Sunset Boulevard
Encyclopedia
Sunset Boulevard is a street
in the western part of Los Angeles County, California
, that stretches from Figueroa Street
in downtown Los Angeles
to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean
in the Pacific Palisades
. The street is an icon of Hollywood celebrity culture
and the phrase "Sunset Boulevard" is an enduring shorthand for the glamor associated with Hollywood.
Approximately 24 miles (39 km) in length, the famous boulevard
roughly mimics the arc of the mountains that form the northern boundary of the Los Angeles Basin
. From downtown Los Angeles, it heads northwest, to Hollywood, through which it travels due west for several miles before it bends southwest, on course to the Pacific. It passes through or near Echo Park
, Silver Lake
, Los Feliz
, the aforementioned Hollywood, West Hollywood
, Beverly Hills
, Holmby Hills
, Bel-Air
, Brentwood
, and Pacific Palisades
. Other than West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, which are independent incorporated cities, the places named above are all districts and neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles
. In the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles, Sunset Boulevard runs along the northern boundary of the UCLA
Westwood campus, and it also serves as the postal divider between north and south west of Beverly Hills.
The boulevard is winding and treacherous in some areas. It is at least four lane
s in width for all of its route. Car accident
s are not uncommon due to its numerous hairpin curves and blind crests, and the lack of a center divider
on most sections. Sunset (along with Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevard
s) is frequently congested
with traffic loads far beyond its design capacity. As a result, it is also notorious for cracks and pothole
s. Traffic on Sunset is often slow-moving, with bumper-to-bumper congestion not infrequent during rush hour in both directions. However, when traffic is mild or nonexistent, Sunset is an extremely fast thoroughfare as it encounters few (and short timed) traffic lights west of Doheny Drive
. Even at rush hours, traffic generally flows well through the Holmby Hills and Bel Air, west of Whittier in Beverly Hills, as the lights are very well spaced and timed.
Sunset Boulevard historically extended farther east, starting at Alameda Street near Union Station
and beside Olvera Street
in the historic section of Downtown, but the portion of Sunset Boulevard east of Figueroa on the north end of Downtown Los Angeles
was renamed Cesar Chavez Avenue, in 1994, along with Macy Street and Brooklyn Avenue, in honor of the late Mexican-American trade union
leader and civil rights activist.
In the 1970s, the area between Gardner Street and Western Avenue, became a seedy red-light district
afflicted with street prostitution
. It was at the corner of Sunset and Courtney Avenue that actor Hugh Grant
pulled over and picked up prostitute Divine Brown
in the early morning of June 27, 1995. He then drove a few blocks east and parked at the corner of Curson and Hawthorn Avenues. Police arrested him and the prostitute for lewd conduct in a public place and he was later fined $1,200. Shortly after this police raids drove out the majority of prostitutes in this area and the majority of those turned to on-line escort services, thus diminishing the long held red-light district.
Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is also sometimes called "Guitar Row" due to the large number of guitar stores and music industry-related businesses, including the legendary recording studios Sunset Sound Studios and United Western Recorders
. Also, many young, struggling actors, musicians, and other artists continue to live in the area.
The best-known section of Sunset Boulevard is probably the Sunset Strip
in West Hollywood, which is a center for nightlife in the Los Angeles area.
The portion of Sunset Boulevard from the city limits of Beverly Hills to its western end was at one time named Beverly Boulevard.
The boulevard is commemorated in Billy Wilder
's Sunset Boulevard
(1950 film), and Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical
, and a 1950s television series, 77 Sunset Strip
. Jan and Dean
's 1960s hit song "Dead Man's Curve
" immortalizes a section of the road near Bel Air estates just north of UCLA's Drake Stadium. Disney's Hollywood Studios
has a recreation of Sunset as a backdrop for its The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
rides.
