Historic Streets and Hotels: Hollywood And West Hollywood

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

7000 Hollywood Blvd.
Tel (323) 466-7000
www.hollywoodroosevelt.com

Named after US president Theodore Roosevelt, this hotel was opened in 1927 by joint owners Louis B Mayer, Mary Pickford, Marcus Loewe, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and Joseph Schenk. Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, and Clark Gable were all visitors and, on May 16, 1929, the first Academy Awards banquet was held in the Roosevelt’s Blossom Room.
Renovations in 1986 revealed a Spanish Colonial design. The following year the pool was decorated by David Hockney. The Hollywood Historical Review exhibition, documents the area’s history.

Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Ave.
Tel (323) 956-5000

The last major studio still located in Hollywood, Paramount was also the first in operation. Cecil B. De Mille, Jesse Lasky, and Samuel Goldwyn joined forces with
Adolph Zukor in 1914 to form what became known as the directors’ studio. The roster of stars was equally impressive:
Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, and Bing Crosby all signed with Paramount. Aspiring actors still hug the wrought-iron gates at Bronson Avenue and Marathon Street. Seeking luck, they quote Norma Desmond’s final line in Sunset Boulevard: “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. De Mille.”
Classics such as The Ten Commandments, The War of the Worlds, The Greatest Show on Earth, and the Godfather Parts I, II, and III were all made in Paramount’s 63 acres (25 ha) of backlot and sound stages.
A two-hour tour of the studio provides details of its history and gives visitors a behind the scenes view of films and television shows currently in production.

Walk of Fame

6541 Hollywood Blvd
(323) 461-2804. ± (323) 469-8311

Perhaps the only pavement in the city to be cleaned six times a week, the Walk of
Fame is set with more than 2,000 polished marble stars. Since February 1960, celebrities from the worlds of film, radio, television, theater, and music have been immortalized on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. Stardom does not come easily, however: each personality has to be sponsored and approved by the Chamber of Commerce, and pay a $7,500 installation fee.
Among the most famous are Charlie Chaplin (No. 6751), and Alfred Hitchcock (No. 6506).