You may never have noticed the dinner plate–sized, round, bronze-and-terrazzo markers set into the pavement near the corner of Lindbrook Drive and Westwood Boulevard. Those of us who work in the village walk over them, around them and on them nearly every day, mostly paying no heed. But they’re worth stopping to look at as you walk up and through the brick-covered, commercial complex known as Westwood’s Village Square. In other words, follow the red brick road.
Depending on your age, you may realize pretty quickly that these intriguing circular markers are an homage to Los Angeles’ most legendary export: the movies. To be more specific, to the best of them, with one marker for every Best Picture winner honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, starting from the earliest days of the industry (Wings, 1928) and ending, curiously, with 1977’s Annie Hall.
Westwood and Hollywood have been linked together since 1925. Follow our extensive timeline detailing UCLA’s centurylong romance with the silver screen.
All of which begs the question: Why is there a tribute to Oscar-winning movies on a random street abutting the UCLA campus? And why does it end with a movie made almost 50 years ago?
I took my own walk, looking for answers. I discovered that the path was dedicated in 1977, with a star-studded ceremony presided over by then-mayor and UCLA alumnus Tom Bradley. The Westwood Walk of Fame, a brainchild of the property’s management team, was intended to be a unique feature, something that would set the complex apart from others (and, presumably, draw retail and office tenants). It would be the movie version of Hollywood’s world-famous Walk of Fame.
This history lesson of 20th-century cinema can be completed in about 250 steps. As you walk through the decades — and especially if you’re a bit of a daydreamer, like me — each of the titles will likely conjure up historical touchpoints from the era in which they were released: The Roaring Twenties. The Great Depression. World War II. Mid-century. The Vietnam War. The Civil Rights Movement. Disco and punk rock. The beginnings of the environmental movement.
Like the movies themselves, your journey through the titles will carry its own narrative structure. You start out on busy, noisy Lindbrook Drive, then head west and up the brick steps. The path doesn’t always follow a straight line, which is part of the fun. By the time you reach The Sound of Music, you’re nearing the end of the trail, on the other side of the privately owned complex on Westwood Boulevard. Then you’re back at street level.
Which still leaves the obvious question: Why does the walk stop at Annie Hall? Marta Vukovich ’82, vice president for investor relations with the Cal-American Corporation (the owner of the complex) explains, echoing Norma Desmond: It’s not the pictures that got small, but rather the project’s budget. It’s a familiar tale. After the original management team member left the company, there was no one left to champion the walk’s completion. Vukovich says that perhaps one day there may be the resources to continue the series, but for now the road stops here.
“We have a staff favorite,” she says. “Wings. As the inaugural winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Wings not only set a precedent for the prestigious honor, but also marked a significant moment in cinematic history, making it a lasting symbol of the early days of Hollywood’s golden age” — and the Oscars’ first 50 years.
Now, if only we could find the funds to pay tribute to the last 50. In the meantime, enjoy the stroll.
Read more from UCLA Magazine’s Winter 2026 issue.
