Los Angeles: A fire has torn through a hip nightclub at the storied corner of Hollywood and Vine covering the landmark-studded neighborhood with smoke and ash. No injuries has been reported.

The one-story building, built in the 1920s or 30s, is now home to the Basque Nightclub Restaurant, but it was not open at the time, firefighters said yesterday.

Lindsay Lohan celebrated her 21st birthday at the club and Kanye West partied there just last week.

Councilman Tom LaBonge said he was hiking near the Griffith Park Observatory at 5:45 am local time when he saw the fire erupt a few miles away. "I saw what looked like an orange meteor busting through the roof ... A half moon of orange glow."

The fire was knocked down by 8 am, Battalion Chief Mario Rueda said at a news conference in front of the charred club.

The corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was a mecca for stars and fans in Hollywood's Golden Era when many nightclubs were nearby. The famed art deco Pantages Theatre and the 1950s-vintage Capitol Records Building - shaped like a stack of discs - are just a short distance away.

Hollywood likes to call it the world's "most famous intersection in the most famous neighborhood." Stars immortalised in the Walk of Fame at the corner include James Stewart, James Dean, Judy Garland, Deborah Kerr and Slim Whitman.

Many of the buildings in the area have been renovated and restored in recent years.

Source : PTI