In Los Angeles, California, Hollywood Boulevard is indeed a significant east-west thoroughfare. Sunset Plaza Drive inside the Hollywood Hills West region is where it all begins as just a meandering residential street towards the west. It continues east as a major street via Hollywood, Little Armenia, as well as Thai Town to Vermont Avenue following passing Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Then it heads southeast to Sunset Boulevard inside the Los Feliz area, where it comes to an end. Sections of both the boulevard are famous tourist sites, particularly the fifteen blocks along La Brea Avenue and Gower Street, which are home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Prior to 1910, whenever the town of Hollywood, founded by H.J. Whitley, became acquired by that of the adjacent city of Los Angeles, Hollywood Boulevard is originally known as Prospect Avenue. Following the annexation, the street designations were altered from 100 Prospect Avenue to 4600 Hollywood Boulevard.
Charles E. Toberman, a real estate entrepreneur, envisaged a booming Hollywood theatrical area inside the early 1920s. While working on that Max Factor Building, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, as well as the Hollywood Masonic Temple, Toberman was engaged in 36 projects. He created three themed cinemas alongside Sid Grauman: Egyptian, El Capitan, and Chinese.
Due to the obvious local film companies, the Boulevard, as well as adjacent streets, had become a significant regional shopping centre inside the 1920s, catering towards both daily necessities as well as equipment, as well as high-end apparel and accessories. Schwab’s opened in 1921, Mullen & Bluett opened in 1922, I. Magnin opened in 1923, Myer Siegel opened in 1925, F. W. Grand and Newberry’s (dime shops) opened in 1926-8, as well as Roos Brothers opened in 1929.
In 1923, Robertson’s, an independent department store with 46,000 square feet (4,300 m2) and four floors opened. The stock was sold in 1922 to help fund the development of a much bigger department store at Hollywood as well as Vine, which was supposed to be a Boadway Bros.
Although Boadway’s closed the next year, B. H. Dyas, a Downtown Los Angeles department store, opened inside the 130,000-square-foot (12,000 m2) building in March 1928, subsequently sold its lease to Broadway in 1931, resulting within Broadway Hollywood Building, which is still a landmark today. The commercial district had grown to approximately 300 establishments by 1930. Later, districts along Wilshire Boulevard would compete with it: the easternmost, surrounding Bullocks Wilshire, that debuted in 1929, the next, the Miracle Mile, as well as ultimately, the Beverly Hills retail district, wherein Saks Fifth Avenue erected a store in 1938.
In 1946, while riding his horse in the Hollywood Christmas Parade — which runs down Hollywood Boulevard every year on the Sunday upon Thanksgiving — Gene Autry was inspired to write “Here Comes Santa Claus” with Oakley Haldeman after hearing young parade goers yell, “Here arises Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus!”
The Hollywood Walk of Fame, which spans along La Brea Avenue east to Gower Street, was established in 1958 as just a monument to entertainment industry performers. There in the 1970s, the street grew sleazy and also was frequented by such a variety of strange personalities, as photographed by Ave Pildas.
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