Where does the Sunset Strip begin and end? I'm a little puzzled by this article which addresses this vital controversy. According to the piece, the West Hollywood Convention and Visitors Bureau is insisting that the name only applies to the portion of Sunset Boulevard that is within West Hollywood. The report says that if this standard is upheld, a number of places like the Chateau Marmont and the big Virgin Megastore — which have always been referred to as being on "The Strip" — will lose that distinction. The Virgin Megastore and attendant mall are on the site where the world famous Schwab's Drugstore once stood. Once upon a time, Schwab's was probably the most famous thing on the Sunset Strip…but they're now saying that plot of land isn't part of that boulevard of tinsel 'n' glamour. How could this have happened?
Well, I'm in an investigatory mood tonight and this page on the website of the West Hollywood Convention and Visitors Bureau says the Strip is "Crescent Heights to Doheny." That would exclude (by a matter of inches) the Virgin mall, which is on the Southeast corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights. But the Chateau Marmont is a couple blocks west of Crescent Heights so it is along the stretch from Crescent Heights to Doheny.
The Times article suggests that the Chateau Marmont is east of the point where West Hollywood leaves off and plain ol' Hollywood begins. But on this page of the Visitor Bureau's website, you'll find a link to a map they drew up which shows West Hollywood extending all the way east to La Brea. So not only is the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, so is the Virgin Megastore and the Laugh Factory and all the businesses which the article says are complaining about the newly-defined cut-off point. (They seem to be a little confused on that page of the website, by the way. There's a link that says it will take you to "a detailed city map through MapQuest." And it does take you to a detailed city map…of the middle of Kansas.)
So it sounds like someone is playing fast and loose with the geography…or maybe they're just shaken up because the Dudley Do-Right Emporium, a gift shop on the site of the Jay Ward Studio located on Sunset one block west of Crescent Heights — is closing down. The Bullwinkle statue's being moved too, I'm told. That's enough to confuse anyone.