Metro Local
lines 2 and 302 operate on Sunset Boulevard. Line 302 is proposed to be replaced by Metro Rapid
line 702. The Metro Red Line operates a subway station at Vermont Avenue. Due to being parallel to Hollywood Boulevard
, the Western Avenue
, Vine Street
and Highland Avenue
stations are about a 5 minute walk from Sunset.
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
in the western part of Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, that stretches from Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street is a street in Los Angeles County, California named for General José Figueroa , governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835, who oversaw the secularization of the missions of California...
in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in the Pacific Palisades
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California
Pacific Palisades is an affluent neighborhood and district within the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, located among Brentwood to the east, Malibu and Topanga to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. The...
. The street is an icon of Hollywood celebrity culture
Celebrity culture
A celebrity culture is the structure that influences those deemed to be celebrities.-Brief history of celebrity culture:Any medium can be viewed as a vehicle for creating a celebrity culture. The famous religious books of the world's faiths are replete with examples of individuals who are well...
and the phrase "Sunset Boulevard" is an enduring shorthand for the glamor associated with Hollywood.
Approximately 24 miles (39 km) in length, the famous boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
roughly mimics the arc of the mountains that form the northern boundary of the Los Angeles Basin
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular and Transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
. From downtown Los Angeles, it heads northwest, to Hollywood, through which it travels due west for several miles before it bends southwest, on course to the Pacific. It passes through or near Echo Park
Echo Park, Los Angeles, California
Echo Park is a hilly neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles and southeast of Hollywood.-History:At the end of the 19th century, when the hills were still covered with native vegetation, a horse-drawn streetcar line served the dirt road that is now Echo Park Avenue...
, Silver Lake
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Silver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...
, Los Feliz
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Los Feliz, also Rancho Los Feliz is an affluent, hilly neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, named after its land grantee José Vicente Feliz....
, the aforementioned Hollywood, West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
, Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, Holmby Hills
Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California
Holmby Hills is an affluent neighborhood in the district of Westwood in western Los Angeles. It is bordered by the city of Beverly Hills on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, Westwood on the west, and Bel Air on the north. Sunset Boulevard is the area's principal thoroughfare which divides...
, Bel-Air
Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California
Bel Air is an affluent residential community in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Together with Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills it forms the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles neighborhoods....
, Brentwood
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State...
, and Pacific Palisades
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California
Pacific Palisades is an affluent neighborhood and district within the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, located among Brentwood to the east, Malibu and Topanga to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. The...
. Other than West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, which are independent incorporated cities, the places named above are all districts and neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. In the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles, Sunset Boulevard runs along the northern boundary of the UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
Westwood campus, and it also serves as the postal divider between north and south west of Beverly Hills.
The boulevard is winding and treacherous in some areas. It is at least four lane
Lane
A lane is a part of the roadway within a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles in such a way as to control and guide drivers for the purpose of reducing traffic conflicts. Most public roads have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by Lane markings...
s in width for all of its route. Car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
s are not uncommon due to its numerous hairpin curves and blind crests, and the lack of a center divider
Central reservation
On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
on most sections. Sunset (along with Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
s) is frequently congested
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
with traffic loads far beyond its design capacity. As a result, it is also notorious for cracks and pothole
Pothole
A pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.- Formation :...
s. Traffic on Sunset is often slow-moving, with bumper-to-bumper congestion not infrequent during rush hour in both directions. However, when traffic is mild or nonexistent, Sunset is an extremely fast thoroughfare as it encounters few (and short timed) traffic lights west of Doheny Drive
Doheny Drive
Doheny Drive is a major north–south thoroughfare for Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, in the U.S. state of California. It starts a few blocks south of Pico Boulevard and travels north past Sunset Boulevard. Doheny encounters few traffic lights, making it a relatively quick north–south trip...
. Even at rush hours, traffic generally flows well through the Holmby Hills and Bel Air, west of Whittier in Beverly Hills, as the lights are very well spaced and timed.
