Appetite for Destruction Alley — Gardner Street, Hollywood

The alley behind 7512 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood — near the intersection with Gardner Street — is believed to be the location depicted in the Robert Williams painting originally intended as the cover of Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction (1987). The area around Gardner Street was the band's stomping ground during their pre-fame years, and the alleys, parking lots, and back streets of this stretch of Hollywood became inseparable from their mythology. The album was recorded at Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park and at Take One Studio and other facilities around Los Angeles.

Appetite for Destruction is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. Its success was built on 'Welcome to the Jungle,' 'Sweet Child O' Mine,' and 'Paradise City' — songs written during the band's years of poverty and excess in Hollywood. The Gardner Street area, including the nearby 'Hell House' where the band squatted, was the backdrop for much of the songwriting. Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin, and Steven Adler were living hand-to-mouth in this neighbourhood when the album was recorded.

The stretch of Sunset Boulevard and surrounding streets between La Brea and Fairfax remains a pilgrimage destination for GNR fans. While many of the specific locations have changed, the area retains its slightly seedy character, and the proximity of the Hell House, the Cathouse, the Whisky, and the Rainbow means fans can walk the band's entire early geography in an afternoon.