KING CASE AFTERMATH: A CITY IN CRISIS : Hollywood Revitalization Set Back : Redevelopment: Historic landmarks were spared in Thursday night’s violence. But some merchants waiting for revamp of the strip are left standing in debris.

Long after the burned-out structures along Hollywood Boulevard are rebuilt, the effects of a nightlong looting and arson spree will linger.

More than the damage, the televised image of a Hollywood in flames will hinder efforts to attract tourists and persuade businesses to invest in the city’s troubled revitalization effort, officials said Friday.

The recent grand opening of a shopping center and the restoration of the landmark El Capitan movie theater had given officials hope that the long-stalled $922-million redevelopment effort was finally gaining momentum.

But, during a tour of Hollywood Boulevard, City Councilman Michael Woo voiced fears that the looting and arson had undermined “our redevelopment efforts just at the time we were starting to rebuild confidence in Hollywood. This is an enormous setback.”

Standing outside the Hollywood Boulevard cafe she owns, Doreet Hakman echoed the concerns of other merchants.

“We’ve all had problems for years, but hoped for summer and the tourists,” said Hakman, who is president of the Hollywood Boulevard Community Council. “Now we feel like the end has come, like there is no hope. We worry desperately.”

Dozens of stores were looted and some were gutted in a rampage that began Thursday and ended Friday morning. As anxious merchants tried to protect their stores, looters bent iron gates and carted out clothes, stereo equipment and other merchandise. The building housing the Hollywood Swap Meet was burned to the ground, throwing the 50 families that run stalls there out of business.

“The tears are flowing heavy from everybody,” said Swap Meet owner Gary Silver. “Today is the darkest day for Hollywood. It is a terrible, dark day.”

Even the Frederick’s of Hollywood flagship store was not spared. Looters broke the front windows and walked out with arms full of lingerie.

But other historic landmarks, including the Hollywood Pacific Theatre and Mann’s Chinese Theatre, were untouched.

“In that sense, we’ve been lucky, so far--knock on wood,” said Tim Brandt of Hollywood Heritage, a group that protects the community’s landmark structures.

Fearful that the violence would resume Friday night, some merchants took steps to protect themselves.

Gil Zahavi took four shotguns and eight handguns to his Highland Avenue souvenir shop, so he and his employees could keep looters at bay. The night before, he said, they had made citizens’ arrests of three vandals, including two who burned down a nearby video equipment store.

“If we’re not going to protect ourselves, and protect Hollywood, no one else is going to,” Zahavi said.

Merchants also expressed concern that Hollywood’s tarnished image could not be protected.

“The picture that is going out to the world would do incredible damage to tourism, even if it were to end this minute,” said Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood.

Michael C. Collins, spokesman for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, agreed.

“One of the most powerful and evocative images of Los Angeles has gotten a real pummeling,” he said. “It frightens us . . . Already, some tour wholesalers have stopped their business.”

City officials canvassed the 1,100-acre Hollywood redevelopment area to determine the extent of the damage. Hollywood will get a share of $20 million in emergency relief money the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency approved Friday for its 17 redevelopment areas.

Pending City Council approval, the agency will repay merchants who spend money to repair and protect their shops, and will contract with nonprofit community organizations that will help in the rebuilding efforts.

The CRA will provide grants of up to $15,000 to repair damaged houses and apartment units in Hollywood and will give as much as $75,000 to merchants so they can rehabilitate and reopen their businesses, said CRA Operations Director Donald Spivack.

Still, amid the gloom there was room for optimism.

Brooke Knapp, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said the movie capital’s image as an international tourist Mecca was “plundered” along with the valuables that looters found in the stores.

“But we cannot let it defeat us,” she said. “This could all be a setback. It could also be the glue that binds the community together. We have no choice but to do that.”