You can feel the stars of yesteryear as you stroll down historic Hollywood Boulevard, past the corner of Hollywood and Vine, where legend has it that Lana Turner was "discovered" while sitting on a stool in a long gone drugstore sipping a chocolate soda. The boulevard, a designated historical district, is paved with a new recycled material called glassphalt, and it sparkles like glitter day and night, reiterating the city's nickname "Tinseltown".

As you look down, you discover more than two thousand stars embedded in the sidewalk representing the people that built the entertainment industry that we all enjoy today. You walk over names from the past and present and each is in a red terrazzo star outlined with bronze and deep charcoal-like terrazzo. There, their names live on in bold bronze letters and a circle showing what part of the entertainment industry they were honored for -- films, radio, stage, television or recording arts.

Many stars these days are represented in more than one field and the classic "Hollywood Walk of Fame" is now bleeding on to the side streets to accommodate the influx of newcomers, at a rate of approximately fifteen each year. A big celebration is held on the boulevard by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce when someone new receives a star and fans place wreaths, flowers and candles on the sidewalk when a star passes on or on the anniversary of an important occasion.

While New York is known for its theatre district, Hollywood is the home to recording studios, movies, television, theatre and many other forms of entertainment -- taped, recorded and live. There are many studios where one can see shows being taped for television and night clubs where you can sometimes catch a famous star trying out a new song or comedy skit.

Hollywood Boulevard is also filled with interesting places to visit -- from the oldest restaurant in Hollywood (Musso and Frank's, dating back to 1919) to the ornate Mann's Chinese Theatre where many try to fit their feet into the tiny cement footsteps of Elizabeth Taylor and over 170 other star's hand and footprints.

The Chinese Theatre, originally called Grauman's, was constructed in 1927 and has become one of the most famous movie theatres in the world, attracting nearly two million visitors each year to view it's historic courtyard. In between the movie theatres and souvenir shops, one will find the famous Hollywood Wax Museum where the likenesses of some stars appear so real you feel like you could start talking to them.

Some locals have nicknamed the city Hollyweird or Hollywild, but whatever name it goes by, and however rundown parts of it may get -- one can still feel the glamour and excitement of old Hollywood in the air.