Footlights to fame

You can see all the stars on Hollywood Boulevard, but why should Los Angeles get all the glitz and glitter? Boston's latest idea for creating a world-class city is a Walk of Fame of its own, with stars' names in the pavement and, officials say, all the pomp and celebrity of the real deal.

Saying the history-steeped city has for too long hidden its claim on Hollywood flash under a bushel, the Boston Redevelopment Authority is reviewing proposals to create a walk, ''which may take the form of signature icons embedded into sidewalks . . . to honor musicians, actors, artists, etc. that have ties to Boston," along theater-studded sections of Tremont, Stuart, and Boylston streets.

''Even though we own the brand on historical tourism, we can modernize it too," said City Councilor John Tobin, who brought the idea to Mayor Thomas M. Menino. ''From an economic point of view, it's a way to make the Theater District more vibrant and bring more people."

Promoters of the idea gush with possibilities: Like its world-famous Hollywood counterpart, they say, Boston's Walk of Fame could entail celebrity parties, media blitzes, and legions of cheering fans. The only thing it might lack is those bronze-rimmed pink terrazzo stars.

''Maybe it'll be a lobster, maybe it'll be a codfish," said Harry Collings, the BRA's executive director/secretary. ''We're not sure."

He said the BRA will choose a company to run the project in the next couple of months, and he hopes to see the first star/lobster/codfish installed by the end of this year.

With its Yankee reserve and cobblestone-and-gaslight image, Boston may not immediately spring to mind as the ideal spot for a monument to the entertainment business. But cities across the country have been copying Hollywood's walk, trying to cash in on local pride and whatever celebrities might be around.

The Palm Springs-b ased Motion Picture Hall of Fame Foundation, one of two companies that responded to the BRA's request for proposals, also manages walks of stars in Palm Springs and Las Vegas. It recently signed contracts for similar walks in Anaheim, Calif., and Branson, Mo. -- a hot tourist destination for aging country music buffs -- and has a proposal pending in Chicago.

''The Boston Walk of Stars is a long-overdue project," Robert Alexander, the company's president, wrote to the BRA, adding that it ''will surely bring a new level of pride, excitement, and tourism, as well as add to the charm and worldwide prominence Boston already enjoys."

Anaheim, home of Disneyland, is hoping its Walk of Stars will help the city stand out from neighboring Los Angeles and other Southern California cities, said John Nicoletti, a spokesman for the city of Anaheim.

''We're hoping to establish our own identity," he said. The walk, he added, will not highlight ''just any random star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, but people who have lived part of their life in Anaheim and Orange County and who have made significant contributions to communities here. . . . like Michelle Pfeiffer, Will Ferrell, Walt Disney. And Walter Knott, from Knott's Berry Farm."

Greater Boston has an obvious list of hometown celebs: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Aerosmith, New Kids on the Block, New Edition, Jay Leno, and Conan O'Brien, to name a few.

Who else? Elizabeth Maslen, 21, who is studying musical theater at The Boston Conservatory, suggested Charlotte Cushman, who was born in Boston in 1816 and became the first American international stage actress, playing both Hamlet and Lady Macbeth. Maslen's friend Kristen Klein, 20, a dance student at the same school, thought of E. Virginia Williams, founder of the Boston Ballet. Byron Lepine, 21, a student at Berklee College of Music, proposed John Blackwell, a Berklee alumnus and drummer for Prince.

''Adam Sandler is from Manchester [N.H.]," he added. ''But that's close enough, right?"

Alexander, the Motion Picture Hall of Fame Foundation president who has been to Boston just once before, said he did not have his list of Bostonian luminaries handy because he was traveling in Canada this week. But he said the list could include humanitarians and other civic leaders as well as Hollywood types.

And what about politicians?

''I'm not sure of the names of famous politicians from Boston," he said from his cellphone last week, adding, after some prompting by someone on his end of the conversation, that ''many of the Kennedys are from Boston."

Both Alexander and the other bidder, Boston-based TRP Sports and Entertainment, propose establishing a committee of city officials and arts community leaders who would solicit nominations and select the honorees.

The project would be self-financing; the company in charge of it would raise money to pay for each icon and the events associated with unveilings. TRP, which has handled public relations for Berklee College of Music, Liberty Mutual, and Boston's Fourth of July celebration, among many others, also proposed a charitable component to benefit the arts community in Boston.

''The idea is this will be an opportunity to continue to support the arts and make sure there are stars in Boston for years to come," said Chip Rives, the company's CEO.

Walks of Fame are not without their perils, however.

Tower Records started a musicians' walk of fame outside its store on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Newbury Street in the late '90s, but the handful of stars disappeared from the sidewalk when the store left a few years ago.

The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a big attraction for visitors, said Bert Kronmiller, director of communications for the city's Chamber of Commerce. But he said relatives of the honorees often complain when their star's star is dirty.

''They're very territorial," he said.

Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com.