Capital of Fame

A city famous for the movie industry, celebrities and sunny days. Los Angeles is full of stories and surprises. Let’s check out a little more about every corner of this capital of fame!

Hollywood Walk of Fame: opened in 1994, it is considered one of the most successful marketing ideas. Its concept was conceived in 1953 by the president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, E.M. Stuart, with the intention of “maintaining the glory of a community whose name means glamour and emotion in the four corners of the world”. No one is quite sure where his inspiration for the stars came from, but the Hollywood Hotel’s dining room ceiling had already been painted with stars and celebrity names. In spite of ups and downs for its opening, today the Walk of Fame accumulates more than 2,500 important names (and every year that number grows), divided into five areas, being the film industry, television industry, music industry, broadcasting industry and theater industry. If you want to know more and find out if that famous person you adore is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, visit the website.

TCL Chinese Theatre: one of the biggest tourist attractions in Hollywood, it was opened in 1927 under the name of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (in honor of one of the partners, Sid Grauman), with the premiere of the film The King of Kings. In 1968, it was declared a historic-cultural landmark of the United States for its historical importance in the world of cinema. In 1973, the theater was sold to businessman Ted Mann, and was renamed Mann’s Chinese Theater. With his death in 2000, the Chinese Theater was acquired by Warner Bros. in partnership with Paramount Pictures. However, nowadays, the cinema has changed its name again, due to the partnership with the company TCL Corporation for its improvement with IMAX Laser technology. With nearly 100 years of history, the TCL Chinese Theater has been home to several film premières and three Oscar ceremonies (1944, 1945 and 1946). The Forecourt of Stars is located on its facade, on which are the plaques with the signatures, handprints and/or foot prints of celebrities. The cinema has the TCL Chinese Theater Tour, a tour of the palace presenting stories and curiosity about this universe. For more information, visit the website.

Dolby Theatre: is a concert hall created specifically for the Oscars ceremony. Inaugurated in 2001, Dolby Theater has a seating capacity of 3,400, and its columns bear the name of all the winning films since 1928, and it also has a stage 20 meters wide, being considered one of the largest in the world. It was formerly called the Kodak Theater as a result of sponsorship by the Kodak company, but when the company went bankrupt, the theater was renamed in 2012 after its new sponsor, the Dolby company, a pioneer in sound technology. The theater offers the Dolby Theater Tour to discover the place where the biggest award show in cinema takes place. It is forbidden to take pictures and record inside the establishment. If you want to know more, visit the website.

The Hollywood Museum: opened in 2003, the museum is located in the historic Max Factor Building, where one of the world’s greatest makeup artists, Max Factor, created the look and feel of Golden Age Hollywood actresses such as Marilyn Monroe and Katharine Hepburn. The Hollywood Museum has more than 10,000 objects on display, divided into four floors, the lobby being a tribute to Max Factor, the second and third floors dedicated to films, from the first Technicolor film to Planet of the Apes, and the underground is dedicated to horror films, containing, for example, the mask used by Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the movie Silence of the Lambs. The museum held some special events, such as a 2011 gathering of the people who worked on the show “I Love Lucy” in celebration of Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday and 60th anniversary of the show, or as the recital “From Russia with Love” with two internationally recognized pianists, held in the same year. For more information, visit the website.

Hollywood & Highland Center: is a complex that features the Loews Hollywood Hotel, TCL Chinese Theater, the Dolby Theater, Madame Tussauds Hollywood, the Hollywood/Highland subway station and an outdoor mall. Opened in 2001, the mall has 70 stores, including Sephora, GAP, Forever 21, Chilli Beans, 25 restaurants (such as the Hard Rock Café) and the Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley. Its décor was inspired by the film Intolerance by D. W. Griffth. For more information, visit the website.

Walt Disney Concert Hall: is a show house created by Canadian architect Frank Gehry. Lillian Bounds Disney, in 1987, donated nearly 50 million dollars towards the construction of the house in honor of her late husband, Walt Disney. Its completion took 16 years, being inaugurated only in 2003, with the presence of Diane Disney Miller (her biological daughter). The outside of the show house has been compared to a sailboat, a blooming flower and even an origami. Walt Disney Concert Hall features a garden, a rose-shape Fountain (Lillian Disney Fountain) and is home to L.A. Philharmonic (Los Angeles Philharmonic). If you want to know more, visit the website.

Foto via Fantastic Places All Over The World

Griffith Park: founded in 1896, the park is located in the Los Felizes region, and is considered one of the most popular locations in the city, with more than 50 films and series. Its name pays homage to ColonelJ. Griffith, donor of the area, where he had Ranch Los Feliz, in 1882, to raise ostriches. It was believed that the region was haunted by the former owner, Antonio Feliz. Today, Griffith Park is considered the second largest park in California, second only to San Francisco’s Mission Trails Preserve. It has several visitation points, such as Autry Museum of the American West (founded in 1988, it is a museum dedicated to the history of the American West), L.A. Zoo Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens opened in 1966), The Greek Theatre (open-air amphitheater opened in 1930, seating 5,870 people), Travel Town Museum (founded in 1952, it is a transportation museum, with the objective of telling the history of rail transport in the western United States). Parking costs US$10,00 per hour. If you want to know more about the park and its attractions, visit the website.

Griffith Observatory: located inside Griffith Park, the observatory was founded in 1935 and is the setting for several films and series. The Griffith Observatory has exhibits dedicated to the world of Science, from a periodic table with real elements to samples of meteorites and moonstones, as well as a wonderful view of part of the city of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. In 2006 it was reopened, after its expansion which lasted 4 years, with the capacity to receive more visitors. Once a month, there is the Public Star Party (meeting between visitors researchers and astronomy fans) and the Sunset Walk (walk to observe the stars), and every night (When the sky is clear) the scientific telescopes are available for observation. Admission is free, and food and drinks are not allowed inside the building. To learn more, visit the website.

Hollywood Sign: originally built in 1923 as “HOLLYWOODLAND” with the intention of promoting a luxury real estate development. Only in 1949, the sign was rebuilt as “HOLLYWOOD” and transformed into the symbol of Los Angeles, not only to represent the city, but also an industry and a way of lite. The Hollywood Sign is located inside Griffith Park, it is 13.7 meters high and 106.7 meters long, and has appeared in numerous scenes in movies and television shows, in addition to being frenquently used in parodies. Over the Years, the sign has been the subject of pranks and vandalism, but today it is protected by The Hollywood Sign Trust (non-profit organization). If you want to know more about this American icon, visit the website.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery: it is a “Celebrity graveyard” founded in 1899 home to celebrities such as Judy Garland, Cecil B. DeMille and Mickey Rooney, and thousands of residents of the city and the world. The world-famous cemetery, located in the heart of Hollywood, is also hub for cultural events, which includes the screening of classic films outdoors, concerts, literature events, lectures, podcast recordings in addition to the biggest mexican event outside of Mexico, the Día de Los Muertos. To learn more, visit the website.