Summary of Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-464-8111
You can’t visit Los Angeles and skip a visit to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre any more than you can look the other way as you drive past the Hollywood sign. Grauman’s (aka Mann’s) Chinese Theatre has been a shrine to Hollywood glamour since it opened in 1927. On a private tour just before Grauman’s opened to the public, actress Norma Talmadge accidentally stepped in wet cement, sparking a tradition that has made Grauman’s famous for the handprints and footprints of celebrities that pepper the theater’s courtyard. As a result, the courtyard – which is free to visit – is always full of tourists putting their hands in the impressions of their favorite stars’. You can compare handprints with Marilyn Monroe or Shirley Temple, or check out some stars’ added personal touches: Betty Grable imprinted her leg, and Groucho Marx immortalized his cigar. This is kitsch at its finest, infinitely more interesting than the stars on the Walk of Fame that run down Hollywood Boulevard (and in front of the theater). Many tourists forget that you can actually see a movie at Grauman’s. Inside, Asian statues, wax figurines, chandeliers, celebrity box seats, and dim lighting lend a sense of grandeur that can seem out of place if you’re going to see a new action flick – the curtains even roll back at the start of the film – but where else can you experience such old school charm with THX sound and top-notch projection?
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