A short visit to the "biggest village of the world".
Los Angeles including its metro area is spread over a 100 mile circle habituating around 13 million people. Traffic jams are biggest here in the whole US. Our timing was good. We made it to Hollywood from Las Vegas in 4-5 hours including a stop at the latest solar power plant in the Mojave desert.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 370 MW complex, which consists of three separate solar thermal power plant. It was just finished a few month ago.
Hollywood sign
"HOLLYWOOD" is spelled out in 45-foot-tall white capital letters, and is 350 feet (110 m) long. It was originally created in 1923 as an advertisement for a local real estate development. The sign was a frequent target of pranks and vandalism, but it has since undergone restoration, including the installation of a security system to deter vandalism.
In April 2009 The Trust for Public Land signed an option to buy the 0.56 km2 property for a discounted price of $12.5 million and build some villas on it. (Remember; original costs for land and the sign in 1923 were 21000USD).
The Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner stepped forward to donate a first substantial part of the money to save the sign. Several actors joined later buying each a letter.
Hefner bought the "Y". You know why? It symbolizing his bunnies....
Walk of fame and the Kodak Theater
The Hollywood Walk of Fame comprises more than 2,500 five-pointed stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard originated to 1956.
The emblems symbolize five categories within the entertainment industry:
Classic film camera representing motion pictures
Television receiver representing broadcast television
Phonograph record representing audio recording or music
Radio microphone representing broadcast radio
Comedy/tragedy masks representing theatre/live performance (added in 1984)
The Dolby Theater, formerly known as Kodak Theater is hosting since its opening on November 9, 2001, the Academy Awards ceremonies. The theater was designed by David Rockwell, specifically with the Oscar ceremonies in mind. Though the stage is one of the largest in the States measuring 113 ft wide and 60 ft (18 m) , its seating capacity is only 3,332 people. On the walls of the entrance hall, you can read the titles of the Oscar winner movies from the beginning on. There is still place for another 60 years.
Venice Beach
Venice Beach, receives millions of visitors a year and has been labeled as "a cultural hub known for its eccentricities".
The basketball courts in Venice are renowned across the country for their high level of streetball; numerous professional basketball players developed their games or have been recruited on these courts.
Muscle Beach Gym is also a famous spot here, displaeyed in several movies.....
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures, being one of the 6 big studios, dates its existence from the 1912 founding date of the Famous Players Film Company. Founder Hungarian-born Adolph Zukor, who had been an early investor in nickelodeons, saw that movies appealed mainly to working-class immigrants. He planned to offer feature-length films that would appeal to the middle class by featuring the leading theatrical players of the time. By mid-1913, Famous Players had completed five films, and Zukor was on his way to success.
Today only Paramount Studios has still premises in Hollywood offering guided tours in small groups, which we attended as well. We could see some studios and sets and were told a lot of stories about different actors and movies made here.
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