Hollywood

Hollywood, film capital of the United States for more than half a century, is part of Los Angeles, a southern California megalopolis. Although many films are made on location in other places, the movie industry remains centered in Hollywood, where much of the nation's talent and many motion picture studios are concentrated.

Hollywood, the traditional mecca of the motion-picture industry, is located northwest of downtown Los Angeles. In the hills north of Hollywood are the Hollywood Bowl and Griffith Park. The Hollywood Bowl, which opened in 1916, is a large natural amphitheater used for music, dance, and other performances. Also in the hills is another major icon of the Los Angeles region: a huge sign spelling out “HOLLYWOOD” in 15 m- (50 ft-) tall letters, originally constructed in 1923 as a real estate promotion.

Hollywood Bowl
Set in a natural depression, the Hollywood Bowl holds more than 17,000 spectators for outdoor concerts featuring a wide range of music styles.
Griffith Observatory
The 12-inch (30-centimeter) public telescope and multimedia planetarium at Griffith Observatory will soon be augmented by an exhibition hall and education center housed in a massive subterranean complex.
Universal Studios
Narrated tram tours give a behind-the-scenes look at movie and television production at the 162-hectare (400-acre) Universal Studios complex, which opened in 1915.

D. W. Griffith (1875-1948), pioneering American motion-picture director, who established a new standard for motion-picture production. He is often called The Father of the Motion Picture.
Around 1910 Griffith and other East Coast filmmakers began to spend winters in California, and soon a number of film companies worked there year-round.
By the end of the 1920s, five major studios—Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO, 20th Century-Fox, Warner Brothers, and Paramount—and two minor studios—Columbia and Universal—had come to dominate the motion picture industry.
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