6925 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA  90028  | map |

(323) 464-8111

Website:  www.chinesetheatres.com 

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Opened:

May 18, 1927 by Sid Grauman (March 17, 1879 - March 5, 1950)  as his 2nd Hollywood theatre--the first was the Egyptian in 1922.  

On the screen was Cecil B. DeMille's "King of Kings" and on stage was a giant scripture- inspired prologue with a cast of over 100 accompanied by an orchestra of 65. The show ran for months on a twice-a-day reserved seat policy. The theatre has remained a major first run venue since its 1927 opening.

An ad in the 1928 Film Daily Yearbook. On the
Chinese Theatre Facebook page: full size view

The orange border is from the original Chinese Theatre stationery and appears on Stephen Stanton's wonderful Chinese Theatre website Blast From Your Past.   The site has reproductions of a souvenir booklet from the 70s and a Terry Helgesen Console magazine special issue on the Chinese.          

Architects:

It was a Meyer & Holler project with Raymond M. Kennedy as the principal architect. The 120' x 250' lot size for the Chinese allowed for one of the largest stages in town, all seating on one level and room left over for a forecourt designed for huge crowds of adoring fans during premieres.

The decorative aspects of the design were the responsibility of John Gabriel Beckman, who was also involved in a number of other Meyer & Holler projects.

A plan of the theatre's upper level from a post entitled
 "Blueprints and Celluloid Dreams" on Martha Wade
Steketee's blog "Looking Outside."  Originals are 30" x 44"
larger view   Also on the post: | facade elevation  |

A section view of the theatre from inside the front cover of
Terry Helgesen's special issue of Console magazine.  Click to
enlarge a bit or head to the full page on Stephen Stanton's website.

Seating:

2,058 in 1927. All on one level except 2 small boxes on a mezzanine level on either side of the booth. Later it was down to 1,492. When the house was reseated in 2001 the capacity ended up at 1,151.

History:

The project was developed by C.E. Toberman (1880 - 1981) who had earlier built the Egyptian Theatre for Grauman. Others with a stake in the venture included Grauman's father and part of the United Artists cabal: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Joe Schenck. 

Grauman sold his interest to Fox sometime between 1929 and 1931 but remained as managing director. Schenck  had also arranged for other shares in the project to be sold to Fox within two years of the opening.

Grauman tried a bit of film producing but soon settled down to just managing the Chinese.  He was still manager at the time of his death in 1950.

A souvenir book cover c.1970, when the theatre was
still operated by National General Corp. It's from a post on
Christopher Crouch's Cinelog about the Chinese Theatre. 
full size view

The full souvenir book is reproduced on Stephen Stanton's website:
 | National General souvenir book  |

When the Southern California assets of Fox West Coast Theatres/National General Corp. were sold to Ted Mann in 1973 for $67.5 million, the theatre was renamed Mann's Chinese. It's only in recent years that the use of the Grauman's name has been restored to the building.  The circuit had taken extraordinary care of the building including a substantial interior restoration in 2001.

Mann also operated the adjacent Chinese 6, part of the Hollywood & Highland complex. The 6 plex should not  be confused with the Chinese Twin (now demolished) which was adjacent to the main theatre from 1979 to 1999.

The Mann circuit got seriously over extended in the 80s and 90s and, after a reorganization, was acquired by WF Cinema Holdings, a joint venture of Warner Bros. and Paramount/Viacom.  After the initial enthusiasm of the new partners subsided, the circuit gradually began disposing of properties as buyers emerged or leases expired.

In May, 2011 the Chinese Theatre and the lease for the Chinese 6 in the adjacent Hollywood and Highland complex were sold by Mann Theatres.  The sale involved the business and the Grauman's Chinese building. The land under the theatre has always been leased.  The land was sold to CIM, the Hollywood and Highland complex owners in a separate transaction a few years earlier. The current 99 year ground lease expires in 2023.

