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Hollywood Red Route First departure from Stop #1 Dolby Theater: 10.00 am.

Santa Monica Yellow Route First departure from stop #57 (1515 Ocean Ave.) at 9:30am.

Downtown Purple Route First departure from Stop #1 Dolby Theater: 10.00 am

Hollywood Red Route: Last full loop departs from Stop #1 Dolby Theater: 4:30 pm.

Santa Monica Yellow Route: Last full loop departs from stop #57 (1515 Ocean Ave.) at 4:13pm.

Downtown Purple Route: Last full loop departs from Stop #1 Dolby Theater: 3:00 pm.

City Sightseeing Los Angeles, Hop-On, Hop-off runs every day. Please check the operating schedule online before you travel, dates and times are subject to change.

Los Angeles is a large sprawling city, and it’s also a city full of one other thing… crippling traffic. Please be patient a bus in on the way. Call (323) 463-3333 and ask a helpful agent to see if a bus is heading your way soon.

You can purchase tickets online, from any Starline kiosk in front of the Dolby Theatre and on the bus! You can also purchase from your hotel concierge.

Yes, buses are available for private hire. Please have a look at our Charter page to find out more, or contact us directly, to discuss bespoke private tours.

Parking Garage Enter our underground parking garage from Highland Ave. in front of Loews Hollywood or on Orange Court between Hollywood Blvd. and Franklin Ave. Parking Rates: $2.00 every 20 minutes; $6.00 every hour Daily Maximum of $20.00 Enjoy up to 2 hours for $3 with validation by participating shops and restaurants. Valet Daily Maximum of $30.00

Explore Citysightseeing Los Angeles on StarLine’s Hop-On, Hop-Off double decker bus tour!

With the largest open-top Hop-on Hop-off City Sightseeing bus service in the world! Discover the many marvels of Los Angeles attractions on the ultimate customized tour in comfort and style!

Our Hop-On, Hop-Off bus route Services:

With action-packed routes crisscrossing Los Angeles, our Hop-On Hop-Off buses are perfect for visitors who want to explore L.A’s treasured destinations, with panoramic views from the top of a double-decker bus with pre-recorded tour guide narration. .

At your convenience simply hop off and once you’re ready hop back on the bus to continue your journey.

1. DOLBY THEATRE (STARLINE TERMINAL) 2. GUITAR CENTER, "ROCKWALK" 3. CHATEAU MARMONT  / LAUGH FACTORY 4. THE COMEDY STORE / SUNSET STRIP 5. LONDON HOTEL / WHISKY A GO GO 6. SANTA MONICA BLVD. / CHASE BANK 7. [Mon-Sat] 3RD ST/BEVERLY HILLS  [Sunday ONLY] REXFORD DR/BEVERLY HILLS 8. FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, BEVERLY HILLS 9. BEVERLY CENTER – SHOPPING 10. Academy Museum/LA BREA TAR PITS/ PETERSEN AUTO 11. FARMERS MARKET / THE GROVE 12. MELROSE AVENUE – SHOPPING 13. PINK'S HOT DOGS 14. VINE STREET / PARAMOUNT STUDIOS 15. HOLLYWOOD AND VINE / PANTAGES THEATRE

57. OCEAN AVE. / SANTA MONICA PIER 59. WILSHIRE / 3RD ST. PROMENADE 60. MONTANA AVE. / EUCLID ST 61. BRENTWOOD COUNTRY MART 63. WESTWOOD / UCLA / HAMMER MUSEUM 64. THE BEVERLY HILTON - WILSHIRE BLVD 7. [Mon-Sat] 3RD ST/BEVERLY HILLS  [Sunday ONLY] REXFORD DR/BEVERLY HILLS 51. THE BEVERLY HILTON - SANTA MONICA BLVD. 52. CENTURY PLAZA HOTEL 54. ONE WESTSIDE SHOPPING CENTER 55. SANTA MONICA COLLEGE / 17TH ST 83. VENICE BEACH 78. MAIN ST. / VISITOR CENTER

1. EL CAPITAN THEATER l 31. ENGINE CO. #28 / 7TH STREET 32. WESTIN BONAVENTURE HOTEL 33. WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL / MOCA 34. CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY 35. CHINATOWN - CENTRAL PLAZA 36. CHINATOWN - SHOPPING MALLS 37. OLVERA ST. /PUEBLO/UNION STATION 38. LITTLE TOKYO 39. GRAND CTR. MKT/ BRADBURY BLDG 40. CENTRAL LIBRARY / BILTMORE HOTEL 41. JEWELRY DISTRICT / L A THEATRE 42. FASHION DISTRICT / SANTEE ALLEY 43. CONVENTION CTR / STAPLES CENTER 44. L.A. LIVE / GRAMMY MUSEUM

Our easy-to-use online schedules and City sightseeing map, make it a breeze to plan your day. Allow 45 minutes between bus services at each stop, to plan your activities.

