Hollywood

Hollywood, located just northwest of Los Angeles, California, was the world’s premier center for motion picture (movie) production. In the early 1900’s, movie producers began shooting in the Los Angeles area because of its mild weather and distance from New York or New Jersey (where they would be sued for violating Thomas Edison’s patents on motion picture development). The first movie shot in Hollywood was D.W. Griffith’s In Old California in 1910. Soon, numerous movie production studios sprung up in and around Hollywood, and the name "Hollywood" became associated with the glamour and glitz of movies and movie stars. Although many studios have left Hollywood today, you can still see The Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Hotel, and the Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars and American Idol) on Hollywood Boulevard.

United States Landmarks