Mapping Hollywood

The interactive/animated map that was once on my Disneyland Photo page took an insane amount of hours to put together. It speaks to my crazed attention to detail when I feel passionate about something. It was one of those projects where once I began, it was difficult to stop. Flash forward about 7 years to the present, and my map had caught the attention of author Martin Turnbull, who has written a series of novels that take place at the legendary (but now leveled) Garden of Allah Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.



Here's a photo of Lance Reventlow (son of heiress Barbara Hutton) and actress Jill St. John at the Garden of Allah Hotel's final party in August 1959 before it closed permanently. I sure would have liked to have been there; what a bash that must have been!



Martin remarked to me that he sure would love to have a vintage Hollywood map similar to the one I created for Disneyland. It had been 7 years since I'd created that monstrosity, and I knew my Flash skills were more than just rusty. Still, the idea of doing a vintage Hollywood map was right up my alley, so I immediately took on the project.

Some of the landmarks on my map already existed in vintage line art form and merely had to be scanned and cleaned up (I say merely…but typically 45 minutes per landmark for that task), like this rendering of the Chateau Marmont:



Others I had to do a line art rendering myself, such as the ones for The Garden of Allah:



and Preston Sturges' Player's Club:



Although I do want to animate this map at some point, 7 years without using a program means that the static version will have to suffice until I re-learn Flash again.



To see the map and the accompanying legend, visit Martin's website.

Did it take a ton of time? Sure it did, but I enjoyed every minute.

See more Daveland vintage & current Hollywood photos at my main website.