To learn more about our L.A. Hop-On Hop-Off bus services, or to book your trip, please give us a call at 1-800-959-3131 or (+1) 323-463-3333.

LA Traffic Disclaimer:  Please be prepared as the nation’s fifth most congested city for traffic the consequences maybe traffic-clogged delays and “time loss”

Package our Hop-On Hop-Off Hollywood bus tours with other sightseeing outings and save!

Why A Hop On Hop Off Tour is the Best Way to Explore a City

• You won’t miss out on major tourist sites.
• It’s a safe way to get around an unfamiliar city, Learn about each site and hear some interesting facts about the city as you explore!
• Discounts To Attractions
• Choose which places you want to stop at and how much time you want to spend there.
• The visuals that a tour bus offers certainly surpass anything you might see from a car by far.
• Buses are a convenient tour option, seeing the whole city for one reasonable ticket price.
• Meet Other Travellers
• Avoid Getting Lost / Wasting Time
• Great photos opportunities from the top of a double deck: Selfie, Pink Wall, Angel Wings, Urban Lights, Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach. LA city, Hollywood sign.
• Eats: Pink’s Hot Dogs, Farmers Market, Taco Food trucks, Koreatown Yup Dduk LA. & Korean BBQ Restaurants.

Jimmy Kimmel Surprises Hollywood Tourists at the Oscars on one of our bus tours!

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Ultimate Hollywood Tours

The #1 rated hollywood, beverly hills, & celebrity home tour in hollywood, ultimate hollywood tours: where stars and stories come alive.

Experience the pinnacle of luxury tours with our 5-star service, featuring state-of-the-art heated and air-conditioned vans. With convenient locations on both Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, our expert tour guides are ready to make your trip unforgettable.

Celebrity Home Hollywood Tour

Embark on a 2-hour journey through the celebrity homes in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Explore over 60 iconic sites, including Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Sign. Adult tickets at $44, children at $34.

• $34 Children (3-11)
• $499 Private (13 seats)

"Taste Of L.A." Los Angeles Tour

Experience LA like never before in this 5 and a half hour comprehensive tour. From the Santa Monica Pier to the Griffith Observatory, get a taste of all LA has to offer. Adult tickets at $84, children at $70.

• $70 Children (3-11)
• $1,805 Private (22 seats)

The Perfect Day in L.A. Combo Tour

Are you ready for the day in L.A. of your dreams? This combination bus tour combines the best of two of our most popular tours into the ULTIMATE Hollywood bus tour experience!

• $118 Adults
• $94 Children (3-11)
• Save $10 by booking the Combo!

See Hollywood From A New Perspective!

Step beyond the velvet rope and experience Hollywood as you’ve never seen it before. With Ultimate Hollywood Tours, you’re not just a spectator; you’re a part of the story. Our expert guides offer insider knowledge and behind-the-scenes insights that transform the City of Stars from a place on a map into a living, breathing character in your L.A. adventure.

Discover Hollywood History!

Journey with us through time as we unveil the secrets of Hollywood’s illustrious past. From the golden age of cinema to the modern-day marvels, our tours offer a comprehensive look at the milestones that shaped Tinseltown.

See Famous Movie Locations!

Walk in the footsteps of your favorite stars as we take you to iconic movie locations scattered throughout Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Whether it’s the glamorous shops of Rodeo Drive featured in ‘Pretty Woman’ or the legendary Hollywood Sign!

Multiple Photo Opportunities!

Capture the magic of Hollywood with your as we stop at the most Instagram-worthy spots. From the stunning overlook of the Hollywood Sign to the bustling Walk of Fame, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to snap the perfect shot.

You've Seen Us On TV!

When it comes to Hollywood tours, we’re the industry’s first choice for a reason. From reality TV shows to late-night comedy, our tours have been featured across various platforms, making us a celebrity in our own right. Check out some of the memorable moments we’ve had on screen:

GQ's Star Guide

The GQ Show in the UK used our tour to promote a Will Ferrell film, with Will himself taking over as a surprise celebrity guide.