Over the decades Grauman's Chinese has hosted premiere engagements of major films as varied as "King Kong" (1933), "Hello, Dolly" (1969) and "Star Wars" (1977).

Status:

The Chinese is now operated by nightclub operators/producers Elie Samaha and Don Kushner as Chinese Theatres, LLC. The Chinese 6's lobby space in the mall has been upgraded for event use and is being promoted as Grauman's Ballroom.

The Grauman's exterior and interior are both protected by the landmark status it received in 1968. See Alex Ben Block's Hollywood Reporter January, 2012 story on more plans for the Grauman's Chinese as both a theatre and as a brand. 

70mm Fox Grandeur process - 1930:

Also see the information on our Movie Links & Resources page on this site about various other early widescreen processes processes.  See the page on the Carthay Circle Theatre (which also got a 70mm Grandeur installation) for more information and photos.

A few frames of the 70mm Grandeur film from the
Critical Flicker page on Fox Grandeur. It's part of an
illustration from the December 1929 Photoplay magazine.
Note the Western Electric variable density soundtrack at the left.

A view of one the hand built Simplex 70mm
projectors for Fox Grandeur. The photo is from
the In70mm.com article "Magnified Grandeur "
full size view




A photo of one of the specially built machines
in the Carey Williams Collection. It's on the
In70mm.com page "Simplex Grandeur 70 Projector"

The Chinese Theatre in the 1940's: 

When the Academy Awards banquets grew too popular and a theatre was needed for more seating, the Chinese was chosen. The Oscar ceremonies were held at Grauman's in 1944, 1945 and 1946. 

Cinemascope at the Chinese Theatre - 1953: 

During the 50's the Chinese was the home for most of the major Fox Cinemascope pictures including the first Cinemascope feature "The Robe" (1953).

A 50s postcard view showing the east wall of the forecourt
with signage advertising the theatre as the "Hollywood Home
 of Cinemascope." The card was displayed on the now vanished
website Yesterday LA.  full size view

The idea of Cinemascope, "The Miracle You Can See Without Glasses," had been kicking around for years. Inspired by the widescreen panoramas of the triple screen sequences of Abel Gance's "Napoleon" (1927 + variations thereafter), French inventor Henri Chretien designed an anamorphic lens to compress a picture by a factor of two during photography and spread it out again during projection.

A fanciful promotional piece from Fox to convey the
glories of "The Robe" in Cinemascope. It was much like the
ads for Cinerama. The image is from page 2 of the American
Widescreen Museum's wonderful Cinemascope section.

Nobody was interested in anamorphic photography until Fox dusted off the idea when faced by the competition of TV, 3-D and Cinerama.  They borrowed the stereo sound idea from Disney's "Fantasia" and the more recent stereo success of Cinerama.

Instead of Cinera

ma's 5 speakers behind the screen, Cinemascope went with 3 plus a surround track. Instead of a separate sound reproducer, they put magnetic stripes on the film. Instead of a deeply curved screen, Fox opted for a shallower curvature for better focus.

The enlarged view of a 35mm Cinemascope frame shown here has the original Fox 4 channel magnetic striping and reduced size (fox-hole) perforations to make room for 2 sound tracks inside the perforations.

The original aspect ratio for the format was 2.55 to 1 and the prints were to have no optical sound track. Most later mag prints also had a 1/2 width optical track visible and were intended to be shown at 2.35 to 1, the currently used ratio.

Exhibitors had to do a new wider screen, buy new Cinemascope lenses and aperture plates, add adjustable masking, buy new speakers and amplifiers, change out their old projector sprockets and add a new attachment atop the projector to read the magnetic sound tracks.

Most releases were soon available in mono optical versions for theatres opting for less costly conversions.
The view at right is of the Simplex gear that probably was in the Chinese booth at the time.

On the top it's a new 4 channel magnetic sound head, a Simplex X-L projector in the middle and a Simplex SH-1000 optical soundhead underneath. 

