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At the northernmost edge of West Hollywood, just after Crescent Heights Boulevard, Sunset turns into the great “Sunset Strip”. The Strip isn’t grand in scale, so much as it is in its history. It is home to decades of rock, swing, beat, and neon. Driving or walking through, it’s hard to imagine the streets without their lights or energy, but in the late 19th century, the Sunset Strip — first known as the “County Strip” — spanned only 600 feet amid dusty roads and avocado groves. The Sunset Strip has outgrown its country origins to span 1.5 miles. If anything, the Strip was born out of convenience: it connected the stars of Beverly Hills to their Hollywood studios. It was always the site of good old Hollywood trouble with casinos, parties, and booze — also convenient that the LAPD didn’t have jurisdiction, as West Hollywood was an unincorporated part of the city for another 100 years. This paved the way for the rockers, exotic dancers, the glam scene, and gay scene, and incubated some of the most influential musicians of the late 1960s.
