The Hollywood Boulevard photo-expedition started rather uneventfully. True, I was exited to capture this stretch of  LA land, as I’ve lived a few short blocks away from here for many years and H-wood holds a special place in my heart– but driving up to the Highland corner in mad Sunday traffic and parking in a mall didn’t have me especially fired up. Then, while approaching Michael Jackson’s star on the famous sidewalk, I realized it was his birthday. This plus a gorgeous Marilyn impersonator complimenting my hair put me in an appropriately dreamy state and, braving the late summer heat,  I started making my way down the crowded street.

No matter what time of year, Hollywood Blvd  still welcomes swarms of tourists around here, so stopping for photos can be quite a feat. Still, I was having fun swimming through the  human soup, poking my lens into shop windows and talking with the locals. Like grandma’s house to us long-time Angelinos, the boulevard might smell kind of funny, but its doors are always open and the museums, masked heroes, countless souvenir joints and tattoo shops are familiar and strangely comforting. Even the hobos possess a certain charm.

I was loitering in front of  The El Capitan Theater’s entrance, distracted by the pretty lights, when a  gentleman approached me and asked whether I would like a tour of the interior. Apparently this was to be my lucky day – he turned out to be the theater manager. My friend and I were treated to a walk through the empty employee-only passageways, glimpsed towering boxes of 3-D glasses, and awed at a private curtain show, complete with an organ rising out of the stage floorboards! Total kid in a candy-store experience I’ll always remember. And if that wasn’t generous enough, the kind fella invited us to sit in on a screening as his guests, free popcorn included. See, magic is alive and well in Tinseltown.

Words and Photos by Zoetica Ebb