The illustration is from the article "Cinemascope - Information for the Theatre" from American Widescreen Museum.  See the site's wonderful Cinemascope section for lots of data and illustrations. Also see the resources about different projection processes listed on our Movie Links page.

The Chinese was equipped for 3-strip Cinemiracle projection in 1958 for the only film in the process, "Windjammer." For the Cinemiracle remodel the stage was gutted and much of the proscenium removed. The screen size for the presentation at the Chinese was 38' x 92'. A new booth was built on the main floor.

A ticket to the premiere of "Windjammer" at the Chinese. It's
from Roland Lataille's comprehensive Cinerama website.
larger view

A postcard view on Roland's Cinerama website of the
Chinese for the premiere of "Windjammer."
full size view

"Windjammer" ran at the Chinese Theatre for 37 weeks, then moved over to the Music Box for an additional 15 week run.   For more information on Cinemiracle projection see our Movie Links page.

70mm at the Chinese:

The theatre was later equipped for 70mm. The first feature was a May, 1961 re-release of "The King and I" in "Grandeur 70." It was filmed in Cinemascope 55 but played its original 1956 release in 35mm.

The Chinese has enjoyed lots of long runs of major films in 70mm, including  "West Side Story" (December, 1961), "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968), "Hello, Dolly!" (1969), "Star Wars" (1977), "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984), "Return of the Jedi" (1987) and "Titanic" (1997). 

The Chinese had 2 35/70mm Norelco DP70s in the booth for decades (serial numbers 920 & 921) and the theatre was equipped for all sound formats conceivable including Dolby Digital, SDDS and conventional 6 track mag. The house was THX certified in 1987 prior to the run of "Return of the Jedi."

In 2001 JBL did an update on the speaker system including five custom three-way "ScreenArray" speakers behind the screen, 4642A subwoofers and 8340A surround speakers.

For a great compilation of information about 70mm runs at the Chinese, see the 70mm in Los Angeles page on From Script to DVD.  

Our Movie Links page has lots of resources for information on 70mm processes. Also see the main page on the Egyptian Theatre for a discussion of TODD-AO, the first of the 70mm processes in the 1950s.

The 2001 Restoration:

Behr Browers Architects spearheaded a serious restoration of the building's interior. See the firm's Grauman's Chinese page for a wonderful portfolio of 8 photos showing off the updated interior.

A view of the auditorium ceiling from the
photo album on the Behr Browers website.
larger view

The firm did seismic retrofit work and renovation of the concession areas and the booth (which got moved back upstairs).  Side concession areas were removed and a new bar was pushed into the auditorium area where booth and seating had been.

Some of the balcony soffit area that had been covered up above the booth ceiling was restored and now graces the area in front of the new bar. Also included in the work was restoration of many interior and exterior decorative surfaces. New carpeting and wider seats were also installed.

Decorative finishes wonder worker Amy
Higgins re-lacquers the lobby ceiling during
the 2001 restoration. 
full size view

Amy Higgins restoring finishes in the forecourt.
Her work also included lots of plaster repair.
full size view

A view of some of the cast stonework on
the facade before restoration.
full size view  | after restoration

See scenic artist/restoration artist/plaster wizard Amy Higgins' Chinese Theatre page for a discussion of her work on many facets of the theatre's decorative restoration. Plus many more great photos! Note that she also has a navigation bar at the top of her main Chinese Theatre page for additional descriptions and photos of work in certain areas, such as the lobby and the work on exterior friezes.

Hollywood Heritage has a nice discussion of the players involved in the 2001 restoration project and the scope of work.  

Projection goes digital:

In recent years all projection has been digital. In 2006 the theatre got an installation of NEC's 2K unit Starus NC2500S and a Doremi server in a Technicolor Digital Cinema package. 

In 2009 for the "blue carpet" premiere of "Avatar," the equipment was from American Hi-Definition (make not known).  They had a pair of 3-D equipped units overlayed to get the screen brightness up. A second pair ran concurrently as backup.

