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Hollywood: Hanging by a moment
By Gamini Rajakaruna
On August 18, this year the Thai Airways flight that carried us to the United States landed at Los Angeles International Airport. The metropolis of Los Angeles sprawls across thousands of square miles of a great desert basin, knotted together by an intricate network of high speed freeways, between the ocean and the snowcapped mountains. A first time visitor may well find LA thrilling and threatening in equal proportions. It is a place that picks you up and sweeps you along whether you want it to or not.

Most people come to LA to experience the city that has come to epitomize the American Dream - mainly Hollywood. After completing our immigration and customs formalities we entered the visitors’ lobby. There we were welcomed by our young hosts Shanika and her husband Cavi. Minutes after leaving the airport we entered a freeway. Although the traffic is often bumper-to-bumper on these, they cover long distances quickly. There are ten freeways in LA.

The melting pot
LA is a young city. Just over a century ago, it was a community of white immigrants, poor Chinese labourers and wealthy Mexican ranchers. It had a population of less than 50,000. Only on completion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s did the town begin to grow. The old ranches were sub-divided, and big suburban houses (with swimming pool and two-car garage,) set amidst orange groves put up.

A couple of days later we went to Hollywood with Cavi and Shanika. We drove to Balbo Boulevard from Napa Street. Then we went south to reach the Wiltshire Boulevard. The ‘Miracle Mile’ which stretches along Wiltshire Boulevard was the premier property development area of the1930s. Now many of the businesses have moved out, but recent developments have created a ‘Museum Mile’ instead.

The enormous LA Country Museum of Art located here is one of the least impressive buildings, but some collections in this museum are among the best in the world. The Peterson Automobile Museum on Wiltshire Boulevard pays homage to automobiles.
Passing the ‘Museum Mile’ we drove towards Sunset Boulevard. Here you will find the two-mile long conglomeration of restaurants, plush hotels and nightclubs.

This area is known as Sunset Strip, and is famed for its nightlife. We came to know that these establishments first appeared in the early 1920s, along what was then a dirt road linking the Hollywood movie studios with West LA, "home of the stars".
At the east end of it you will find the Chateau Marmont Hotel towering over the rest of the buildings. Howard Hughes used to rent the penthouse of this hotel so that he could watch the bathing beauties at the pool below. Comedian John Belushi died of a heroin overdose here, in the hotel bungalow he used as his LA home.

Home of the stars
After Sunset Strip we entered Beverly Hills, the world's wealthiest residential area. This area is not a particularly welcoming place, especially if your attire does not match those of the residents. Here there are palatial estates hidden behind large gates. Benedict Canyon drive winds past a good number of such estates, beginning with the site of the lavish ‘Pick Fair’ mansion built for Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Further up is Harold Lloyd's ‘Green Acres’, with secret passageways and large private screening rooms intact. The ground, which contained a waterfall and a nine-hole golf course, has been broken up into smaller lots.

Hotels and museums
West of Beverly Hills you find Westwood Village. South of the Village there are modest detached houses next to 20-storey condominium towers. On the corner is the Hammer Museum of Arts and Culture. Outside the museum, is the Avco Cinema. Behind the cinema you will find Westwood Park. Here you find a lipstick covered plaque that marks the resting place of Marilyn Monroe.

Finally we reached Central Hollywood. If a single place name encapsulates the LA dream of glamour, money and overnight success it's Hollywood. Millions of tourists arrive here. The myths, magic and fantasy surrounding Hollywood would put a medieval fairytale to shame.

A good place to begin exploring Hollywood Boulevard is at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. This is where budding stars come to in the hope of being "spotted" by film directors and whisked off to fame and fortune.

A little further you find the Egyptian Theatre. It was financed by impresario Sid Grumman in an attempt to recreate a Temple of Thebes at Hollywood. Here you find fake mummies and hieroglyphics. The first Hollywood premiere for the film Robin Hood took place here in 1922.

Walk of Fame
No visitor to Hollywood will want to miss the foot and handprints in the concrete concourse outside the Chinese Theatre. Built in 1927, it is situated at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard. Actress Norma Thalmadge trod (supposedly by accident) in wet cement while visiting the construction site, and the practice has continued ever since. The building is a western version of a classical Chinese temple, replete with Chinese motifs.

From the Chinese Theatre, you can take a guided tour to see where the Hollywood celebrities live and shop. Organized by a tour company, the tour will take you to Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills to see the fifty homes of the best known Hollywood celebrities. You will see the big mansions of today's hottest celebrities like Madonna and Jennifer Lopez plus those of legends like Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin.

Hollywood honours
Opposite the Chinese Theatre, you will find the Roosevelt Hotel. This was Hollywood's first luxury hotel. Its ‘Cingrill’ restaurant hosted the likes of W.C. Fields and Scot Fitzegerald. In 1929, the first Oscars were presented here, beginning the long tradition of Hollywood rewarding itself in the absence of honours from elsewhere. The pavements of Hollywood Boulevard are made up of granite slabs which are engraved with names of Hollywood celebrities.

Along this pavement, after passing the Chinese Theatre, you will see the El Captain Theatre on your right. Few blocks away from the El Captain Theatre on the same side is the Kodak Theatre. This is the most televised theatre in America. As host to the world's most prestigious productions, the Kodak Theatre is the centrepiece of the Hollywood entertainment complex.

When you walk further along the pavement you will come across the Wax Museum. Here you will find statues of Hollywood legends sculpted in wax. In front of the Wax Museum you find several replicas of Hollywood celebrities. Among them are Elvis Presley, Sylvester Stallone, Bat Man, Bat Woman and some characters from Star Wars.

Believe it or not
At the junction of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue there is the Believe It Or Not Museum. This museum, which inspired the famous ‘Believe It Or Not’ hit TV series, was inspired by Robert Ripley because of his obsession with exploring the world. Robert Ripley was called the modern Marco Polo. Ripley visited 202 countries reporting, collecting and documenting the most unusual stories he could find. The collection is now housed in the Believe It Or Not Museum.

Another activity that visitors to Hollywood should not miss is the tour of Universal Studios. During this tour you will experience the magic that goes into movies: 3D animation, etc. A visit to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum is a must. Here you can experience interactive exhibits, video presentations, technological innovations, editing and Foley suites and original sets from ‘Star Wars’.

To the northeast of Hollywood you will find Griffith Park. The landmark observatory here has appeared in many Hollywood films.

Sign of the times
From anywhere in Hollywood, you can see the Hollywood sign erected on the Hollywood Hills. The sign is also known as a suicide spot. For the first time in its 65-year existence, the sign is being insured against earthquake damage. Infra-red cameras and radar-activated zoom lenses have been installed to catch graffiti writers. Tourists who can't resist a closer look are also liable for the $103 fine.

The view from Hollywood Hills takes in a bizarre assortment of opulent properties. Around the canyon and slopes, mansions are so common that only the full-blown castles stand out.

Between Beverly Hills and Fairfax Avenue is Melrose Avenue. For many years this area was notorious for its after-hours clubs and general debauchery. Now it's become much more upmarket and caters to LA's prominent and affluent gay community.
After roaming around Hollywood, we started our journey back to North Hills around 6 p.m.

On our way back we were informed that the West Coast of California, where Hollywood is located is vulnerable to earthquakes. Some people believe that one day the west coast including Hollywood will drop into the Pacific Ocean due to a massive earthquake. Maybe that’s why some people in these areas live for the moment.

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