brunei; but what wld Hwood be w/out hypocrisy?
In the early 2000s i would get my mom to take me, my friends and my little brother around Hollywood. I grew up over an hour away in the Inland Empire. I craved to live in Los Angeles, hang around Hollywood. As a 12/14 year old I would get the mapquest directions and beg my mom to take us. I used to love the Walk Of Fame, and putting my little hands in concrete prints.
15 years later i still have an affair with Hollywood from far. At one point i was able to get my job to send me to LA for work and put me up at swanky hotels every other month for about a year and a half. Now I spend every free moment writing so one day I can be on staff in a writing room in Los Angeles.
When i'm in town and go to a nice dinner, grab a drink or going to a live music spot in Hollywood it just reminds me of the town of dreams. Its the same feeling I get when walking around Times Square at night after a Broadway Show, or hanging out of friends. Its the fuel of dreams. 3000 miles away Hollywood still has my heart. Someday soon it will be mine.
15 years later i still have an affair with Hollywood from far. At one point i was able to get my job to send me to LA for work and put me up at swanky hotels every other month for about a year and a half. Now I spend every free moment writing so one day I can be on staff in a writing room in Los Angeles.
When i'm in town and go to a nice dinner, grab a drink or going to a live music spot in Hollywood it just reminds me of the town of dreams. Its the same feeling I get when walking around Times Square at night after a Broadway Show, or hanging out of friends. Its the fuel of dreams. 3000 miles away Hollywood still has my heart. Someday soon it will be mine.
3
Just came back from 10 days in LA. Did most of the things discussed in the article, except for the posh hotel stuff. And more. Some really lovely buildings and homes throughout the city. Canyons and hills stunning but mostly diminished by what has been built there. Celebrity homes: yawn. Library and train station are breathtakingly beautiful. Little Tokyo an idea more than a place, let alone a neighborhood. Maybe a dozen or two "interesting" but isolated things to see. Natural beauty of course. The them parks of course. Downtown at noon, gorgeous weather -- you could roll a bowling ball down the main streets and not hit anyone. I would characterize all of these attractions (and more: East LA; the plaza by the train station; the university campuses, and on,) as nice to see, if you happen to be in the area. Not one, and not even all together, are enough to make a destination. But there's still no there there. Not a place to go out of your way to see. What keeps the tourists -- visitors -- coming is the evanescent Hollywood aura and mythology. Again, there only in your imagination as you tread those brass stars on Hollywood Boulevard.
Thank you for a terrific article about a truly magical place. Nothing remotely compares to an evening stroll through the narrow, winding, residential streets of the Hollywood Hills. Just enchanting.
5
When you visit Hollywood (or Los Feliz or Silver Lake), the people-watching is great. Even if you don't see a star, these areas are blessed with a great gene pool. With all the people over the years who have come seeking to make their fortune with face and figure, you see gorgeous people everywhere you look.
1
We moved to Los Angeles from New York City a few years ago. I always liked to say, New York inspires passionate love for the city ( still is and always will be first love), but LA is home. But I distinctly remember the beautiful bright light when I first alighted the plane in LA. The sunshine seemed a transcendent luminous light, sky bright light blue, it immediately puts one in a better state of being..over time, daily life makes one forgetful, esp, the super aggressive driving people do here. Anyway, the light, Hollywood bowl drinking under the stars are my faves...every visitor should have the chance to go to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, jazz evenings at LACMA...
6
As anticipation to the annual Academy Awards show slowly builds similar to the pressure along the San Andreas Fault line running underneath the fertile soil of Orange County before the big one. I got goosebumps reading about Hollywood & the larger than life communities surrounding Tinsel Town.
I grew up attending school in an old Spanish adobe K6 school in Bel Air where we had both a bomb shelter as well as emergency drills. This was to make sure we knew how to hide under our desks w/ our hands over our heads as well as orderly line up & get to the bomb shelter. At the same time, as an LA kid, I loved movies & was fascinated with the lives of movie stars.
For fun, we'd beg one of our parents, usually a Dad, to drive us to Hollywood & China Town to add a little excitement to our lily white rich kid's existence. Hollywood during those day was still clean & tidy and little kids felt entirely safe walking w/ an adult. China Town was the highlight of the trip as we could always find nudie playing cards that our Dads let us buy & hide from Mom. We loved visiting Olvera St. & hearing all sorts of colorful language, smelling delicious food & gorging on Churros & Mexican Wedding cookies
Out of town guests, usually from the Mid West, inevitably wanted to go on the Hollywood Star line tours & click shots w/ old style cameras of the big gates & long driveways of the stars. On our bedroom walls we loved putting up posters of Rachel Welch & Robert Redford. Those were the days alright!