Sunset Boulevard historically extended farther east, starting at Alameda Street near Union Station
Union Station (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California. The station has rail services by Amtrak and Amtrak California and Metrolink; light rail/subways are the Metro Rail Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line...
and beside Olvera Street
Olvera Street
Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, and is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
in the historic section of Downtown, but the portion of Sunset Boulevard east of Figueroa on the north end of Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
was renamed Cesar Chavez Avenue, in 1994, along with Macy Street and Brooklyn Avenue, in honor of the late Mexican-American trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader and civil rights activist.
In the 1970s, the area between Gardner Street and Western Avenue, became a seedy red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
afflicted with street prostitution
Street prostitution
Street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, beaches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a...
. It was at the corner of Sunset and Courtney Avenue that actor Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
pulled over and picked up prostitute Divine Brown
Divine Brown (sex worker)
Estella Marie Thompson , also known as Divine Brown, is an American former sex worker who gained considerable public attention in 1995 when Hugh Grant, an English actor, was caught receiving oral sex from her in a car on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard...
in the early morning of June 27, 1995. He then drove a few blocks east and parked at the corner of Curson and Hawthorn Avenues. Police arrested him and the prostitute for lewd conduct in a public place and he was later fined $1,200. Shortly after this police raids drove out the majority of prostitutes in this area and the majority of those turned to on-line escort services, thus diminishing the long held red-light district.
Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is also sometimes called "Guitar Row" due to the large number of guitar stores and music industry-related businesses, including the legendary recording studios Sunset Sound Studios and United Western Recorders
United Western Recorders
United Western Recorders, often abbreviated to UWR, was a renowned recording studio complex in Hollywood, California, which became one of the most successful independent recording studios in the world in the late 1950s and 1960s....
. Also, many young, struggling actors, musicians, and other artists continue to live in the area.
The best-known section of Sunset Boulevard is probably the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
in West Hollywood, which is a center for nightlife in the Los Angeles area.
The boulevard is commemorated in Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
(1950 film), and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
musical
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
, and a 1950s television series, 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
. Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
's 1960s hit song "Dead Man's Curve
Dead Man's Curve (song)
"Dead Man's Curve" is a 1964 hit song by Jan and Dean detailing a teen street race gone awry. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart....
" immortalizes a section of the road near Bel Air estates just north of UCLA's Drake Stadium. Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
has a recreation of Sunset as a backdrop for its The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, more commonly known as Tower of Terror, is a drop tower thrill ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios , Disney California Adventure Park, Tokyo DisneySea and Walt Disney Studios Park . It is based upon the television show The Twilight Zone...
and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris...
rides.
Metro Local
Metro Local
Metro Local is a bus system in Los Angeles County operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . This retronym designation was placed to differentiate it from the Metro Rapid service...
lines 2 and 302 operate on Sunset Boulevard. Line 302 is proposed to be replaced by Metro Rapid
Metro Rapid
Metro Rapid is a bus rapid transit service in Los Angeles County, California that operates in mixed traffic environments and has fewer stops than the Metro Local service. The system is mainly operated by LACMTA. Two routes are operated by Santa Monica Transit and one by Culver City Transit...
line 702. The Metro Red Line operates a subway station at Vermont Avenue. Due to being parallel to Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
, the Western Avenue
Hollywood/Western (LACMTA Station)
Hollywood/Western Station is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is located at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue in the Thai Town/Little Armenia neighborhood of East Hollywood in Los Angeles. This station is served by the Red Line. - External links :*...
, Vine Street
Hollywood/Vine (LACMTA Station)
Hollywood/Vine is a subway station on the Red Line of the Los Angeles Metro in Hollywood, Los Angeles.-Location:As the name implies, Hollywood/Vine station lies below the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The central station of the three subway stops in Hollywood, it is within...
and Highland Avenue
Hollywood/Highland (LACMTA Station)
Hollywood/Highland Station is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is located at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in the Hollywood District of Los Angeles...
stations are about a 5 minute walk from Sunset.