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A view of a part of the eastern end of the Melrose Avenue District.

Melrose Avenue is a well-known Los Angeles street that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Hoover Street in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beverly Boulevard and south of Santa Monica Boulevard.

Melrose is also useful as an east-west thoroughfare since it is usually at least four lanes in width, and left turns are prohibited during rush hour.

Its most famous section, known as the Melrose District, is the west end through West Hollywood and Hollywood. The western end, popularly referred to as Melrose Heights, runs from Santa Monica Blvd. to Fairfax Avenue and features a variety of upscale restaurants, boutiques, and salons such as Elixir (teahouse), The Bodhi Tree (metaphysical and New Age bookstore), Fred Segal, and The Improv (world famous comedy club.)

North of the intersection with La Cienega Boulevard is Melrose Place, a branch of the main avenue made famous thanks to the TV show of the same name. However, in actuality, Melrose Place does not feature any residences, but instead is home to a number of high-end boutiques and salons.

Another view of Melrose Avenue

The eastern end of the district, which runs from Fairfax to La Brea Avenue, became a popular underground and new wave shopping area in the early 1980s, featuring the opening of stores such as Vinyl Fetish and Retail Slut, both of which closed several years ago. The Burger That Ate L.A., a landmark fast food stand, was replaced with a Starbucks in recent years, and the area has witnessed an upsurge in tourism and a significant decrease of the underground and countercultural elements. The original Johnny Rockets opened in this part of Melrose in 1986.

At the corner of Fairfax and Melrose is the Fairfax High School, which marks the start of the Fairfax District.