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As the Strip lies west of the Los Angeles city limits and was an unincorporated area under the jurisdiction of the County of Los Angeles, the area was under the less vigilant jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department rather than the heavy hand of the LAPD. It was illegal to gamble in the city but legal in "the county." This fostered the building of a rather wilder center of nightlife than Los Angeles would tolerate and in the 1920s a lot of nightclubs and casinos went in along the Strip, which attracted movie people to this less restricted area, with ample amounts of alcohol flowing from back rooms during the days of prohibitionFor the judicial writ of prohibition, see Prohibition (writ). For prohibition of drugs in general, see Prohibition (drugs . Prohibition was the period between 1919- 1932 in Finland (called 'kieltolaki'), between 1900 and 1948 in locations in Canada and be.

Glamour and glitz defined the Strip in the 1930sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented Link Trainer invented Sc and the 1940sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the, with its renowned restaurants and clubs, which became a playground for the rich and famous. There were movie legends and power brokers, and everyone who was anyone danced into stardom at such legendary clubs as Ciro'sCiro's was a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. Opening in 1939, Ciro's combined an overdone baroque interior and an unadorned exterior and became a famous hangout for movie people of the 1940s, 1950s an, the MocamboThe Mocambo was a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8588 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It was opened on January 3, 1941, and the Macambo became an immediate success. 100,000 had been spent on the decor of the club with a Latin American t and the TrocaderoThis article is about Trocadero restaurants and clubs. For the section of Paris for which they have been named, see: Trocadero. For the band, see: Trocadero (band The Battle of Trocadero in southern Spain, a citadel held by liberal Spanish forces that was. And some of its expensive nightclubs and restaurants were said to be owned by gangsters like Mickey CohenMickey Cohen (died 1976) was a gangster in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles. He was investigated by the Kefauver Commission in 1950, and as a result was sentenced to prison of four years for tax evasion. He was again convicted for tax evasion in 1961, serving. Other spots on the strip associated with Hollywood include the Garden of AllahAlternate meaning: Garden of Allah (cabaret The Garden of Allah was a famous apartment building in West Hollywood, California, on Sunset Boulevard between Crescent Heights and Havenhurst, at the east end of the Sunset Strip. Although built in a Moroccan s apartments and Schwab's Drugstore .

By the early 1960s, the Strip lost favor with the majority of movie people. But its restaurants, bars and clubs, continued to be an attraction for locals and out-of-town tourists. In the mid-1960s and the 1970s, it became a major center for the counterculture as Go-Go dancers did their thing at such spots as the Whisky A Go-Go. Bands like The Doors, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield (whose song For What It's Worth was about a police riot in the summer of 1966 against hippies), Love, The Seeds, Frank Zappa and many others played at clubs like the Whisky A Go-Go, the Roxy, Pandora's Box and the London Fog (now the Viper Room, where River Phoenix would later die of a heroin overdose). Also, every important rock band who came to Los Angeles would play at these clubs.

The Strip continued to be a major focus for punk rock and new wave during the late 1970s, and heavy metal during much of the 1980s, respectively. With the increase in rents in the area during the 1980s, however, and the decline of the heavy metal scene in the early 1990s, first with the coming of grunge, followed by Britpop, the Sunset Strip ceased to be a major area for up and coming rock bands without industry sponsorship. The adoption of "pay to play" tactics, in which bands were charged a fee to play at clubs like the Roxy, the Whisky and Gazzari's (now the Key Club ), also diminished the appeal to rock bands other than as an industry showcase. The music industry dominates clubs on the Strip such as those mentioned above, and only major acts perform at the House of Blues . Thus, during the 1990s, the center of more alternative music activity in Los Angeles shifted further east to areas like Silverlake, Los Feliz and Echo Park.

In November 1984, voters in West Hollywood passed a proposal on the ballot to incorporate and the area became an independent city. Increasingly, the western end of the Strip is occupied by office buildings, mostly catering to the entertainment industry, and expensive hotels. This area seems to have become an adjunct of Beverly Hills only with more nightlife activity, much of it more and more upscale.

Many celebrities can still be seen on the strip, especially on its western end, and quite a few live in the area, the nearby Hollywood Hills and Laurel Canyon.

In the evening, the Strip is a vibrant slash of neon, a virtual traffic jam of young cruisers on weekends and a mecca for people-watchers and celebrity wannabes.

See also: 77 Sunset Strip for the successful TV series.