section_path: Cultural aspects
section_name: Cultural aspects
paragraph_text: Cultural aspects
  
  The Sunset Strip portion of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood has been famous for its active nightlife since at least the 1950s.
  
  In contrast to other American cities where it referred to a concentration of radio retailers, in Los Angeles, Radio Row was understood in the 1940s–1950s as the area around the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, where the broadcasting facilities of all four major radio networks were located.
  
  In the 1970s, the area between Gardner Street and Western Avenue was a center for street prostitution. Shortly after a much publicized incident in late June 1995, police raids drove out the majority of prostitutes on the Boulevard.
  
  Part of Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is also sometimes called "Guitar Row" due to the large number of guitar stores and music industry-related businesses, including the recording studios Sunset Sound Studios and United Western Recorders.
  
  The portion of Sunset Boulevard that passes through Beverly Hills was once named Beverly Boulevard.
  
  The boulevard is commemorated in Billy Wilder 's film Sunset Boulevard (1950), the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of the same name, and the 1950s television series 77 Sunset Strip. Jan and Dean 's 1960s hit song " Dead Man's Curve " refers to a section of the road near Bel Air estates just north of UCLA 's Drake Stadium where Jan Berry almost died in an automobile accident in 1966. The Buffalo Springfield song " For What It's Worth " was written about a riot at Pandora's Box, a Sunset Strip club, in 1966.
  
  Metro Local lines 2, 4 and 602 operate on Sunset Boulevard, with Line 2 running through most of Sunset Boulevard between Echo Park and UCLA, Line 4 between Sunset Junction and Downtown LA, and Line 602 from UCLA west. The Metro B Line operates a subway station at Vermont Avenue.
  
  At 4334 W. Sunset Boulevard lies the wall featured on the cover of the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith 's 2000 album Figure 8. Since Smith's death in 2003, the wall has become a memorial for the artist; fans have left many personal messages there over the years.