Wahlberg Waves

Mark Wahlberg spontaneously joined one of our tours, creating a viral moment that made headlines on Los Angeles local news.

Conan's Surprise

The Conan O’Brien show featured us in a hilarious segment with Adam Sandler, surprising both guests and our tour guide.

Kardashian Camouflage

MTV partnered with us for a fan-favorite episode of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians,’ where Kylie, Khloe, and Kendall toured incognito.

Happy Birthday, Keanu!

One lucky tour bus full of guests had the unique experience of singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Keanu Reeves right outside his home.

Blackish Debut

Our tour bus had a cameo in the Emmy-winning ABC show ‘Blackish,’ appearing in the opening minutes of the pilot episode.

Bublé's Holiday

Michael Bublé chose us for his NBC Christmas Special, touring Hollywood and Beverly Hills with celebrity friends like Gigi Hadid and Blake Shelton.

The Most Popular Bus Tours In Hollywood!

Rated #1 on TripAdvisor with over 8,000 five-star reviews, our tour guides are not just knowledgeable; they’re passionate about Hollywood’s rich history and are excited to share it with you.

We give you the best experience and value for your money and our thousands of five star reviews prove they’re the best. For private tours and large groups, call us at (323) 915-1889. We accept both credit and debit cards. Your privacy is important to us; we will never share your data.

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Visit the Stars Aboard Our Famous Pink Buses

Take Iconic Photos With the Hollywood Sign

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Ride like a star.

TOP SIGHTSEEING TOUR AGENCY IN LOS ANGELES

THE FAMOUS PINK BUSES OF HOLLYWOOD

Join us on open-air buses for a trip through Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the hottest tourist destinations in Los Angeles. See your favorite hot spots, celebrity mansions, filming locations & more aboard our popular 2-hour tour. Led by professional & entertaining tour guides, let us show you everything Hollywood has to offer in just 2 hours.

Call us  323-310-3464.

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We are the premier tour agency in Hollywood, offering a varied selection of fully-narrated sightseeing tours designed to accommodate travelers and tourists staying in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica by the beach, or anywhere else in LA. Whether you find yourself in the beautiful city of Los Angeles for a single day or more, our tours will let you see the best the city has to offer and learn about its rich history.

Through our guided tours ,  HOLLYWOOD LA BUS TOURS   is designed to touch the highlights within Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice and Melrose, from the mountains to the beaches.

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Tour Pricing for Groups of 14 and up Hotel Pick-ups Please contact by phone for all Arrangements and details  

The Hollywood Sign

Whiskey A Go Go

Chinese Theater

Sunset Strip 

Rainbow Room

Playboy Mansion

Mullholland Drive

Movie Scenes

Celebrity Homes

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Capitol Records Building

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Your Ticket Through Hollywood!

La's most popular hollywood tour, hollywood bus tours & los  a ngeles sightseeing.

Experience a Hollywood tour like never before! Select from our 2 hour Hollywood Bus Tour of Celebrity Homes or our 5 1/2 hour Los Angeles City Tour. Explore through top sites from, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, The Sunset Strip, see Movie Stars' Celebrity Homes and much more all in the comfort of an open-air passenger bus with comfortable and shaded seating.

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Hollywood Celebrity Homes Tour

Experience Hollywood's most popular sightseeing bus tour! Our Hollywood tour of Celebrity Homes are fully narrated by our fun and entertaining tour guides. Tour Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, the Sunset Strip, Movie Stars' Celebrity Homes and much more. 

REGULAR PRICE:

Adults: $44 | Children: $34

Adults Now: $39 | Children Now: $29

Duration: 2 hours

Tour Details

A Taste Of L.A - Los Angeles City Tour

Our most complete Hollywood bus tour of Los Angeles! Our Los Angeles sightseeing tour enables you to see all that Los Angeles has to offer, with 4 convenient stops. See iconic sights like, The Hollywood Sign, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, The Farmers Market, La Brea Tar Pits, Griffith Park Observatory and much more.

  Adults: $89 | Children: $74

Adults Now: $84 | Children Now: $70

Duration: 5 1/2 hours

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Show Me Hollywood! Tours is a premier Hollywood tour company dedicated to offering immersive and exclusive experiences through the heart of Los Angeles’s most famous district.

Show Me Hollywood! | #1 Hollywood Bus Tour Operator on Hollywood Boulevard

Explore hollywood like never before.

Embark on a journey through the heart of Hollywood, where the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world come alive. Dive into the magic of Tinseltown with our expertly guided tours. From the iconic Hollywood Sign to the luxurious streets of Beverly Hills, we bring you face-to-face with the most exclusive spots in LA.

