Hollywood Walk of Stars - Los Angeles

Hollywood Walk of Stars - Los Angeles

Los Angeles is associated primarily with Hollywood , and Hollywood with stars, so it is not surprising that the Avenue of Stars is rightfully considered the most popular attraction in the city. Every year, more than 10 million tourists walk along the Avenue of Stars, reading with delight and awe the names of idols immortalized in stone slabs of the sidewalk in honor of the entertainment industry. As befits any attraction with a name, the Avenue of Stars has a long, varied and very interesting history that continues to this day: new “stars” are laid here about twice a month.

A little history

The Avenue of Stars did not arise spontaneously: the idea of creating a new attraction belonged to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - both as a means of maintaining the public fame of celebrities, and as a way to provide the city budget with additional injections. Initially, it was planned to use a brass caricature rather than a star shape with the actor’s name written in it, but their implementation turned out to be quite difficult and expensive. Therefore, the Hollywood mayor’s office decided not to philosophize, but took an ordinary five-pointed star as a model, “copying” it from the ceiling of the Hollywood Hotel.

The stars include, in addition to the celebrity's name, one of five icons: a movie camera, a television, a phonograph, a radio microphone and two masks, thus indicating which area of show business the owner of the star belongs to.

The first memorial plaque appeared on the Avenue of Stars in 1958. More precisely, these were the first eight slabs from 1,550 celebrities chosen by members of the Chamber of Commerce, who in the future were to be awarded their “star”. Since 1960, regular laying of slabs began, which continues to this day. However, the history of the Alley also knows a lot of defeats: in the 60-70s there was almost fifteen years of stagnation, complicated by litigation, and then it began to flourish again. Today, the Avenue of Stars has more than 2,500 personalized plaques.

Laying a personalized “star” on the Avenue of Stars is not at all free: the lucky recipient of the personalized plaque will have to pay 30 thousand USD in “organizational costs.”

What to see

The Avenue of Stars is one of the “longest” attractions: its total length is more than 18 city blocks! The main part stretches for 15 blocks along Hollywood Boulevard, and since its length was clearly not designed for numerous representatives of bohemians, there is also a three-block “tail” of the Alley on Vine Street. Only avid fans of show business can view them all, so before heading to the Alley, it makes sense to go to the official website of the attraction and find out the exact location of the “star” of the idol.

The “address” of the personalized plate is indicated by the exact address of the building opposite which it is located.

Some particularly prominent members of the entertainment industry have two stars on the Walk of Stars: for example, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison are immortalized as members of The Beatles and as solo artists. And in exceptional cases, the Alley also featured stars who did not fall under any of the categories of show business - for example, Mohammed Ali (in his case, the Committee equated the boxing matches of an outstanding athlete to theatrical art).

And of course, there are mythical characters: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White and the Dwarfs, Shrek, The Simpsons and many other cartoon characters are on a par with the names of real people.

Star-laying ceremonies

It’s quite easy to get to the ceremony of laying the star’s name plate: just read the schedule of events on the Avenue of Stars website in advance and come to the place early. Ceremonies usually begin at 11:30 and last about 45 minutes. The entrance is free; you need to take into account that you will not be allowed to climb on anything (the shoulders of a companion, a chair or a ladder). An indispensable condition for bookmarking a “star” is the personal presence of the celebrity.

Address: Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles