Walking Tour of Historic Movie Star Sites Launched

A walking tour of historic sites associated with movie star lore was inaugurated along Hollywood Boulevard on Thursday by the city’s Chamber of Commerce.

“People who come to Hollywood come because they want to experience Hollywood, where the stars lived, ate and played,” said Leron Gubler, executive director of the chamber. “And most of the buildings are still standing.”

The tour now consists of 16 stops. It will eventually be self-guided with 46 stops and will include the Walk of Fame, he said.

Porcelain enamel signs narrate anecdotes associated with the location during Hollywood’s heyday and sport photographs of the original buildings.

At the site of the former Hollywood Hotel, for example, a sign tells how actor Rudolph Valentino was evicted on his honeymoon after failing to produce a marriage license, Gubler said.

The famed hotel was torn down in the 1950s, and a Metro Rail station is being constructed on the land.

Then there’s the spot were C.C. Browns ice cream parlor served hot fudge sundaes to the likes of Judy Garland and Clark Gable after premieres at the Chinese Theater. The parlor, built in 1929, was uprooted in 1996 to make way for a retail store, Gubler said.

The $115,000 project took four years to coordinate and was funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Cultural Affairs Department of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Entertainment District, he said.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce hopes to identify funding sources for the remaining 30 signs within a year, Gubler said.