Show Me Hollywood Tour!

6609 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

7046 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

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A Taste of L.A. – Half-Day Tour of the BEST of Los Angeles!

Why Choose Show Me Hollywood! Tours?

With years of experience and a deep love for Hollywood’s history, we guarantee an experience like no other. Our knowledgeable guides and exclusive tour routes offer a unique glimpse into the heart of showbiz. Learn about our passion for Hollywood and why we’re the premier choice for exploring LA’s most famous district.

• Expert Guides: Our team of enthusiastic guides are Hollywood experts, ready to share insider stories and facts.
• Exclusive Access: Enjoy access to hidden gems and private roads that other tours simply can't offer.
• Personalized Experience: We cater to small groups for a more intimate and tailored touring experience.

What People Say

Our sparkling online reviews.

Our reviews speak volumes about the unforgettable experiences we provide. From families to film buffs, our tours have something for everyone. Discover why guests love our tours and keep coming back for more Hollywood adventures.

Come see why more than 4,600 people say we're the #1 Hollywood Tour company!

Show Me Hollywood! Tours is a premier Hollywood tour company dedicated to offering immersive and exclusive experiences through the heart of Los Angeles’s most famous district. We specialize in guided bus tours that showcase the glamorous world of celebrity homes, iconic movie filming locations, historic landmarks, and the secret spots only locals know. Our passionate team of guides brings Tinseltown’s stories to life, providing a unique, intimate, and unforgettable exploration of Hollywood’s glitz, glamour, and rich entertainment history.

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Let us know what tour you are interested in, and when you are interested in booking it. We can’t wait to show you around our home town – Hollywood, California!

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Celebrity Homes Tour: The Real Hollywood Experience!

See the "real hollywood" on this one-of-a-kind, star-studded adventure, the celebrity homes tour is an experience of a lifetime.

Come see the playground of the rich and famous with your local experts!

Get the most out of your time in Los Angeles with this comprehensive tour that passes LA hot spots, famous landmarks, celebrity homes, while looking for Celebrities along the way!

Travel between sites on an open-air bus with interactive narration from your driver-guide that offers great photo opportunities along the way. Highlights include the Hollywood Sign, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Beverley Hills, the Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive, West Hollywood, and a selection of famous homes and celebrity hotspots. Keep your cameras at the ready you might spot a celebrity!!!

Remember, L.A. traffic is one of a kind – this tour is approximately 2 hours, with traffic permitting of course! We also strongly recommend checking the weather for the day of your tour & the listed websites for our stops to plan your dress accordingly.

Please arrive 15-minutes prior to your scheduled departure time so the group can depart on time.

Departures...

This tour departs hourly every day between 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.

Celebrity homes we see may include...

Here are just a few of the famous celebrity homes we may pass by on the tour, depending on the day:

Leonardo DiCaprio

Justin timberlake, elvis presley, johnny depp, marilyn monroe, quentin tarantino, michael jackson, & possibly many more, highlights you'll see on the tour....

Here are just a few of the famous landmarks and celebrity hotspots you’ll see on our tour…

The Walk of Fame

The hollywood sign, mullholland drive, hollywood hills, laurel canyon, beverly hills, the beverly hills sign, 15-minute stop, rodeo drive, west hollywood, the sunset strip, tcl chinese theatre, dolby theater, famous landmarks, movie & t.v filming locations, celebrity homes, celebrity spotting's, & much more, celebrity homes tour: the real hollywood experience photo gallery.

Here are some highlights of the Celebrity Homes Tour from our gallery!

Within 24 hours of departure time (for full-price tickets only).

All tour guides are Hollywood locals and provide commentary, jokes, and stories about LA and Hollywood's hotspots.

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What people are saying about the celebrity homes tour: the real hollywood experience..., about hollywood bus tours:.

We spot stars, cruise by their homes, see all the Hollywood and Los Angeles, California hot spots and everything in between. At Hollywood Bus Tours, we believe that there is a better way to offer tours than the industry standard. Because at the end of the day, who wants to be standard?

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Exciting Hollywood Bus Tour Experiences

There are some cities you can explore on your own, but when it comes to Los Angeles, it's best to bring a tour guide along. The information they provide is invaluable and enlightening without taking away from the fun of it all.

On these Hollywood bus tours, you'll get a comprehensive look at the area, along with hot tips and insider info. Let's take a closer look at each one so you'll know which ones to choose. No matter where your interests lie, you're bound to find an experience that suits your taste.

