Neil Armstrong in Hollywood Walk of Fame

From July 16 to 24, 1969, Apollo 11 was celebrated as the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The astronauts aboard the spacecraft were Commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, and command module pilot Michael Collins. This American crew landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, traveling in the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle.

Why Is Neil Armstrong on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

Hollywood honored Neil Armstrong and his crew for their achievement in the television industry, rather than for landing on the Moon.

Armstrong became the first astronaut to step onto the lunar surface, staying there for 6 hours and 39 minutes. Aldrin later joined him. While on the Moon, Armstrong said, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” They spent two and a quarter hours exploring outside the spacecraft.

Neil Armstrong in Hollywood Walk of Fame

At the beginning of the 1970s, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored the Apollo XI mission and the American astronauts who landed on the moon with a brilliantly crafted astounding award in the category of Television. It was presented to them as a tribute to the first television walk on the Moon.

Because of their achievement, the Apollo 11 astronauts made it in the Walk of Fame, and the markers on the sidewalk are unique. They are round, unlike the rest of them, which are star-shaped.

Every plaque has three astronauts, such as Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin who landed on the moon and Michael Collins who orbited it.

If you are wondering why they are honored in the Hollywood Walk of Fame it is because their journey was live telecasted on the Television.

Ana Martinez who is a Hollywood Historic Trust Spokeswoman, described the telecast from the moon as a “single-most-important live TV broadcast ever.” 

Martinez said that the Walk of Fame contains bronze markers that were placed on all four sides of the intersection’s terrazzo sidewalks. It portrays astronauts reaching to the four sides of the world. The plagues may look like the moon. The circular plaques contain the name of the space mission and the date of the first moon landing 7/20/69. The moon-like plaques are in grey and silver terrazzo circles and also have a square pink terrazzo background. It was decorated with a television emblem at the top of every circle.

Did You Know?

1. A crater on the Moon is named after Armstrong.
2. Armstrong had a military career before becoming an astronaut.
3. Neil’s passion for aviation and flight was ignited when he took his first airplane ride at age 6.
4. Armstrong’s quick thinking and composure helped save the Apollo 11 mission.
5. The footprints of Neil and Buzz are still on the Moon.
6. Armstrong stopped signing autographs after discovering people were selling them online.
7. Neil Armstrong was a professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati for 8 years.
8. Armstrong visited the North Pole in 1985.
9. Armstrong’s star is located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
10. Neil was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive from the U.S. government