Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

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Lomm
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Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lomm »

I'm hitting California for vacation this summer, mostly the national parks on the east side of the state, but will be pretty close to LA for one stretch. If I had a day, possibly another half day, to spend and wanted to see some remaining sights of old Hollywood, what would you recommend I see?

The Chinese theater is a given, but otherwise I'm clueless. Of course I may end up not having time at all, but if I do, I want an agenda! :) Thanks in advance!
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Lzcutter
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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lzcutter »

Lomm,

Let me put my thinking cap on! I'm sure I can come up with some ideas!

Would it be a weekend day or week day that you visit the City of Angels?
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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lomm »

Almost certainly a weekday, probably a Monday or Tuesday (or parts of both).
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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lzcutter »

Lomm,

My first recommendation is the Hollywood Heritage Museum on Highland Avenue. It is the old DeMille barn that Cecil used for filming "The Squaw Man" and has been rescued by Hollywood Heritage and turned into a museum devoted to the early years of Hollywood.

My second recommendation is to have a martini at Musso and Frank's on the boulevard after you visit the Barn. It's very old school and just down the boulevard from Grauman's.

Also, be sure to check out the courtyard of the Egyptian Theater which has been restored by the American Cinemateque. Check their website to see if the film about the history of the theater is being run during your visit.

http://www.americancinematheque.com/index.html

I'd also recommend the tour at Hollywood Forever, the cemetery near Paramount where a number of stars are interred as they say. Kari Bible gives a great tour of the grounds.

http://www.hollywoodforever.com/

The Roosevelt Hotel across the street from Grauman's is home to the TCM Film Festival and the first Academy Award ceremony.

The El Capitan Theater has been restored by the Disney company and is a great place to see a film.

If you want to see some other Hollywood haunts off the Boulevard, check out my Historic Hollywood Sites thread:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... +hollywood

Paramount Studios offers a tour of their lot as does Warners Bros.

If you would like to take the Warners Bros tour, please let me know as I can help with that.

Perhaps after the tour, we could meet for a drink at the Smokehouse!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lomm »

Wow, thank you! As the time approaches, I will let you know how my plans are working out. We're cramming a lot into this trip, and I'm the only one (myself and my two teenage boys) who cares about this stuff! :lol: They're pretty adaptable to my whims though. I'll have internet access on our trip so I will PM you if it looks like we're going to be able to do a tour (or grab a drink!)
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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lomm »

I have returned! While I unfortunately didn't have time to try and hit up Lzcutter for a drink at the Smokehouse, I did have a couple of days in Hollywood and managed to hit all the recommended sites that I could (other than a studio tour of course). Sadly the Heritage museum is closed for renovations so I could not see that. However, we did get to Graumans and took the tour, as well as taking in a show (Jurassic World, on that screen...wow!). Took many pictures of handprints as well. We also saw Inside Out at the Disney owned El Capitan theater across the street, checked out the revamped Egyptian Theater (no movie there) and took a walking tour of the Hollywood Forever cemetery. We also took a breather at the Roosevelt Hotel, and a drive up to the hills to get as close to the Hollywood sign as reasonably possible. I wasn't about to drive into neighborhoods and be intrusive about it; we stayed on the overlooks for tourists.

I feel like LA needs to work on a very, very serious homeless problem before I will want to spend any more time there. I have lived in Chicago, live by a large-ish city now (Cincinnati) and have visited many other big cities, and I've never seen anything so...well, obvious. People sleeping on mattresses on the sidewalk in the middle of tourist attractions. I truly feel for these people, but a large city just shouldn't have literal shantytowns in the middle of their downtown. Something has to be done. They should also shut down the jerks throwing burned CDs in your face for "free" and then demanding $10. :lol: I know better, having seen that scam in New Orleans and other places, but my kids kept having these things shoved in their hands while we walked on Hollywood Blvd, and then these guys would run after us, demanding money or the disc back (they got the disc back). I'm 99% sure they're just blank discs anyway, and those guys don't even have music to try and promote.
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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by moira finnie »

I'm glad you're back, Jeff. I've read similar accounts about Sunset Blvd. but hope you had fun away from the aggressive street people. Was there anything you saw that particularly impressed you favorably in LA?

Thanks for coming back.
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Re: Must-see things in Hollywood for a really short visit?

Post by Lomm »

We really enjoyed Venice Beach, and I loved Grauman's, once I got past the hucksters and street people. Just seeing the street signs and the Hollywood hills was fun, because of all the history and glamour behind it.

But they really must fix the city. Donald Trump could build an apartment tower and they could move all the homeless people in, who have to handle the rent by maintaining the place rather than paying money. :)
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