Access Hollywood Tours

Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of glamour when you book a tour with Access Hollywood. While relaxing in the open-air passenger bus, you'll cruise through popular sites like Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, and the Sunset Strip (to name just a few). Check out the homes of your favorite stars and pose for photos at famous landmarks.

If you have the time, consider the 5-1/2 hour Los Angeles City Tour, which offers a more comprehensive look at the city. Those of you with limited time might want to stick with the 2-hour Hollywood Bus Tour of Celebrity Homes.

Hollywood City Tours

When you book a tour with this reputable company, you'll get a luxury experience at a budget price. On the 2-hour Hollywood Tour, you'll explore Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and West Hollywood, all from the comfort of an open-air bus. Book the 7-hour LA Tour, which adds Santa Monica Beach to the itinerary and offers four convenient stops for a more comprehensive look at the region.

Note that if you choose to drive yourself to the pickup spot, you'll have to pay $15 for parking. Fortunately, that fee covers the entire day. Hollywood City Tours also offers pickup and drop-off service at all major hotels in Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills.

Hollywood Bus Tours

Hollywood Bus Tours offers guests the opportunity to customize their trip. You'll start by selecting a vehicle that will be driven by an expert guide. Then you'll create your personalized tour by either starting with one of their standard offerings as a base or starting completely from scratch. Standard choices include the Celebrity Homes Tour, the Grand LA Tour, and the Taste of LA Tour. Pricing starts at $499 for the first 2 hours.

Starline Tours

Looking for something a little more relaxed? Try booking Starline's One Day City Sightseeing Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour. There are several routes to choose from, and each one allows you to linger at any of the multiple stops for as long as you'd like. The first bus on the Santa Monica Route starts at 9:30 AM, with the last full loop departure setting out at 4:13 PM. The schedule varies slightly depending on which tour you choose, so make sure to check the company's website when planning your trip.

Ultimate Hollywood Tours

This glitzy outfit promises a day you'll never forget. The 2-hour celebrity home tour passes through Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, covering filming locations, the Hollywood Sign Overlook, the Rodeo Drive, and the Walk of Fame.

Sign up for the 5-hour Taste of Los Angeles Tour to prolong the fun, which will take you to the Santa Monica Pier and the Griffith Observatory. You can even enjoy lunch at the famed Farmer's Market.

Final Thoughts

While touring the city, don't forget to stop by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures . Dedicated to the history and cultural impact of the film industry, it will deepen your respect and understanding of everything you've seen. Enjoy your star-studded vacation!

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California Today

A Makeover for a Beloved Tourist Destination

Visitors make Hollywood Boulevard one of their first stops in Los Angeles. But when they arrive, the reality may not match the fantasy.

By Jill Cowan

Ask most anyone around the world to imagine Hollywood, or even Los Angeles, and they’ll probably think first of the Hollywood sign. Next might come sights along Hollywood Boulevard: the iconic stars of the Walk of Fame; the TCL Chinese Theater (formerly Grauman’s) at night, lit by spotlights painting the dark sky above; classic movie stars slinking into the Musso & Frank Grill for an ice-cold martini.

That’s why tourists often make Hollywood Boulevard one of their first stops in Los Angeles. With about 38 million visitors a year, the area known as the Hollywood Entertainment District is one of the region’s most visited destinations, outpacing even Disneyland, visited by about 16.8 million people in 2022.

When they arrive, though, the reality may not match the fantasy.

As Angelenos will loudly attest whenever they head toward Hollywood Boulevard for a concert or a centrally located happy hour, traffic there is often at a standstill, and people in the midst of mental health or substance-use episodes wander down the crowded sidewalks. Restaurants catering to tourists blast music, and costumed sales workers hawk discount souvenirs or bus tours, resulting in a cacophony. And about 30 percent of the street-level commercial space on the boulevard in the entertainment district is vacant — a 40-year problem, according to Kathleen Rawson, the president and chief executive of the Hollywood Partnership, the nonprofit that manages the area’s business improvement district.

“Hollywood has had a stigma for quite some time,” Rawson said.

But city officials hope that a plan aimed at making Hollywood Boulevard more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists could help turn that around — ideally before Los Angeles hosts the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

The plan — named “Access to Hollywood,” because, one assumes, the allusion was right there — would use $8 million in public money to expand sidewalks and add bus lanes, protected bike lanes and designated turning lanes to a 3.6 mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard extending from West Hollywood to Los Feliz. Pedestrian safety is a key goal: Right now, the thoroughfare is among the 6 percent of city streets in Los Angeles that account for 70 percent of the city’s deaths and severe injuries to walkers. Outdoor dining spaces along the boulevard will also be expanded.

