Hooray for Hollywood: land of imagination and dreams, and playland of the rich and famous. There is a lot to see in this town, which has a long and storied history. Some of that history is just like what you would find in any other American city, like landmarks and memorials. But in this land of celluloid dreams, there is a special undercurrent that captivates all of us. To me, it has the makings of a great Warped site.

The site here is Hollywood Sites, and is part of a Frankie Goes to Hollywood convention from a few years ago. But the way the site is laid out (which got an 8.0 from the Warp-o-Meter, BTW) makes it easy to see some of the more famous sites of this Tinseltown.

For example, there is Graumann’s Chinese Theatre, where stars have been putting their hands, feet, and other parts of their anatomy in cement for almost 80 years. But right across the street from that theatre stands the Roosevelt Hotel, which has a dark and mysterious history (in addition to being the site for the first Academy Awards ceremonies). You also can see where Muscle Beach and the Santa Monica Pier are, and their history. There are a lot of theatres featured, as well as some restaurants, and even the location of the original Batcave from television’s Batman of the 1960s.

For the darker side of Hollywood, there are glimpses into the death sites of famous stars, such as The Knickerbocker (D.W. Griffith and Harry Houdini seances) and the Chateau Marmont (where John Belushi checked in, but didn’t check out). There are some other, uh, interesting sites as well, but you are left on your own to discover them.

[tags]warp-o-meter,warped.info,hollywood sites,frankie goes to hollywood,academy awards[/tags]