Week 5

Week Five: Hollywood; Sunset Blvd

This week, I visited Hollywood. I don't think we realize how close it is to our campus. Often I can get caught up in the UCLA and Westwood bubble and forget that we are literally minutes away from neat centers and streets where we can enjoy California culture. In my visit to Hollywood, this is just what I did. We drove down the winding curves of Sunset Blvd through Beverly Hills, designed to make visitors feel like they were not driving on a grid system, but a more natural one where the road contoured to the environmental features. Upon driving into Hollywood there was a clear shift in social difference, noticeable by the types of buildings and landscaping. It has a distinctly different feel than Beverly Hills,  although there was no concrete boundary between the two. Traffic flows easily through Sunset Blvd, as it changes from Hollywood to Beverly Hills. The exotic luxury cars still roll through, even though we are no longer in an area that has the high socioeconomic demographics that Beverly Hills boasts. There was no denying we were in the film capital of the world, because the street was lined with movie and TV advertisements.

Although quite commercial, the street was pretty quiet as far as pedestrians go, on my Saturday morning stroll. There were plenty of people enjoying the unseasonal heat in the patios of the many cafes and restaurants that line the street. It was clear that the area would come alive when the sun went down, gauging by the amount of night clubs and restaurants.  Sunset Blvd is known for drawing people from all corners of the city to enjoy one of the famous night clubs lining the street. These include, The Roxy, Whiskey a Go Go and Key Club, just to name a few.

This area is a great example of how auto-mobility is essential in Los Angeles. People are able to travel here, from all different parts of the greater Los Angeles area to patronize these establishments, even though it is not in a particularly central place. The decentralized hub of Hollywood draws crowds to it, even though it would not be considered the cities center. Only further proving the fact that Los Angeles depends on cars, a true city of the postmetropolis.