“We know when people come here and they stay here and they shop here, they’re going to spend their money here,” said Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, who is spearheading the project and whose district encompasses most of the area. “They are going to make businesses more vibrant and make this truly the street that it should be: a world-class destination.”

Hollywood boosters, including Rawson and Soto-Martinez, hope that the transportation improvements will be the beginning of a broader revitalization of Hollywood Boulevard that could involve shutting the street to traffic more regularly, creating a pedestrian-friendly public space.

Rawson said other small improvements could make a big difference in encouraging visitors to spend time in the area. For example, she said, she hopes to raise money to pay for power-washing the Walk of Fame daily, rather than just twice a week. The boulevard has relatively few street trees; last year, the group planted 75. In the future, she said, she could envision more events on the street geared to both tourists and residents, like an outdoor World Cup watch party.

“We are dealing with the raw material here in this neighborhood that is prime for a little love and care,” she said. “The streetscape improvement plan is an amazing start to that.”

Steve Nissen, the chief executive of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which founded the Walk of Fame, said Hollywood Boulevard, like so many entertainment districts around the country, had cycled through highs and lows. While he acknowledged that recent years had been tough, he added, “We are now on a great upswing.”

He noted that Netflix, which already had an enormous office and studio footprint in Hollywood, recently spent $70 million to restore the century-old Egyptian Theater on the boulevard — the site of Hollywood’s first movie premiere event, in 1922.

The rest of the news

California can continue to set its own vehicle emission standards , a federal court ruled, blocking an attempt by Ohio, Alabama, Texas and other Republican-led states to revoke California’s authority to set standards higher than the federal government’s, The Associated Press reports.

The state has failed to adequately monitor the outcome of its spending on homelessness programs , according to the State Auditor’s Office, The Los Angeles Times reports.

A conservative group warns that legislation under consideration by California lawmakers to address how government agencies handle Black people’s applications for occupational licenses, a measure related to reparations for descendants of slaves, would be challenged , The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Southern California

The Rev. Cecil Murray, who used the First African Methodist Episcopal Church as a place for the Black community in Los Angeles to address social injustices, died at his home in the city. He was 94.

Arts institutions and galleries say they are not giving up on downtown Los Angeles, despite the financial damage done there, as in many cities, by the pandemic.

The Los Angeles City Council imposed a temporary moratorium on dog breeding permits after L.A. Animal Services reported that its shelters are filled to more than three times their normal capacity, KTLA reports.

Central California

A California appeals court ruled that Vince Fong, a Republican state legislator, can remain on the ballot for Kevin McCarthy’s former U.S. House seat while also running for re-election to the Assembly in November, Politico reports.

Northern California

A group of about 200 graduate students working at U.C. Law San Francisco filed to form a union , KQED reports.

And before you go, some good news

The St. Francis Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, built in 1926, was once the heart of Hollywood. The photographer Penny Wolin’s book “Guest Register” captures the spirit of the hotel through pictures of its residents .

Wolin took the photos nearly 50 years ago, when she was 21 and stayed at the hotel for three weeks, NPR reports. She wanted to learn more about the kinds of people who were living in a hotel that had once been famous for its movie-star glamour. She describes the St. Francis as “an existential place.”

Thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow.

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword .

Soumya Karlamangla , Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].

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Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this newsletter referred incorrectly to vacant commercial space in the Hollywood Entertainment District. The vacancy rate is 30 percent for street-level space along Hollywood Boulevard in the district, not for the district as a whole.

How we handle corrections

Jill Cowan is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering the forces shaping life in Southern California and throughout the state. More about Jill Cowan

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The 30-year hunt to find the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert bus: ‘My jaw was on the ground’

Not long after the 1994 film became a smash hit, the titular bus disappeared. Where did it go? Who had it? And could it be recovered before it was too late?

T hirty years ago, a humble silver bus was transformed into a cinematic icon when the low-budget Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert became a heart-warming, Oscar-winning smash hit.

But for years, no one has known where the bus used in Stephan Elliott’s film went. Not long after the 38-day shoot finished in 1993, it seemingly vanished without a trace. This did not stop countless Australians from claiming they either owned it or knew who owned it, or that they had spotted it somewhere up and down the country.

The story of where she ended up, and how she was found, is worthy of a film in itself.

