Hollywood is a Dump!

Not all of Hollywood mind you (I haven't been to most of it), just the Hollywood Boulevard.  The place made famous by having stars of the stars in the sidewalk.  I was in LA for a business trip and some friends and I went up to Hollywood.

Coming out of the Hollywood and Highland Metro station, we immediately saw the stars on the walk of fame. The first corner had a Frederick's of Hollywood, so there really is a place, not just randomly named stores in malls across America.  It went downhill from there.

Walking East, we were met with following 6 types of businesses:
1) Lingerie shops, none of which looked as classy as Frederick's
2) Smoke shops (and I should include Marijuana Clinics in this as well - I was told by the worker that it was legal and he could get me a doctor's referal if needed)
3) Tattoo parlors (sometimes as part of a lingerie shop or smoke shop or both)
4) Mom & Pop restaurants (we never went in one of these, but they might be good)
5) Tour companies to take you around and see the homes of the stars
6) Scientology shops/temples/recruit centers, I don't know what you would call them, but when the front window is covered with 1000 copies of the same L. Ron Hubbard book it has something to do with Scientology

The further East we went, the seedier it looked.  By Hollywood and Vine, we turned back on the other side of the street.  Same stuff.  There are three things on Hollywood Blvd that don't look like dumps.  The TCL Chinese Theater (with all of the concrete handprints), across from this the El Capitan Theater (owned by Disney - they were getting ready for the premiere of The Great and Powerful Oz that night) and the semi shopping mall/strip mall next to these.

Everything else looks like you wouldn't want to be there after dark.  Except for the stars, they do look pretty cool.