There are some areas in LA where it seems that you are not in an English-speaking country at all. Little Tokyo, for example, has Japanese Buddhist temples, Japanese shops, karaoke clubs, sushi bars and rock gardens. In Little India you can find saris and sitars. There is even Little Russia in Los Angeles where everyone speaks Russian!
LA’s most important street, Sunset Boulevard, is about 40 km long. Its most famous stretch, the Sunset Strip, passes through Hollywood. The Strip is known for its bright billboards and chic restaurants where the waiters are really wannabe actors or singers or scriptwriters. There are also modern apartment buildings with pools and palm trees, but inside there are often six or more young hopefuls living together in two rooms to save money on rent.
Hollywood is still the centre of American film industry, though many studious have moved out of it. The famous Hollywood sign is known all over the world. Each letter in the sign is 15.2 m tall. In 1932, during the Great Depression, one young actress, Peg Entwistle, jumped to her death from the sign’s giant letter ‘H’.
Universal Studios in Hollywood is one of the most amazing places on earth. Not only does it have a theme park, but it is also a working studio. A tram tour takes you past film sets where movies are being filmed and you can see a lot of Hollywood history, including Alfred Hitchcock’s old studio offices, and the set where they filmed part of Jaws and the Jurassic Park. As well as seeing the sets where movies are being filmed, there are lots of spectacular shows for tourists to watch. And having come to Universal Studious you can even bump into Steven Spielberg or Johnny Depp on their way to work… or to lunch (contrary to what their agents say, the stars are human, they have to eat). Many famous movie stars live in or near Hollywood, especially in Beverly Hills and Malibu.
The famous Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood is where many of the big movies are first shown. And just outside, on Hollywood Boulevard, is where all the stars leave their handprints and footprints. The Hollywood Walk of Fame, a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard, has more than 2,000 bronze stars on it. The stars have the names of celebrities on them.