‘We were a bit suspicious at first’

In the 1994 film, Priscilla is home to drag queens Mitzi Del Bra (Hugo Weaving), Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Guy Pearce) and transgender woman Bernadette Bassenger (Terence Stamp) as they drive from Sydney to Alice Springs.

In reality, Priscilla is a 1976 Japanese model Hino RC320. It was owned by Sydney company Boronia Tours before it was sold to a couple who leased the bus to Latent Images, the film’s production company, for the duration of the shoot in September and October 1993. Afterwards, the couple hired it out occasionally, including to the Australian band the Whitlams, who used it as a tour bus for six months in 1994.

But after that, Priscilla vanished without a trace.

For years, the bus was the white whale for curatorial staff at the History Trust of South Australia , who hoped to acquire it for the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, SA – home to several famous cars from cinema, including the Mad Max Bigfoot buggy.

So when a man called Michael Mahon got in touch with the History Trust in 2019 claiming Priscilla was sitting on his property in Ewingar, New South Wales (population: 67), no one really believed him.

“Michael sent a message saying he had the bus and wanted to sell it. I felt like I was in The Castle – I said, ‘tell him he’s dreaming’,” says Paul Rees, head of museums at the History Trust and former director of the National Motor Museum. “We were a bit suspicious at first, to be honest. But we put our Sherlock Holmes hats on and soon realised it wasn’t a joke, so we started our investigation.”

Curators spent months determining if the bus was truly Priscilla. “A few things really made us confident: it had the right number plates, the distinctive animal print curtains and dashboard cover, and the original name roller,” says Adam Paterson, manager curatorial at the History Trust.

Complicating matters were the many pretenders to the throne: there are many copies of Priscilla, including the bus that was driven around the 2000 Olympics closing ceremony in Sydney; another was made for the talent show I Will Survive; and the one used in the Priscilla stage show, now displayed in Broken Hill.

In the film, the bus is famously painted bright pink partway through – but because the film-makers could only afford one bus, they painted just half of it pink and left the other side silver so they could shoot out of sequence. Crucially, some old pink paint hadn’t been removed from a hinge.

“What convinced everyone in the end was the pink paint scrapings,” says Rees. “Curators are fantastically conservative - they will not jump until they’re absolutely sure. But I was jumping all over the place.”

S ome facts and dates remain a little murky, but what everyone agrees on is this: the couple who owned Priscilla eventually broke up and one of them got the bus in the separation. That person drove it to their new partner’s place in Ewingar sometime around 2006, where it was eventually abandoned when that relationship ended. When the owner of that house in Ewingar died, it was sold – complete with Priscilla – to Mahon in 2016.

“I’d been here in Ewingar for about six months when I went down to the community hall to say hello to everybody, and they said, ‘G’day! What are you going to do with the bus?’” says Mahon. “I said to the bloke behind the bar, ‘Why is everyone asking me about the bus?’ and he went, ‘That’s Priscilla!’ ‘Strewth,’ I said.”

Mahon did some research online and rewatched the film, then looked over the bus with fresh eyes. Everything matched, down to the number plates. He went on Facebook for advice on bus restoration, but “everyone thought I was an idiot and a liar because they thought she had been stolen or destroyed”.

Eventually he made friends with a few enthusiasts, who told him the rusting vehicle outside his house was known by two names in the bus-loving community. “One was ‘The Hunt for Red October’ because they’d been looking for it for years,” says Mahon. “The other was ‘the Holy Grail’.”

By that time, the bus had been languishing outdoors for a decade. In the years following, it survived multiple bushfires and floods. In October 2019, when huge flames came within centimetres of the bus, a water bomb struck it and saved it.

“The fire went right alongside Priscilla and took out a van, a boat and two cars right next to it,” Mahon says. “You wouldn’t believe it. It was 2,000-degree temperatures. The fire went straight over the roof of the house, the fireball was 50 feet above the treetop. But Priscilla survived.”

Right after the 2019 fires came floods, which made finding a new home for Priscilla even more urgent. “With all the rain, it started to really rust because it copped a lot of heat,” says Mahon. “Thankfully, the museum was in the same frame of mind as me – it is a true blue, ridgy-didge Australian icon. It’s got to be saved.”

“I ’ve heard it so many times – ‘I’ve got the bus!’ – that it gets boring,” says Stephan Elliott, the director and writer of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. When the History Trust got in touch to see if he could help verify the bus’s authenticity, he was sceptical.

