For years Hollywood had been know to us locals as "Hollyweird" - a very seedy place. That is changing, in particular around Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Blvd. That area has the Mann's Chinese Theater with the footprints in cement, Disney's/Pacific's El Capitan theater (beautifully restored) and the gleaming new theater/shopping complex, Hollywood and Highland. This is where the Kodak theater is which is now the home of the Oscar ceremonies. Much of Hollywood, inclulding parts of Hollywood Blvd., still needs a lot of cleaning up. If you stick to the area around Hollywood and Highland, you should feel pretty safe because of the number of people walking around. Between Highland and Vine on Hollywood Blvd., I probably would only walk during the daytime.