Historic Hollywood Photographs

The Walk of Fame concept was adopted in the mid-1950s by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce as a promotional program to showcase Hollywood’s Main Street, Hollywood Boulevard, and its connection to the entertainment industry. Harry Sugarman and CE Toberman were two of its creators. It was decided that its construction would coincide with that of the First Federal Savings of Hollywood building, located at the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave - the first substantial construction on the Boulevard in decades. The first eight stars were dedicated in September 1958 and installed several months prior to the official Walk of Fame groundbreaking, so as to be ready when the First Federal Savings building was completed in January 1959. The eight film notables with the distinction of being the first names on the Walk of Fame were: Preston Foster, Joanne Woodward, Ernest Torrence, Olive Bordon, Edward Sedgwick, Louise Fazenda, Ronald Coleman and Burt Lancaster. The Walk of Fame groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 8, 1960 near the intersection of Hollywood and Gower. By the time it was officially dedicated in November 1960, 1,588 celebrities had their names immortalized in the sidewalk. It wasn't until later that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce began holding individual dedication ceremonies. To date, more than 2,400 professionals have been honored.

This gallery documents ceremonies between 1960 and 2005.