In 2010 the Chinese installed a new Christie Digital projector prior to the run of "Clash of the Titans" -- and the 3-D run was accomplished with a single projector. It was a Barco projector in the booth for the 2011 TCM Festival at the Chinese -- a DP4K-32B 4K unit.

Screen size:

Prior to 2001 the scope picture was 75' with 81' being used for 70mm. The maximum image width was 85'  after a new screen was installed as part of the 2001 restoration. 

In 2009 for the 3-D digital presentation of "Avatar" the scope format image width on a silver screen was 75'. The 2010 run of "Clash of the Titans" was advertised as being on a 73' wide screen.

Grauman's Chinese may be the most photographed
 movie theatre in the world--at least on the exterior.

photo: Bill Counter - 2007

[ click any of these to enlarge ]

Here on a typical 2007 afternoon there were
hundreds of people in the forecourt but the
first show started with 3 in the auditorium.

photo: Bill Counter - 2007

Another street view.

photo: Bill Counter - 2012

 

[ see the auditorium page for many more interior views ]

Shown here is the west side of the building
and the stagehouse.  The theatre is surrounded by the
Hollywood & Highland complex, which also houses
the Chinese 6.

photo: Bill Counter - 2007

The Chinese at night in 2010.

photo: Bill Counter

[ click on these images to enlarge ]

Another 2010 night view.

photo: Bill Counter

This new boxoffice just east of the theatre
serves both the Grauman's Chinese and the
Chinese 6, upstairs in the mall.

photo: Bill Counter - 2007

  A 2012 night view.

photo: Bill Counter

The Chinese Theatre in the Movies:

 Grauman's Chinese has had leading or
supporting roles in a number of movies.

In "Free and Easy" (MGM, 1930) Buster Keaton arrives in Hollywood
and goes to a premiere at Grauman's Chinese. The film is something called
 "The Love Call" starring an actor he met on the train. However, the footage
is actually from a premiere of something with Ronald Colman.
larger view  |  another shot -- note Ronald Colman banner  |

In 1937 Janet Gaynor comes to Hollywood and her
first stop is the Chinese Theatre forecourt in William
Wellman's "A Star is Born" (Selznick International). 
larger view

Also from "A Star is Born":
|  vertical sign view  |  premiere street view  |

In "Star Dust" (Fox, 1940) Linda Darnell comes
to Hollywood to be a star and, of course, visits the Chinese.

The Chinese sort of bookends Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly's
"Singin' In The Rain" (MGM, 1952) with nice scenes at the beginning
and end of the film. We get nice facade views (both times enhanced
by matte painting work for the signage) plus a forecourt scene at
the beginning of the film -- but it's an MGM set. The interior views
(the one shown is from near the beginning of the film) are also not
shot in the Chinese itself . We see the interior set again at the
end with Debbie Reynolds running up the aisle.
larger view

We get a look at the facade in "What A Way To Go!" (Fox, 1964)
as one of Shirley MacLaine's husbands, Pinky (Gene Kelly), has
his film premiered there. He later gets trampled by the mob.
Note that this is old footage with the show's title matted in.
Look at the age of the vehicles. Also, in '64 there was no
signage across the arch.
larger view

The Chinese appears in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles"
(Warner Bros., 1974).  Harvey Korman buys a box
of Raisinets. Note the cows.
larger view

The facade shows up during a premiere turned riot in
"Day of the Locust" (Paramount, 1975) but the shooting
 was actually done on a set rather than at the theatre.

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves end up in front
of the Chinese in an overturned Red Line car in the last
scene of Jan de Bont's "Speed" (Fox, 1994).
|  larger view  |  another shot - looking east  |

The Chinese makes an appearance in "Forrest Gump" (1994),
"Twins" (1998), "Rush Hour" (1998), "The Majestic" (2001),
"Italian Job" (2003), and "Hollywood Homicide" (2003).

