THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME IS ESTABLISHED IN 1960

Today, The Grandma has been reading about the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the historic landmark, that was established on a day like today in 1960.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, directors, producers, musicians, theatrical/musical groups, fictional characters, and others.

The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce who hold the trademark rights and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. It is a popular tourist attraction, with an estimated 10 million annual visitors in 2010.

The Walk of Fame runs 2.1 km east to west on Hollywood Boulevard, from Gower Street to the Hollywood and La Brea Gateway at La Brea Avenue, plus a short segment on Marshfield Way that runs diagonally between Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea; and 0.64 km north to south on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard.

According to a 2003 report by the market research firm NPO Plog Research, the Walk attracts about 10 million visitors annually -more than the Sunset Strip, the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's), the Queen Mary, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art combined- and has played an important role in making tourism the largest industry in Los Angeles County.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce credits E.M. Stuart, its volunteer president in 1953, with the original idea for creating a Walk of Fame. Stuart reportedly proposed the Walk as a means to maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.

Harry Sugarman, another Chamber member and president of the Hollywood Improvement Association, received credit in an independent account. A committee was formed to flesh out the idea, and an architectural firm was retained to develop specific proposals. 

By 1955, the basic concept and general design had been agreed upon, and plans were submitted to the Los Angeles City Council.

Multiple accounts exist for the origin of the star concept. According to one, the historic Hollywood Hotel -which stood for more than 50 years on Hollywood Boulevard at the site now occupied by the Hollywood and Highland complex and the Dolby (formerly Kodak) Theatre- displayed stars on its dining room ceiling above the tables favored by its most famous celebrity patrons, and that may have served as an early inspiration. By another account, the stars were inspired... by Sugarman's Tropics Restaurant drinks menu, which featured celebrity photos framed in gold stars.

More information: Walk of Fame

Hollywood is in love with any kind of nostalgia
that can prove itself to be commercial.

Dan Aykroyd