The Hollywood Walk of Fame has a few plaques that commemorate the Walk being here but it doesn’t contain anything that’s especially noteworthy or special in and of itself. It’s a street like any other in Los Angeles and although there might be a few more tourist traps on it than other streets in LA there’s nothing inherent about the street that makes it stand out. Obviously the stars that run up and down Hollywood Blvd make it different but ultimately they are just stars with people’s names on them. Of course, that alone is what makes this street and the Walk itself so unique and special. It’s almost odd to think this place could be and is a tourist attraction when it’s nothing more than a glorified list. Being included on this list is about a lot of different things and like Hollywood itself there are plenty of people who make you wonder how they ever got here in the first place. That alone makes it the perfect summation for the town itself since it is a place where you can wonder that about everyone here from the people with their names on the Walk to the people making movies to the people who are living on the streets. What’s interesting is the way history has preceded and will precede with this authentically inauthentic piece of Hollywood history. Envisioned in 1958 as a lasting tribute to the personalities who helped make Hollywood the most famous community in the world and attract tourists, the Walk stagnated due to urban decay as the area was one few tourists or locals were willing to venture into. No one even bothered to add new stars for many years. Eventually though, the area and Walk itself were revitalized to make it a place for tourists and for people inside and outside Hollywood to celebrate. The Walk remains one of the city's most widely seen tourist attractions and truly is a symbol of the past as well as the present. That dichotomy between the different times and eras is something that jumps out at you as a star from the silent era of film can be placed next to a contemporary movie star as easily as a fictional character can be placed next to people who landed on the Moon. People have their names here because of their contributions to movies, TV, music, radio or live performance although sometimes a person’s contributions can be tenuous at best. Hollywood has never been a place that paid much attention to the details though. It all started simply enough with 8 stars that let people know what the walk was going to look like. Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedwick, Ernest Torrence and Joanne Woodward were the first to have their stars here at a time when this whole area looked much different but that change is as much a part of Hollywood as any star ever was and ever will be. The area and names might change but the essence of Hollywood never will. The changes that take place here are nothing compared to what has and always will remain the same. They were the first 8 of a number of stars to line the Walk but their selection was not a matter of chance or mistake. They contributed mightily to their respective fields although Joanne Woodward will always stand out as she was the first celebrity to be honored with an award ceremony. Joanne Woodward