I grew up attending school in an old Spanish adobe K6 school in Bel Air where we had both a bomb shelter as well as emergency drills. This was to make sure we knew how to hide under our desks w/ our hands over our heads as well as orderly line up & get to the bomb shelter. At the same time, as an LA kid, I loved movies & was fascinated with the lives of movie stars.
For fun, we'd beg one of our parents, usually a Dad, to drive us to Hollywood & China Town to add a little excitement to our lily white rich kid's existence. Hollywood during those day was still clean & tidy and little kids felt entirely safe walking w/ an adult. China Town was the highlight of the trip as we could always find nudie playing cards that our Dads let us buy & hide from Mom. We loved visiting Olvera St. & hearing all sorts of colorful language, smelling delicious food & gorging on Churros & Mexican Wedding cookies
Out of town guests, usually from the Mid West, inevitably wanted to go on the Hollywood Star line tours & click shots w/ old style cameras of the big gates & long driveways of the stars. On our bedroom walls we loved putting up posters of Rachel Welch & Robert Redford. Those were the days alright!
3
Just finished "Tinseltown" by William Mann. Great history about the beginnings of Hollywood. Really fun read.
I work in the motion picture industry and stay at The Sunset Tower Hotel whenever I come to Los Angeles. The hotel elegantly evokes the era when films were shot in studios and Hollywood was a clubby community. I eat regularly at The Tower Bar, where celebrities from around the world mingle intimately (yes, I saw Catherine Deneuve there the other night!). Owner Jeff Klein and Dimitri Dimitrov, the ambassador at The Tower Bar, manage to create the perfect synthesis of sophistication and warmth. There's nothing like it in LA.
1
I'm still waiting on the gender and racial divide to narrow. There are now more remakes, reboots, reheats and American adaptations of foreign television shows than ever.
While the creative incentives for people of color, and women to participate with their wealth of new and unique ideas, is relegated to a gulag of Hollywood cowardice.
I am a Los Angeles native. The vicious cycle in which talented creative people are shut out, is acute and painful.
If there are token examples of something breaking through, people say 'oh look, it's not as bad as you say!'
Even after the revelations of Amy Pasquale, and other studio execs, the award season makes it also patently clear.
Shelf lives are short around here. We ain't got time for this
While the creative incentives for people of color, and women to participate with their wealth of new and unique ideas, is relegated to a gulag of Hollywood cowardice.
I am a Los Angeles native. The vicious cycle in which talented creative people are shut out, is acute and painful.
If there are token examples of something breaking through, people say 'oh look, it's not as bad as you say!'
Even after the revelations of Amy Pasquale, and other studio execs, the award season makes it also patently clear.
Shelf lives are short around here. We ain't got time for this
2
I moved to Hollywood after living sixteen years in New York and I truly enjoy it. Thanks for a great article! One aspect that I truly love is the French or Spanish influenced architecture and how well a lot of these buildings are kept. Unlike New York I feel that more effort is put in place to protect and preserve them as opposed to erect bland glass towers.
19
I'm certain I'm not the first to point out that the Hollywood sign was "put up by" Harry Chandler, not Otis Chandler (there's a difference - the latter wasn't born until 1927). I should think that the "Los Angeles bureau chief of the New York Times" ought to know.
10
Hollywood was a dump in the 1970s. It's quite a bit better now.
8
Hollywood was still a dump in the 90's.
Old Hollywood actually use to be a few blocks east of where the current tourist attractions are, in the neighborhood of Los Feliz. You can still get a taste of Old Hollywood here at the Dresden on Vermont Avenue. Continue up the hill on Vermont, passing the lovely old and grand homes into Griffith Park, where you will find Griffith Observatory, which has been used as a backdrop for old Hollywood films.
16
Do you mean Ezra Koenig of the band Vampire Weekend?
All of these new promotion vehicles for the motion picture industry, and other entertainment content producers, aka - "EXTRA" "ET" and "E", not to mention the thousands of Internet sites devoted to celebrity and narcissism have reinvented America's #1 export, worldwide propaganda for our collective entertainment "culture" across every platform imaginable.