Hollywood Boulevard – The Street of Stars

Anyone visiting California who is even remotely interested in movies and celebrities can’t fail include a visit to Hollywood Boulevard on their itinerary of holiday activities.  But the reality of what Hollywood Boulevard falls quite a long way short of most people’s expectations.  The main problem is that when people think about this famous location, they immediately associate it with the glamour of the celebrities whose stars adorn the footpath.  They don’t associate the area with the movie industry work place where make up, costumes and scenery take shape.  That’s not to say that you won’t bump into a celebrity on the Boulevard, it’s just that if they are in their “street” clothes as opposed to their celebrity uniform that adorns magazine covers, you might not recognize them!

                           

Over the years Hollywood Boulevard has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, but more recently the area has started to be transformed once again so that there are now a number of things for tourists to do.  One of the more fun things is a look around Fredericks of Hollywood’s Lingerie Museum.  

 Here you’ll find an exhibition of undergarments that have been worn throughout the ages, as well as some more modern examples that have been worn by some of Hollywood’s familiar faces.  For those who are interested in television sets, a tour around the Hollywood Entertainment Museum will reveal familiar sets from shows such as the X-files, and Cheers.   If you go to Hollywood Boulevard for the purpose of having your photo taken next to your favorite actor’s “star”, then you will probably find it saves you quite a bit of time if you buy a map which tells you where each celebrity “star” is located.

There is still a touch of old style glamour on Hollywood Boulevard however.  No trip to this area would be complete without a visit to the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards.  You’ll need to get there early to make sure you get a ticket to go inside, but once you’re in, it won’t matter what you thought of the Boulevard itself – the charm of the theatre is everything a movie lover could hope to find, and more!