Los Angeles Official Visitor Guide 2008 - (Page 8) INTRODUCTION Surveying the Scene continued Hollywood Like a glamorous starlet, Hollywood has made a major comeback and is living like a newly discovered ingénue. Hollywood has evolved from its historic movie roots to become one of LA’s hippest spots to shop, dine and be entertained. • Entertainment Hub: The Hollywood & Highland Center — with its shops, restaurants, movie theaters (including Grauman’s Chinese Theatre), the Kodak Theatre (permanent home of the Academy Awards®) and The Highlands (one of LA’s hottest nightspots) — have raised Hollywood’s glamour to new heights. • Enjoy the Nightlife: The region has also emerged as the nightclub hub of LA with such hotspots as Opera, Ritual, S Bar, the House of Blues® Sunset Strip and the Knitting Factory. • Raise the Curtain: Vintage venues, such as the historic Pantages Theatre, present the best in theatrical and musical productions, including WICKED, the award-winning musical about the witches of Oz. • Stage of Legends: The Hollywood Bowl, which has a new band shell, features concerts under the stars throughout the summer. • World Premieres: Moviegoers can see the latest films in restored cinemas such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Disney’s El Capitan and Arclight Hollywood’s futuristic Cinerama Dome. San Fernando Valley LA’s “Valley of the Stars” is a film and television hub with several studios, including Universal Studios HollywoodSM, Warner Bros. Studios, Walt Disney Studios, ABC, CBS and NBC. • Motion Picture Studios: Universal Studios HollywoodSM offers a popular theme park and a flashy pedestrian entertainment district next door — Universal CityWalk Hollywood. With all of this to offer, it makes the perfect destination for a day of family fun. Other studios, such as Warner Bros. and NBC, offer tours and free tickets to TV show tapings. • Hip North Hollywood: The hip NoHo Arts District in North Hollywood is home to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which produces the annual Emmy Awards®. NoHo also has an array of funky cafes, coffee houses, boutiques and 22 live theaters. • LA’s Central Park: At more than 4,100 acres, Griffith Park is the nation’s largest municipal park. Straddling the mountains between the Valley and LA proper, the park offers picnicking, hiking and other outdoor activities. The park also features the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the Museum of the American West, the Greek Theatre (an amphitheater open in summer) and the Griffith Observatory (which reopened in November 2006 after extensive renovations). • LA in Bloom: The Valley is also home to Descanso Gardens in La CañadaFlintridge, the Japanese Garden in Van Nuys and Orcutt Ranch Horticultural Center in West Hills — a great place for apple picking. • Spanish Mission: The Valley even lays claim to one of the 21 California missions built between 1769 and 1823, Mission San Fernando Rey de España. Westside LA’s trendy Westside encompasses several communities — an area that stretches from the Wilshire Corridor to Brentwood. • Miracle Mile: The Wilshire Corridor’s claim to fame is Museum Row, with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Petersen Automotive Museum, the Craft and Folk Art Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits. Don’t miss the all-new Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) at LACMA with its February 2008 opening. 8
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