Grumman's Chinese Theatre
The world-famous
movie theatre located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood,
California. The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the
success of the nearby Grumman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in
1922. Built over 18 months beginning in January 1926 by a
partnership headed by Sid Grumman, the theater opened May 18,
1927 with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's The King of
Kings.[1] It has since become one of Southern California's most
well known landmarks and is steeped in Hollywood lore, having
been home to numerous premieres, birthday parties, corporate
junkets and two Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theater's
most famous traits are the autographed cement blocks that reside
in the forecourt, which bear the signatures and markings of many
of Hollywood's most revered stars and starlets.
From 1973 through 2001, the theatre was known as Mann's Chinese
Theatre, owing to its acquisition by Mann Theatres in 1973. In
the wake of Mann's bankruptcy, the Chinese, along with the other
Mann properties, was sold in 2000 to a partnership comprising
Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, who also acquired the Mann
brand name.2 In 2002 the original name was restored to the
cinema palace, although the other theatres in the attached
Hollywood and Highland mall retain and continue to operate under
the name Mann's Chinese 6 Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre was financed by
a showman, Sid Grauman, who owned a one-third interest with his
partners: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Howard Schenck.[1]
This theatre was built by the famed Meyer and Holler
Construction Company near the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on
Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the Million Dollar Theater on
Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. The principal architect of the
Chinese Theatre was Raymond M. Kennedy, of the firm Meyer and
Holler, along with Jean Klossner, Foreman, who later became
known as "Mr. Footprint", performing the footprint ceremonies
from 1927 thru 1962.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre continues to serve the public as a
normal first-run movie theatre. Many film premieres are held at
the Chinese Theatre, often attended by large throngs of
celebrities.
The theatre was home to the 1944, 1945, and 1946 Academy Awards
ceremonies and is adjacent to the Kodak Theatre, the Awards'
current home.3
The exterior of the movie theatre is meant to resemble a giant,
red Chinese pagoda. The architecture features a huge Chinese
dragon across the front, two stone lion-dogs guarding the main
entrance, and the silhouettes of tiny dragons up and down the
sides of the copper roof.
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Hollywood 1955 |
The Egyptian Is Next
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