In "The Aviator" (Warner Bros., 2004) Martin Scorsese's lovely
swoop up Hollywood Blvd. uses some colorized versions of Howard
Hughes' original promotional footage of the premiere of "Hell's Angels"
but the final shot with planes flying overhead was done with a 40'
long miniature set and lots of digital magic.
larger view

In "The Aviator" we do get the real theatre for some scenes
in the auditorium, passing through the lobby, and at the
entrance doors. Most of the forecourt shots were a set. 

A look back at the audience after the "Hell's Angels" premiere
in "The Aviator." Note that the production designer has added
a strange projection booth at the head of the center aisle.
larger view

In 1930, the booth was upstairs. It was moved down to the
main floor in 1958 for three-strip Cinemiracle projection and
 stayed there until the 2001 restoration.

Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his associate
John C. Reilly leaving the Chinese auditorium in "The Aviator."
The color palate in this portion of the film is an homage
to the look of two strip Technicolor.
larger view


In the film "Footprints," (Our Gal Pictures, 2011) our lead character
starts the film by waking up in the forecourt of the Chinese.  IMDB
has a page on the Chinese Theatre, with a list of lots more films
using it as a location.

Book of Secrets:

There was a tunnel under Hollywood Blvd. from the Chinese to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The stars could make a public entrance on the red carpet for a premiere then escape the fans undetected later.

More information:

Also see our listings for the Chinese 6 and the Mann Chinese Twin.

See the extensive page on Grauman's Chinese on Cinema Treasures and don't miss the photo section. There are a few more interior shots for you to peruse on the Cinema Tour page. There are, of course, many photos of the Chinese on Yelp.

Floyd Bariscale's 2007 Big Orange Landmarks article on Grauman's Chinese is highly recommended. From Script to DVD's  Chinese Theatre page by Michael Coate
and William Kallay has lots of great photos.

For a nice run-down on the declining fortunes of the Fox West Coast / National General / Mann Theatres empire see the 2009 posts on Cinelog by Christopher Crouch: "End Credits,"  "Rise and Fall" and "National General's Chinese."

See Wikipedia's article on the Chinese Theatre for, among other things, a full rundown of the dates of the stars' imprints in the forecourt concrete.

See the Curt Teich Postcard Archive for even more Chinese Theatre postcards.  See a selection on Debra Gust's blog "Life In A Postcard Mirror." See "Diary of a Celluloid Girl" for a nice 2011 blog post about Sid Grauman.

Stephen Stanton's  Blast From Your Past has full reproductions of the wonderful Terry Helgesen Console Magazine special on the Chinese, a National General Theatres Souvenir Booklet and lots of 1981 photos.

The front cover of the Console Magazine
special issue on the Chinese.

See Martin Turnbull's blog "The Garden of Allah Novels" and especially his post about the Chinese forecourt: "The Most Famous Slab of Concrete in the World" for a history of Sid Grauman and the Chinese.

The definitive book on the career of Sid Grauman has yet to be written. The best we have so far is Charles Beardsley's "Sid Grauman: Hollywood's Master Showman" (Cornwall Books, 1983).  It's available on Amazon.

See our pages on the other major Grauman theatres in Los Angeles: the Million Dollar (1918), the Egyptian (1922) and the Metropolitan (1923, later called the Paramount).

A recent aerial view of the Hollywood and Highland area
 that appeared on Ken McIntyre's Photos of Los Angeles.
full size view

about the photos from other websites...

The photos of this theatre other than ours were generally
located via image searches on Google Images, Yahoo!
or other databases.  We've tried to give appropriate credit.
The links near the images will direct you to a full size version
on the website hosting it.  Please contact us if there are incorrect
attributions or links that no longer work.   All images are subject
to copyright.  Contact the webmaster of the site in question
concerning reproduction or other use.

more chinese theatre pages:
|  street view timeline  | forecourt  |  lobby  |
 |  lounges  |  auditorium  |  upstairs  |