A business and residential district in the city of Los Angeles, the core of Hollywood for a tourist is its three fascinating boulevards: Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, and Melrose Avenue, all of which are worth seeing. Hollywood Blvd is known for its entertainment history, Sunset Blvd for its clubs and nightlife, and Melrose Ave for its shopping, nightlife, and eclecticism.Hollywood was founded as an independent city in 1903 and voted to merge with the City of Los Angeles in 1910. That same year also saw the birth of the Southern California motion picture industry when D. W. Griffith relocated his Biograph Company, sparking a westward migration of East Coast filmmakers. As movies exploded in popularity in the 1910s and 20s, the name Hollywood became synonymous with the film industry. In the decades following World War II, Hollywood's glitz and glamour began to fade as most of the leading film studios moved to other places. By the 1980s, Hollywood was considered one of the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The 1990s, however, saw the beginning of community redevelopment efforts, and today Hollywood is once again one of the region's most vibrant areas. Paramount is the only major film studio still headquartered in Hollywood, but the area nonetheless remains an important center of the entertainment industry with its myriad production and broadcast facilities. Smaller studios still in Hollywood include Sunset-Gower Studios, Hollywood Center Studios, Raleigh Studios, Jim Henson Studios, and Sunset Bronson Studios (housed on the original Warner Bros. lot). The other major studios are located to the north in the San Fernando Valley, particularly in Universal City (NBC, Universal), Burbank (ABC, Disney, Warner Bros.), and Glendale (DreamWorks). Most of the rest are to the west: Century City (Fox, MGM), the Fairfax District (CBS), and Culver City (Sony). Many of the studios offer tours if you want to see where films are shot.If you want to see celebrities, pack your patience or be prepared to play the role of boulevardier . The chances of bumping into a celebrity are very low (mainly because most of the celebrities who live in Hollywood usually do not go out in public) unless you're willing to do a lot of hanging out at expensive restaurants in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or in Malibu. You can easily see where they live by taking a tour or buying a star map.