This small monument commemorates the Hollywood movie stars who helped save Beverly Hills. Back in 1923, the rapidly-expanding City of Los Angeles attempted to swallow up the area, just as L.A. had annexed so many other once-autonomous communities (including Hollywood itself). A handful of movie stars led the battle to preserve the independence of Beverly Hills, and won.

The Monument to the Stars, erected in 1959, consists of a bronze-green spiral of sprocketed "camera film" sitting atop a multi-sided tower, which is embossed with full-length likenesses of these early stars - as they appeared in their famous silent movie roles.

Those honored include Douglas Fairbanks (sporting long hair for his role in "The Iron Mask"), Mary Pickford (looking like a waif in "Tess of the Storm Country"), Will Rogers (as his usual relaxed self, in "Lightnin'"), Conrad Nagel (dressed in a Revolutionary War outfit from "Glorious Betsy"), Rudolph Valentino (wearing a bolero hat in his role from "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"), Fred Niblo (the director of the original "Ben-Hur"), Tom Mix (in his cowboy duds, from "Hardboiled"), and comic Harold Lloyd (sporting his trademark glasses, in "Why Worry?")

A plaque on the sidewalk below reads:

Another plaque on the site lists those who helped erect the monument, a list that includes Jack Benny, Buddy Rogers, and Louis B. Mayer.

 Getting there: The monument is located on a traffic island in Beverly Hills, about half a mile south of Wilshire Boulevard, at the three-way intersection of Beverly Drive, Olympic Boulevard & Beverwil Drive. It isn't really worth going out of your way for, but if you happen to be on Beverly Drive, keep an eye out for it.