Sunset Boulevard Broadcast History

This walking tour traces the historic stretch of Sunset Boulevard where 20th-century entertainment transitioned from pioneering film studios to the golden age of radio and television broadcasting.

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1. Crossroads of the World

Crossroads of the World features a tall, nautical tower topped with a rotating golden globe. Built in nineteen thirty-six, this outdoor pedestrian mall served as the first shopping center of its kind in the United States. Its architect,…

2. Hollywood Athletic Club

The Hollywood Athletic Club features a terra-cotta exterior with elaborate molding that stands out along Hollywood Boulevard. Built in nineteen twenty-three by a group of investors including Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino, the…

3. Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters

The Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters clubhouse features a polished brass plaque by the front door, marking the home of a group that began in nineteen sixty-six. These radio veterans gathered to keep the golden age of broadcasting alive long…

4. Earl Carroll Theater

The Earl Carroll Theater features a massive, vertical neon sign running up the front facade, once boasting the name of the man who promised that through these portals passed the most beautiful girls in the world. Carroll built this venue…

5. Hollywood Palladium

The Hollywood Palladium features a massive, streamlined art deco facade with a wide, rounded marquee that wraps around the corner of Sunset Boulevard. Tommy Dorsey opened this ballroom in nineteen forty, using the money he saved by buying…

6. CBS Columbia Square

The building on Sunset Boulevard with the clean, white horizontal lines and the sweeping rounded corner was the first facility in the world built specifically for television and radio broadcasting. When it opened in nineteen thirty-eight,…

7. EastWest Studios

The Mediterranean Revival building on Sunset Boulevard wears a discreet, white facade that hides the most recorded echo chambers in modern music. Built in nineteen thirty-three as a lavish home for the Hearst family, the structure…

8. Sunset Bronson Studios

The white tower with the large, vertical sign reading Sunset Bronson Studios stands where the Warner Brothers made history. In nineteen twenty-three, Sam, Harry, Albert, and Jack Warner opened their first independent studio lot here. They…

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