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Seeing Stars: Hollywood Landmarks..

1750 Vine
Street,
Hollywood, CA. / (323) 462-6252

There
isn't that much for a tourist to see at the famed corner of Hollywood
& Vine, but there is at least one instantly recognizable
landmark near that intersection: the Capitol Records building, located
on Vine Street, just north of Hollywood
Boulevard.
Capitol Records was
the first record company based on the West Coast, and has promoted such
acts as The Beatles,
the Beach Boys,
Pink Floyd,
Frank Sinatra,
Bob Seger,
Duran Duran,
Bonnie Raitt,
Robbie Robertson,
Steve Miller
and Tina Turner.
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Since 1954, the company
has been located in the world's first circular office building.
There is a lack of consensus about whether or not this unique, 13-story
high-rise was purposely designed to resemble a stack of records topped
by a stylus, but few would deny that it certainly does.
At the base of the
building's southern face (overlooking a parking lot) is a large, colorful
mural by artist Richard Wyatt, titled "Hollywood Jazz."
The mural features large portraits of Nat
King Cole, Billie Holiday,
and other jazz greats.
 (Rumor
has it that it was Nat King Cole himself who suggested the unusual shape
for the Capitol Records building.)
The mural had faded badly in the early 2000's, but in 2014, a
restoration effort was mounted, and the mural is now looking almost as
good as it originally did.
This is, of course,
an office building, and it isn't open to public tours - so you'll have
to be satisfied with admiring its unique exterior and their small lobby,
where the walls are covered with their many gold records from artists like
the Beatles,
Pink Floyd
and Duran Duran.
John
Lennon's star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame is right outside the Capitol Records building, and
is often the site of candlelight vigils on the anniversary of his death
(December 8).
And that
stretch of the Walk of Fame, near Capitol Records, is now a favorite
spot to put the stars for music artists. Here on the sidewalk,
you'll see (besides John Lennon's) the stars of Paul McCartney, George
Harrison, Ringo Starr, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, and
Garth Brooks,

After dark, you might
notice that the spire high atop the Capitol Records building is topped
by a red light which continually blinks on and off. Some people think it
looks like it's sending out a message in Morse Code. It is. The red light
blinks out the word "Hollywood" in code, every few seconds.
In 1956, the granddaughter of Samuel Morse (inventor of the Morse code)
threw the switch that turned on the tower light. This single-word message
was changed only once, in June of 1992, to celebrate Capitol Records' 50th
anniversary. For that one year, it blinked: "Capitol 50."
In 1993, it returned to sending the original message: "Hollywood."
Newer artists currently
recording with Capitol Records include Blessid
Union Of Souls, Everclear,
Meredith Brooks,
Marcy Playground,
and Megadeath.
[
Incidentally, right across the street from the Capitol Records building,
on the west side of Vine Street, is the old Hollywood Palace,
which opened back in 1927. Groucho Marx
filmed his TV quiz series "You Bet Your Life"
here. It was also the site of the old Merv Griffin
Show, and for a 1960's TV variety show called, appropriately enough, "The Hollywood Palace"
(hosted by Jimmy Durante)
which showcased a weekly cavalcade of superstars. In its heyday, "playing
the Palace" was considered a major honor for any performer. Dean Martin
introduced the Rolling Stones
on TV here (and people are still complaining about his remarks). Later,
in the 70's, it played host to acts like The Bangles
and The Stray Cats.
In recent years, it has been known simply as "The Palace" a nightclub
featuring dance nights and live acts such as Smashing Pumpkins.
In October 2003, it re-opened as "Avalon
Hollywood", which boasts a new state-of-the-art
light and sound system, a 1,300-person capacity theatre (which will stage
live music and comedy concerts and dance/DJ events), a lounge called "The
Spider Club" an outdoor patio, and a bistro-style restaurant open
24-7.]
 Getting
there: Capitol
Records is located just north of the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine.
From Grauman's Chinese, just head east on Hollywood Blvd (about a mile)
to Vine Street, then turn left (north). You can't miss it.
[For more
information on this subject, you can access Capitol Record's official website
at: http://www.hollywoodandvine.com.]

Click
here to browse CD's from Capitol Records
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for something in particular? Search the Seeing-Stars website!
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