[photo courtesy of hollywoodsign.org]
[please click on the photos for more detail!]
Continuing on our Los Angeles journey, we had to pay a visit to Hollywood, if not for any other reason but to satisfy our touristy curiosity. Hollywood is iconic, famous, infamous, and strangely intriguing. It is almost as if the simple action of walking along Hollywood Boulevard somehow provides an illusion that you are part of “it”; the “it” being the Hollywood vibe, the scene. I don’t know quite how to explain it, really. Perhaps it is one of those feelings that simply draws you in, despite the best intentions to convey a feeling of indifference.
Our first stop was literally at the train station.
This is certainly like no other train station I’ve ever encountered. My goodness, even the train station (and I mean the local trains just like here in Chicago) has gone “Hollywood” to coin a phrase. An old movie camera greets passengers after getting off the escalator. (note the fake palm trees in the back; ah yes, we are in movie-magic Hollywood after all!).
Our next stop was the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine.
This area became well-known in the 1920’s for its central location of movie and radio-related businesses. It is now the central point for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Speaking of which, let’s take a look at a few sidewalk stars, shall we?
Captain Kirk himself; William Shatner a Canadian guy!
David Foster; an amazing music producer (and a Canadian as well!)
Anne Murray; probably one of the most famous Canadian singers of all time!
Mary Pickford; a Canadian movie icon of the silent film era (I apologize for the photo’s clarity or lack thereof).
There are approximately 2,500 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Clearly I chose just a few well-known Canucks for Canadian content!
What would a trip to Hollywood be without stopping by the Chinese Theatre to see the handprints and shoeprints of some very famous movie folks!
The above photo is the entrance to the theatre; however, you can’t even take a peek inside unless you pay $10.00. No thanks, I’ll just stand outside in the sun with the other 300 tourists for free!
Denzel Washington
Jimmy Stewart; one of my all-time favorite actors. I ‘stood’ in his shoes!
Kevin Costner; another one of my favs!
Marilyn Monroe; my goodness, what teeny-tiny feet she had!
And of course I had to include “THAT” Cher! Yes, apologies for my feet in the photo!
These guys showed up for some ‘photo ops’ as they say:
Quite an impressive looking “Kiss” look-alike group. Although I must confess, I think their egos were quite weighty!
Whilst strolling down Hollywood Boulevard, we saw this:
The car was covered entirely in little toy cars! Um, yes, let’s leave it at that, shall we?
Next post we’ll take an architectural tour of some amazing buildings in downtown Los Angeles!
The Chicago Files 