First time in Hollywood (Santa Monica, Highland: condo, how much, limo)

[readymade]

I remember visiting Hollywood for the first time in around '89 (I assume this was the year because I remember listening to Nine Inch Nails album Pretty Hate Machine on my headphones the whole time I was there, heh). I was around 16 or so. I LOVED most of it and was determined to move there some day (which I did). I remember seeing the Hollywood sign for the first time. I was blown away by how friendly everyone was. If I was waiting in line, someone might start a conversation with me. This is somewhat unheard of in Boston. I remember being on Venice Beach and a film crew coming up to me asking if I was "the makeup person" they were supposed to meet. I really really wanted to say yes.

I was really really disappointed with Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd & that whole "Mann's Chinese Theater" area. I'd thought it was going to be glamorous, and it was AWFUL! It's much more touristy/nicer now.

[Senshi]

You can always ALWAYS tell when the last time someone visited Hollywood was. Those that speak of the area as the worst place on Earth did so in the 80s/90s. I can only imagine how bad it was to leave such an awful impression on people.

Of course many people still think of Los Angeles as having permanent riots and chaos.

I love Hollywood. Absolutely love it. Great public transportation, interesting people and ridiculous amounts of history. Whenever I am having a bad day all I have to do is look up at the sign and it just makes me smile. The energy I feel when I exit the subway at Hollywood/Highland never disappoints me.

[matt_sfl]

There we go,
All sizes | crusing at the gold cup sw corner of hollywood boulevard and las palmas 1977 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/33455118@N08/5326600245/sizes/o/in/photostream/ - broken link)
You gotta admit, the place has more character than a Starbucks.

[Fontucky]

It oozed character.

[Senshi]

You can still get character at Popeyes.

[Fontucky]

I just noticed I said the Gold Cup was at Hollywood and Selma, which is dumb because they're parallel streets. Oh well, the ravages of old age and too much white powder back in the day.

[eviered]

How funny. I lived right in the thick of downtown Hollywood in '87-'89 and I was barely 21 when I moved there and I LOVED it -- had a great time. I was attending Musician's Institute, but that was only part of it. I really enjoyed the city, walking everywhere around the Blvd -- the GREAT metal clubs on Sunset, shopping on Melrose. I first lived off of Highland and Hollywood in a crappy apartment, but later moved to a house I shared with a few roommates on Detroit St. We even had an avocado tree in our front yard. I guess I was oblivious to the decay, and I do remember it as gritty -- lots of homeless people -- one guy with big elephant feet, another lady we called button lady that had buttons pinned all over herself -- but that was only part of it. I remember a great Mongolian Bar-B-Que restaurant at Hollywood & Western -- the lady's name that ran it was Michelle, and the food was terrific, I had friends that worked at Graumann's and the Egyptian Theater, we used to sneak in to see the shows and eat free popcorn -- going out on Saturday nights to see who was cruisin' the Boulevard was always fun, and we did run into famous people in Ralph's Grocery now and then . .. I guess it never occurred to me at that time that it was run down and decayed. To me it was just fun times . . .

[BluSpark]

Originally Posted by eviered

How funny. I lived right in the thick of downtown Hollywood in '87-'89 and I was barely 21 when I moved there and I LOVED it -- had a great time. I was attending Musician's Institute, but that was only part of it. I really enjoyed the city, walking everywhere around the Blvd -- the GREAT metal clubs on Sunset, shopping on Melrose.

1) I first lived off of Highland and Hollywood in a crappy apartment, but later moved to a house I shared with a few roommates on Detroit St. We even had an avocado tree in our front yard. I guess I was oblivious to the decay, and I do remember it as gritty -- lots of homeless people -- one guy with big elephant feet, another lady we called button lady that had buttons pinned all over herself --

2) but that was only part of it. I remember a great Mongolian Bar-B-Que restaurant at Hollywood & Western -- the lady's name that ran it was Michelle, and the food was terrific, I had friends that worked at Graumann's and the Egyptian Theater, we used to sneak in to see the shows and eat free popcorn -- going out on Saturday nights to see who was cruisin' the Boulevard was always fun, and we did run into famous people in Ralph's Grocery now and then . .. I guess it never occurred to me at that time that it was run down and decayed. To me it was just fun times . . .

1) Detroit street oozes character in a GOOD way, depending on where you are. Classic 1920's to 1940's LA residential architecture with leafy green trees on the sidewalks. I am thinking Detroit from Wilshire (south) up to Santa Monica or Sunset (north). There were always good pockets.

2) Hollywood & Western: That corner had a NOTORIOUS gun battle, and I mean serious gun battle between some gangs in 1992. Check out this article from the LA Times discussing the serious crime problems at that corner in APRIL 1992 BEFORE the RIOTS broke out.

Living in a Corner : Hollywood and Western, Where Only Crime Thrives - Los Angeles Times


Fast foward to today and that corner is still NOT the "glamorous" part of Hollywood like the W Hotel and swanky clubs at Hollywood and Vine. But it has cleaned up with a subway stop, a new Ralph's market with senior's housing above it, and of course the emergence and growth of THAI TOWN has brought a lot of life and activity to the area.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by BluSpark

1) Detroit street oozes character in a GOOD way, depending on where you are. Classic 1920's to 1940's LA residential architecture with leafy green trees on the sidewalks. I am thinking Detroit from Wilshire (south) up to Santa Monica or Sunset (north). There were always good pockets.

2) Hollywood & Western: That corner had a NOTORIOUS gun battle, and I mean serious gun battle between some gangs in 1992. Check out this article from the LA Times discussing the serious crime problems at that corner in APRIL 1992 BEFORE the RIOTS broke out.

Living in a Corner : Hollywood and Western, Where Only Crime Thrives - Los Angeles Times


Fast foward to today and that corner is still NOT the "glamorous" part of Hollywood like the W Hotel and swanky clubs at Hollywood and Vine. But it has cleaned up with a subway stop, a new Ralph's market with senior's housing above it, and of course the emergence and growth of THAI TOWN has brought a lot of life and activity to the area.

Interesting article. It reminds me of Oakwood Venice, which was also a notoriously dangerous area in the 90s. I still wouldn't go to Hollywood/Western after dark, but I've shopped at that minimall in the northeast corner a number of times. I think the safer boundary on Hollywood and Sunset ends around Wilton, while it goes as far west as La Brea for Santa Monica and Fountain, and Vine for Melrose.

[uptown_urbanist]

When we first came to LA to look for apartments Hollywood wasn't even on radar; we were focusing on Los Feliz. We went to Hollywood during our relocation trip to find an internet cafe (that makes it sound ancient, but things have changed a lot in just a short time!) and fell in love with the place. Definitely awe-inspiring (and we were coming from a big city ourselves). Love the historic apartments, the bustling streets, the overall "weirdness" of the area, the good public transportation, and the fact that it felt very urban in a very distinctive kind of Californian way. We lived in the Yucca corridor when it had already been drastically cleaned up, but it gentrified even more while we were there. I still remember of first night arriving after our cross-country move; it was Halloween, and kids were trick-or-treating at the stores on Hollywood Blvd (including all the stripper supply stores). We had dinner on the patio of the Pig N'Whistle and watched the crowds roll by. It was a great time to live there; the serious crime issues had been cleaned up, but it still had a ton of character (and a ton of characters).