Hollywood Boulevard is reduced to a ghost town amid pandemic
Hollywood Boulevard has been reduced to a ghost town amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with three-quarters of businesses boarded up and locals left wondering whether the area will ever recover.
The street, which runs through the heart of Hollywood and is one of the most iconic thoroughfares in the world, previously attracted 10 million people each year.
The boulevard was built on international tourism, with visitors packing the strip to view stars along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and pose for photos with their favorite comic book characters.
Each day, thousands would also flock to famous museums along the boulevard, including Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Odditorium.
Meanwhile, Grauman’s Chinese Theater – which has frequently hosted glamorous film premieres and the Academy Awards – was also one of the most popular destinations along the boulevard.
But the area has been abandoned in the past 10 months, with souvenir stores shuttered and rates of homelessness and crime surging as tourists stay away and the coronavirus rages.
Hopes for a recovery along Hollywood Boulevard have been dashed in recent weeks, as Los Angeles becomes the epicenter of the COIVD-19 crisis, with infection rates soaring and hospitals at capacity.
The iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theater – which has frequently hosted glamorous film premieres and the Academy Awards – is closed and its famous concourse is empty
Better days: Grauman’s – also known as the TCL Chinese Theatre – pictured in January 2020, before covid hit
Eerie photos taken by DailyMail.com last week show the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on Hollywood Boulevard.
Store after store is boarded up, with plywood coverings and roll-down doors tagged with graffiti.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, 75 percent of businesses along the boulevard are closed.
Dolby Theater, which regularly hosts the Academy Awards, has been shuttered since March.
The El Capitan Theater and the Hard Rock Cafe have similarly closed at the same time and have not yet reopened.
The dinosaur atop of Ripley’s Odditorium now wears a huge mask as it looks down upon the empty street.
Businesses that have reopened in compliance with coronavirus guidelines have suffered a devastating drop in revenue.
Hollywood Boulevard has been reduced to a ghost town amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with three-quarters of businesses boarded up and locals left wondering whether the area will ever recover
The area has been abandoned in the past 10 months, with souvenir stores shuttered and rates of homelessness and crime surging as tourists stay away and the coronavirus rages
Each day, thousands would also flock to famous museums along the boulevard, including Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Odditorium. The destination has been
boarded up and closed since March
A lone pedestrian is seen walking along the eerily empty Hollywood Walk of Fame. The area was once teeming with tourists who would pose for pictures with the star of their favorite celebrity
Eerie photos taken by DailyMail.com last week show the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Rana Ghadban told the LA times that businesses in the area have reported 80 percent revenue declines and a huge number of furloughs and layoffs since the pandemic began
Pedro Consuelo of Souvenirs of Hollywood told The Los Angeles Times earlier this month that used to employ 25 staffers in his shop. Now, he has just three.
‘Never have I ever seen a time like this. Never,’ he told the publication, adding that he had worked along the street for almost 30 years.
‘It’s super dead. Look down the boulevard, nobody is coming.’
The dinosaur atop of Ripley’s Odditorium now wears a huge mask as it looks down upon the empty street
The Hollywood Reporter states that a drop in business has coincided with a spike in homelessness and crime. One local business has hired nighttime security after a series of break ins
Store after store is boarded up, with plywood coverings and roll-down doors tagged with graffiti
Hollywood has been one of the neighborhoods worst affected by the LA outbreak, reporting high levels of infection
Cinemas have been closed since March, and there are no signs that they will reopen anytime soon giving the city’s soaring infection rates
Homeless people have moved tents into the area, while many are now sleeping on top of the stars dotted along on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame
Hollywood is among the areas of Los Angeles worst affected by the COVID-19 outbreak
It’s not just independent businesses that have been affected by the shutdown. Famous franchises have also closed stores along Hollywood Boulevard
The boulevard was also a popular meeting spot for people who would take bus tours of the area in a bid to peek at famous film sets and the home of Hollywood celebrities.
Many of those business have now ceased operation.
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Rana Ghadban told the LA times that businesses in the area have reported 80 percent revenue declines and a huge number of furloughs and layoffs since the pandemic began.
The Hollywood Reporter states that a drop in business has coincided with a spike in homelessness and crime.
One local business has hired nightly security after multiple break-ins.
Homeless people have moved into the area, and many are now sleeping on top of the stars dotted along on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Local papers say the vagrants can snooze for hours undisturbed given there is now very little foot traffic.
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The boulevard was also a popular meeting spot for people who would take bus tours of the area in a bid to peek at famous film sets and the home of Hollywood celebrities. Many of those business have now ceased operation.
The way we were: A photograph from last December shows excitable tourists setting off on a tour from Hollywood Boulevard
The way we were: Tourists walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame back in August 2017
Los Angeles County is now the coronavirus epicenter in the United States, with more than 200,000 residents testing positive to COVID-19.
But certain areas within the country – including Hollywood- have reported a super high number of infections.
According to data, the small area of Hollywood – located northwest of Los Angeles’ downtown – has seen 3,221 cases of COVID-19.
More than 700 of those infections have been reported in the past two weeks alone.
The Los Angeles Times now states that more than four percent of Hollywood residents have contracted the virus.
With a full year since the shutdown fast approaching and no signs of relief in sight, many locals fear Hollywood Boulevard has been changed forever.
‘I don’t know what we’re going to do in Hollywood honestly,’ one devastated local stated.
Will it ever be this way again? Tourists are propositioned for pictures by people dressed as characters from movies as they walk past the stars along Hollywood Boulevard in August 2017
