North Highland Ave, West Hollywood

Highland Avenue isn't a street that I would ever want to live on; but, it is definitely an integral part of the Hollywood area. The Highland exit off of the 101 is the exit that you take to get into both Hollywood and West Hollywood, so it is pretty much always congested. Add the Hollywood Bowl and the Hollywood and Highland center to the equation and it is often a traffic nightmare (especially in the summer when the Bowl is open and tourists are more prevalent). But, once you get past Hollywood, Highland is actually one of the fastest streets you can take to head south. I usually cut over from Cahuenga after Sunset and can fly all the way down to Beverly in just minutes.
The Beverly area of Highland is really lovely-- Hancock Park is one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. But, I still wouldn't live on Highland proper even in this neighborhood because it's just too busy and traffic goes too fast. The weird thing about Highland is that just a few blocks north at Sunset, Highland is really sketchy. We used to go to the area to get food after we went out and the entire intersection is filled with drug addicts, hookers and trannies. You have to be really careful around the Highland and Sunset area after midnight.
The Hollywood and Highland area is really appealing to tourists but the locals, generally, don't go there. I go there sometimes to catch a film or pick something up quickly if I'm nearby; but, I don't prefer any of the restaurants or shops that are in the center. I also don't prefer to be hit up by Spiderman or Marilyn Monroe impersonators every 30 seconds when I'm trying to run errands so I try to avoid the area. But, tourists seem to love the intersection and so do the people whom cater to tourists.
I would say out of all the restaurants to hit on Highland, I would do Ammo on the way to the Hollywood Bowl. But, other than those two things, it's really a great street to drive on and that's about it.

Highland is the mecca of tourist trapps. You have the Chinese theatre, a ton of gift shops, Kodak, and much much more. You also have the greatest out of work actors ever that try to sell you everything from CD's to hats. I like the buzz and it is exciting as well, but can get boring. The good thing is you can follow this street for a long ways and it does lose the touristy feeling and when you hit it by Manhattan Beach you get the calm and serenity of a beach side town. I like it and recommend it...you will get bothered by the homeless and people trying to make cash, but it's worth it.

You should've seen this place back in the 90's! What an improvement. With one exception: Mann's Chinese Theatre. They took a black and red exotic theatre and fussed it up and made it look like everything else. Boo! However!, It's about time LA decided to actually treat the tourists with respect. If Hollywood is the grand mecca of all things entertainment then finally it's starting to show itself to be with a giant shopping center and now Kodak Theatre. The upside is old bastions like the Roosevelt Hotel and El Capitan Theatre (on Hollywood Blvd) now have company- the downside is the usual run of the mill stores that are found EVERYWHERE- like the Gap! Boring! And with mass consumerism comes of course, the CROWDS! Luckily the parking center on Highland has decent validation discounts and there's a Lucky Strike Bowling alley tucked right in amongst the madness. Because of this intersection it's usually favorable to avoid it at all costs unless you happen to be traveling to the Hollywood Bowl- (but even then walking or using the "Park n' Ride" are better options) or are in fact headed into the Hollywood/Highland "Babylon Courts"- so named for a famous silent movie/set I think... ?? Besides that Highland is pretty un-notable. It is a useful artery to take all the way down to West LA and to Wilshire- you can look at the pretty mansions and think, wow, it must suck to live on such a high traffic street. Instead take Vine to Wilshire which turns into Rossmore... and 3rd/6th street to avoid the high traffic madness. Good times.