The monument in front of you is officially called the Hollywood and La Brea Gateway, but everyone knows it as The Four Ladies of Hollywood. This gleaming kiosk, about nine meters tall, looks like a movie set crossed with a Greek temple and a giant Oscar trophy. It’s held up by four polished steel female figures, as if they’re carrying all of Hollywood on their shoulders. These women weren’t chosen at random: Mae West, famous for her witty and provocative lines; Dorothy Dandridge, the first Black actress nominated for an Oscar; Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first international Asian-American star; and Dolores del Río, the first major Latin-American film star. Each broke barriers in an era when Hollywood offered very little space for diversity. Originally, a fifth figure looked down from the top—Marilyn Monroe in her iconic billowing dress—but in 2019, a man climbed the monument and sawed her statue off to steal it. She was never recovered. Designed in 1994 by Catherine Hardwicke, who would later direct Twilight, the monument sparked controversy: some saw it as brilliant, others as painfully kitsch. Perhaps that’s exactly what makes it so Hollywood—a mix of glamour, excess, humor, and constant spectacle, perfectly suited to welcome visitors along the Walk of Fame.