Grauman’s Chinese Theater: An Undisputed Success in Los Angeles

Arts Entertainments

The grand opening of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood more than eighty years ago in 1927 was perhaps the most important theater opening in film history. Taking over a year to create, the responsible society was spearheaded by Sid Grauman, one of America’s earliest showmen, and opened with a crowd attending the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings. Today, it remains a must-see on the Los Angeles tourist trail.

Located at 6928 Hollywood Boulevard, The Chinese Theater was built to celebrate the achievement of neighboring Grauman’s Egyptian Theater built just five years earlier. Grauman, who owned a one-third stake with his partners, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Howard Schenck, used the same architectural firm, Meyer and Holler, with Raymond M. Kennedy as the lead architect.

Upon arrival, the visual impact of the theater is quite impressive. Forming the outer layer is a splendid red Chinese pagoda, with a huge stone carved dragon in front, two original giant sky lion dogs brought from China that guard the main entrance, and the silhouettes of smaller dragons on the sides of the roof of bronze supported by two coral red columns 90 feet high. A historical-cultural landmark since 1968, there has always been a restoration program in process to maintain the splendor of the theater.

Above all, Grauman’s Chinese Theater is most famous for its dazzling courtyard filled with the footprints and hands of renowned movie stars – more than 200 since 1927. In a brief interview on the 1937 Lux Radio Theater program, Grauman told him to Cecil B. DeMille how he was inspired by putting hands and footprints in cement. He claimed it was by “pure accident. I went straight into it. While we were building the theater, I accidentally stepped on some soft concrete. And there it was. These days, you can go in and out of impressions of past and present, including marks Alternatives like Groucho Marx cigars and Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson’s Harry Potter wands.

More than four million visitors from around the world visit Grauman’s each year, as it continues to hold an important position in the film tradition. Not only does it immortalize Hollywood heroes for fans to see, but it is the most sought after theater in Hollywood for studio releases. Fans flock to these events in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite celebrities as they walk the red carpet.

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