Although Tinseltown's most glamorous days as the heart and soul of the entertainment business might be over, the Hollywood streets still beat with a glitzy vibe.
The legendary trek that director D.W. Griffith made to the West Coast in 1910 ended in Hollywood, where he filmed "In Old California" and inspired a long procession of other filmmakers to head west. After it was established as the movie capital, many music and television studios were built in the area in the '40s and '50s, including CBS' Television City and the Capitol Records Building on Vine Street, which is shaped like a stack of 7-inch vinyl LPs.
Many of the movie studios have moved to Burbank and other surrounding areas, but Hollywood landmarks are popular tourist attractions, including the Hollywood sign, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the gates to Paramount Studios, the Egyptian Theater, the Pig 'n Whistle, the Shrine Auditorium and the Ambassador Hotel, among others.
Housing choices in Hollywood represent perhaps the widest spectrum in all of Los Angeles. There are small one-bedroom condominiums in East Hollywood, near Thai Town, that sell in the $300,000 range, as well as trophy houses in the hills off of Sunset Plaza Drive that sell for up to $17 million.
Some of the more desirable locations include the older communities in the flats north of Sunset Boulevard, such as Whitley Heights, which has vintage Spanish-style homes in the $1-million range. In the hillside communities of Laurel Canyon, Nichols Canyon and Beechwood Canyon, houses are an eclectic mix. There are funky 1970s A-frames overlooking the Cahuenga Pass, as well as Tudor and Mediterranean mansions, older Spanish houses and mid-century ranch homes. Prices vary widely but tend to be most expensive in Laurel Canyon, where it's hard to find a home for less than $1 million.
Public schools are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and there are a number of entertainment-industry trade schools, such as the Stella Adler Academy and the American Academy -- Dramatic Arts, the Los Angeles Film School and the Kitchen Academy.
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