LA Timelapse (Downtown & Hollywood) from Darren Ruane Photography on Vimeo.

Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, as well as a diverse residential neighborhood of some 50,000 people. An influx of workers swells the daytime population to nearly 600,000.

A heritage of the city’s founding in 1781, Downtown today is composed of different areas ranging from a fashion district to a skid row, and it is the hub of the city’s Metro rapid transit system. Banks, department stores and movie palaces at one time drew residents and visitors into the area, but the district declined economically and suffered a downturn for decades until its recent renaissance starting in the early 2000s: Old buildings are being modified for new uses, and skyscrapers have been built. Downtown is known for its government buildings, parks, theaters and other public places. Highlights of Downtown included the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Hollywood Boulevard is a street in Hollywood, splitting off Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest to Vermont Avenue, where it straightens out and runs due west to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. West of Laurel Canyon, it continues as a residential street and ending at Sunset Plaza Drive.

In 1958 the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which runs from Gower Street to La Brea Avenue (and an additional three blocks on Vine Street), was created as a tribute to artists working in the entertainment industry.

The Hollywood extension of the Metro Red Line subway was opened in June 1999, running from Downtown Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley.

TCL Chinese Theatre is a cinema on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard. Originally Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and renamed Mann’s Chinese Theatre in 1973.

The original Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, which opened in 1922. Built by a partnership headed by Sid Grauman over 18 months starting in January 1926, the theatre opened May 18, 1927, with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s film The King of Kings. It has since been home to many premieres, including the 1977 launch of George Lucas’s Star Wars, as well as birthday parties, corporate junkets, and three Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theatre’s most distinctive features are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt, which bear the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular motion picture personalities from the 1920s to the present day.