Walking L.A. #17: Whitley Heights and Hollywood Blvd, 2.5 miles.

Barbara and I parked in the Hollywood Heritage lot on Highland and walked east up Milner Road—and back in time to the Roaring 20s and the Jazz Age when Hollywood silents, flappers, and speakeasies were the rage and Hobart Whitley developed this section of the Hollywood hills into a Mediterranean-style residential neighborhood and Hollywood's first celebrity community. Red-tile roofs, balconies, and arched windows and doors on near-century old homes pepper tight, winding streets under eucalyptus and pine trees. Along the way, we met homeowners and dog walkers who happily pointed out homes where the likes of Faulkner, WC Fields, Marlene Dietrich, and Jean Harlow once lived. Following Whitley Avenue south down to the flats at Franklin, we passed elegant old apartment buildings with intricate fire escapes and carved facades. Nice affordable digs built in the 20s for starlets, extras, and studio support staff. West on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame past Musso & Frank's (1919), Grauman's Egyptian Theater (1922), Artisan's Patio (personal fave—I set a scene from my first novel in there!), and over to Highland. As in Hollywood and Highland: the Dolby Theater (2001), Grauman's Chinese Theater (1927), the El Capitan (1926), and Babylon Court in the H&H shopping center (2001). Spiderman and Superman posed on the sidewalk with tourists (tons of tourists!)

Duly immersed in memories of the past and present, we hiked back into "the hills" to the Whitley Steps and down to the car. Just a little hike through a nice local neighborhood walking distance from shops and movie theaters, you know, just like home but star-studded and HISTORICAL.