For me there is Hollywood and there is Los Angeles, two closely linked but distinctly different places. When I fly to LA to do business, I spend a lot of my time in Hollywood. Not the geographic area, but an entertainment business state of mind, which encompasses a lot of buildings, restaurants, clubs and sound stages. So the Hollywood of the mind is actually scattered all over the city.

But the City of Los Angeles (and Beverly Hills and Santa Monica) is much more complex and cozier than outsiders think. Over the past 28 years I’ve averaged three trips a year to LA and, as recently as 2007, I lived in the city for six months. So while I don’t know LA like a native, I do know it much better than your typical tourist.

That’s why the separation of Hollywood as a state of mind and LA, the city, is so powerful for me. Because of its sprawl and its many hidden neighborhoods, LA is also a place where history is hidden -- sometimes in plain sight.

I thought I’d use a little known black history fact as my guide around town, using the past as a way to introduce folks to places and spaces in the present.

Paul Revere Williams, a black architect, played an important role in the visual definition of this celebrated city. Despite racism that would prevent him from walking in the front door of buildings he’d designed, Williams had a quite varied career. Before his death in 1981 Williams designed major public spaces as well as private homes with clients that included dancer/actor Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson and singer Frank Sinatra.

Hollywood is home to one of Williams’ most utilitarian buildings, the Hollywood Y. Located on Schrader, just up from Sunset Boulevard; this athletic facility serves Angelinos from Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silverlake and even West Hollywood. Before my celebrated retirement from basketball (what, you missed my farewell tour?), I used to catch runs at the spirited games played on the Hollywood Y’s two regulation full courts. In the games there you’ll find yourself battling for rebounds against stand up comedians, record producers and other folks who have time to play ball during weekdays. The building also has a full range of classes, fitness machines and is very family friendly.

The area in Hollywood surrounding the Y is undergoing a massive re-development. A huge W Hotel will be opening soon at Hollywood & Vine as will a Whole Foods. Loft styled apartments have reclaimed many vintage buildings and nightclubs proliferate including Les Deux on North Las Palmas Ave., which is very popular for post-premiere bashes. On the Highland end of Hollywood Boulevard is the Kodak Theater, where the Academy awards are held, and the Chinese theater, where the footprints of many generations of stars are immortalized in concrete. And those stars on Hollywood Boulevard still line the street and are pretty regularly updated. My friend Chris Rock was just awarded one a couple of years ago.

On Cahuenga, just two blocks from the Y, Aklia’s Rehab Salon, a black owned space run by Aklia Chinn, who’s been selling Egyptian/Afrocentric influenced jewelry and providing hair care and skin treatments since 1995. The shop is a little gem of black entrepreneurship in Hollywood just a block away from CNN’s Los Angeles headquarters and Amoeba Records, one of the nation’s last great record stores.

Using Williams’ architecture as a guide I traveled across Sunset, heading west and passing by the flashy hotels and sidewalk cafes for West Hollywood to the more exclusive area known as Beverly Hills. You can immediately feel the difference between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Sunset widens, the greenery abounds and pedestrians disappear. The tall trees obscure the many palatial homes behind them and give Beverly Hills a posh, even intimidating feel.

One of William’s most famous buildings is obscured by such trees, though anyone who’s anyone in Hollywood is comfortable driving up to the front of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The hotel opened in 1912 and Williams was hired to renovate and update the place in 1943, a task that took him four years to complete.

The Beverly Hills Hotel has been associated with power and status. With its distinctive green & peach color motif, its long, secluded driveway and popular private bungalows, this place screams old school Hollywood glamour. It is the irony of this place is that a black man, who’d be considered an outsider, created such an insider hang out.

If you are looking for a peek at star power its regularly on display at the hotel’s famous Polo Lounge. Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston and Jamie Foxx are just a few of the folks I’ve spotted having lunch there over the years, not to mention the many studio executives and producers who frequent the place. Anybody can make a reservation and get a table, but where that table is located is definitely based on you’re A, B or C level status. The most desirable tables are outside and offer a nice view of, as Aretha said, who’s zoomin’ who. The secluded bungalows offer privacy and secrecy; so if you roll by don’t be surprised to be paparazzi with long lens cameras across the street.