“But I was astonished when they showed me the photos,” he says. “I said, ‘There’s two things I need to see: the carpet and if there is a side-railing on the roof.’ They sent more photos and I immediately said, ‘That’s it. You got her.’ My jaw was just on the ground.”

The side-railing was installed on the bus’s interior so a camera could be hung from it “like a little cable car”, to allow for moving shots inside the bus while it was on the road. “It’s so odd, no one else would think to put it there,” says Elliott.

The director, who fondly calls Priscilla “the old bus and chain”, wrote the film at the same time as his 1993 comedy Frauds, which ended up being made first. The experience was “terrible, the whole Hollywood nightmare … I was completely ruined by the end, I was literally a dribbling wreck.”

“We were having an early production meeting for Priscilla and I said, ‘I can’t do this. I don’t want to ever make a film again.’ Everyone was shocked. But Owen [Paterson, the production designer] said, ‘Well, there’s something that I’ve found and it’s about to pull up. Come and have a look.’

“So we’re sitting there in Paddington and around the corner she came. It was a very weird moment where I got inside the bus and I put my hand on the wall. I turned to everyone and said, ‘I think I can do this.’”

Elliott estimates he has seen 50 different copies of the bus over the years, “at premieres, Mardi Gras and daggy things”. “So to hear that the original was still alive, it was very special,” he adds. “I don’t understand how it is. It is just extraordinary.”

G iven the complex nature of who actually owned Priscilla, having been abandoned on a deceased estate, the History Trust applied to the NSW courts to buy the vehicle as abandoned property in 2021, 18 months after Mahon first contacted them. This process required them to wait another whole year for someone to come forward to claim it as their own. But no one did.

Mahon was finally deemed the legal owner of the bus and sold it to the History Trust in May 2023. In September, “a whole army of very experienced mechanics and engineers” turned up to Ewingar to move her for the first time in at least 16 years.

“I was actually on leave but I drove myself all the way to NSW to watch it be moved – this is what a project like this does to you,” says Rees.

The bus’s flat tyres were carefully filled with air; if they couldn’t be filled or burst, it would become a much more complex operation. Everyone held their breath as the bus was wriggled “inch by inch” out of a tight spot on a slope, then down the hill on to a truck. Just as it went on, one tyre popped.

Ten or so Ewingar locals gathered to watch her go. (“Word started to spread and as the bus drove out, they all sort of waved goodbye,” says Paterson. “That was pretty cool.”)

Was Mahon sad to see Priscilla go? “Yes and no,” he says. “I believe museums are important, so it was going to the right place.” But long after she was taken, he felt a pang when he looked over the spot, “like something was missing”.

“Part of me was gone,” Mahon says. “But if it stayed where it was for another 12 months, it probably would have been unrepairable.”

Priscilla is now at a restoration business in Queensland, ready to be glammed up – but not too much.

“We are restoring it to the state it was in during the making of Priscilla because the film is why it is significant,” says Rees. “So if the crew say it was a bit manky then, then it’s going to be that way when we’re done with it.”

But Priscilla was almost 20 years old when she featured in the film and will turn 50 in two years’ time, so she needs a lot of work. The History Trust is hoping people around the world will help raise A$2.2m (US$1.4m/£1.1m) – a total that includes A$750,000 for an extensive restoration, including possibly making the bus roadworthy again. The rest will go to building an ambitious “immersive” exhibit, fit for a queen, in the National Motor Museum in South Australia. (The SA government has already committed $100,000.)

“She’s not in good shape, she’s not been loved and cared for. But she’s very, very salvageable – if you’ve got money to throw at it,” says Rees. “We want the exhibition to be fabulous. If we’re taking her on the road to Mardi Gras, we want that to be a fabulous experience. All those things cost a lot of money, as do the decades of care we will provide her with.

“It’s survived flood, fires, 16 years out in the open,” he adds. “But the film is all about survival – and somehow, the bus survived.”

• Australian film
• South Australia
• New South Wales

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Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates 60 years with this new Studio Tour experience

Universal Studios Hollywood reissues iconic Glamor Trams as the world-renowned Studio Tour celebrates a milestone 60 years. (Photo credit: Victoria Wall Harris/Universal Studios Hollywood)

LOS ANGELES - Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates the Studio Tour's 60th anniversary this season with a new, "experiential" addition to their popular Los Angeles back lot tours. 

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Universal Studios Hollywood reissues iconic Glamor Trams as world-renowned Studio Tour celebrates a milestone 60 years. (Photo credit Victoria Wall Harris/Universal Studios Hollywood)

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