Hollywood, the center of the film industry, is home to the Academy Awards and is white-hot when it comes to nightlife. The locals are colorful, which include tattooed kids in combat boots, the photo-ready Charlie Chaplin and other costumed characters near Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Trinket shops are still here, but they no longer define the neighborhood. A $1 billion, 30-year revitalization is in full swing, and it’s already translated into beautifully restored movie palaces, upscale eateries and boutiques. Fact is, there hasn’t been a more exciting time to visit Hollywood since its last golden age more than a half-century ago.

Hollywood+Highland
The mammoth Hollywood & Highland complex, which is named for its cross streets, is home of the Kodak Theatre, site of the Academy Awards. You’ll also find specialty wine shop Vino 100, boutiques and stores such as Louis Vuitton and cosmetics cornucopia Sephora. Restaurants include Koji’s Sushi & Shabu Shabu, retro bowling alley Lucky Strike Lanes and other entertainment venues. There’s a view of the Hollywood sign from the courtyard. Built in 1923 to advertise new housing, the original 50-foot-high sign read “Hollywoodland.” Its caretaker lived in a small cabin behind one of the L’s.

Historic Theaters
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is adjacent to Hollywood & Highland and opposite the Hollywood/Highland subway stop. Stars have made impressions in the concrete of the forecourt, including Betty Grable’s million-dollar legs and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s size 12 boots. The theater is a favorite venue for Hollywood premieres. Farther down the boulevard is the El Capitan Theatre, host of the Citizen Kane premiere in 1941. Restored by Disney, it accompanies its animated releases with live stage shows. ABC’s late show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, tapes in a studio adjacent to the El Capitan; tickets are free. The Egyptian Theatre was built in 1922 around the same time King Tut’s tomb was discovered. A fascinating documentary, Forever Hollywood, tracing 100 years of moviemaking, screens on weekends. The art deco landmark Pantages Theater hosts blockbuster Broadway shows; its Frolic Room is abuzz at intermission. Newly restored, the Hollywood Palladium has played host to such disparate musicians as Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z.

Walk of Fame
Sidewalks along the Walk of Fame—on Hollywood Boulevard from La Brea Avenue to Gower Street and on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard—are embedded with bronze-and-terrazzo stars. You’ll find Hoot Gibson but no Mel Gibson, yet it remains a fascinating record of celebrity. Many celebs live up in the Hollywood Hills, including married rockers Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. West of the Hollywood Hills is Runyon Canyon, whose park is a popular hiking spot, and Laurel Canyon, a center of creative activity in the 1960s, when rock stars such as The Byrds, Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa called the canyon home.

Museums + More
A few doors down from Musso & Frank restaurant is the Guinness World Records Museum. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum shows a version of The Last Supper made from 280 pieces of toast. A display at the flagship Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie boutique includes items worn by Sharon Stone and Halle Berry.

The Hollywood Museum displays 5,000 artifacts on four floors of the restored Max Factor Building, including costumes, props, photos, movie posters and Max Factor’s makeup rooms, where Marilyn Monroe became a blonde and Lucille Ball a redhead. The Hollywood Walk of Fame CityPass includes admission to major Hollywood attractions, such as the Hollywood Museum and a Starline movie stars’ homes tour. The modest Hollywood Heritage Museum (2100 N. Highland Ave.) is on the old barnyard site of the first major film studio.

Sunset+Vine
The Cinerama Dome, built in 1963, is now part of the $100 million ArcLight cinema complex, considered by many cinephiles the place to take in a film. ArcLight offers “audience greeters,” spacious reserved seating and one of the best sound systems anywhere. Amoeba Music—a warehouse-sized emporium of new, used, rare and collectible CDs, vinyl records, videos and memorabilia—attracts die-hard music fans and collectors. The Capitol Records building (1750 N. Vine) resembles a stack of records.

There’s a bevy of newer restaurants in the area, such as BoHo near the Arclight, Hungry Cat at the Sunset+Vine complex, stylish Magnolia and Ivan Kane’s Cafe Was.

After Dark
Hollywood’s bar and club scene revolves around dozens of spots along Hollywood and Cahuenga boulevards and the many Hollywood Boulevard cross streets between Cahuenga and Highland Avenue. Hot spots include Bar Delux, Green Door and Social
Hollywood, as well as standbys such as beauty parlor–styled Beauty Bar.

Shopping minicomplex Space 15 Twenty, anchored by a supersize Urban Outfitters, caters to the night crawlers with late hours.

During the summer, the Los Angeles Philharmonic takes up residence at the Hollywood Bowl, the largest outdoor amphitheater in the country. Listening to fine music and picnicking under the stars at the Bowl is one of L.A.’s great summer traditions.

LOS FELIZ | SILVER LAKE | Echo Park
To the east of Hollywood are the bohemian communities of Los Feliz and Silver Lake. Eclectic eateries, indie boutiques and vintage shops characterize Los Feliz village, Vermont and Hillhurst avenues north of Sunset Boulevard; neighborhood standbys such as Fred 62 and the Dresden Room at Dresden Restaurant are hip places to be seen at night. Find edgy shopping, a cluster of nightspots and charming cafes southeast of Los Feliz in Silver Lake, on Sunset and Glendale boulevards; farther east on Sunset, Echo Park also has a burgeoning scene of bars and boutiques.

GRIFFITH PARK
Griffith Park, the largest urban park in America, offers miles of hiking and riding trails, among other attractions. The Mount Hollywood trail, one of the park’s most popular for its panoramic city views, begins at Griffith Observatory. Take Vermont Avenue north from Los Feliz village to reach the observatory and the trailhead—and an award-winning outdoor concert venue, the Greek Theatre. The L.A. Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the Autry National Center’s Museum of the American West are accessed near the intersection of the 134 and 5 freeways.

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