The TCL (formerly Grauman's) Chinese Theater

The main pagoda of the TCL Chinese Theater is much taller than it seems than when you're in front of it.  Originally the Grauman's Chinese Theater, it's located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, in the main tourist area by Hollywood and Highland.  It's best known for the hand prints and foot prints of Hollywood stars in the cement out front.

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When you look back into the history of Hollywood as a movie and entertainment capitol, the 1920's was a major era of development.  The partnership of Charles E. Toberman and Sid Grauman built three iconic places in Hollywood.  Grauman's Egyptian Theater, which opened in 1922, became a great success, and that led to the building of Grauman's Chinese Theater, which opened in 1927.  But Sid Grauman's stroke of genius at the Chinese was to have major stars put their hand and foot prints in concrete slabs out in front of the theater.  One story says a young starlet stepped into wet cement by accident, while visiting during its construction.  Another story says Sid Grauman himself stepped in wet cement during the building process, and that gave him the idea.  Whatever the true story is, since 1927, major movie stars have been putting their hand and foot prints into slabs of cement, and those slabs make up the entry area of Grauman's, now TCL Chinese Theater.  Millions of tourists have flocked to the Chinese Theater in the decades since, to look at, compare their feet, and take photos of the prints.  

TCL is a Chinese electronics company that bought the naming rights to the theater in 2013.  From 1973 until 2001, Mann's Theater chain owned the naming rights.

Here's a wide shot of the Chinese Theater.  It's a few doors west of the Dolby theater, and across from the historic El Capitan Theater, which was another Charles E. Toberman and Sid Grauman project in the 1920's.  

For people from the Baby Boom or Generation X, here's what you need to know, the original Star Wars movie premiered at the Chinese Theater in 1977.  The theater has been upgraded as an IMAX theater, and seats 932 people.  Several movie premieres have been held there, and it has hosted the Academy Awards three different times.

I happened to make it to the hand and foot print ceremony when two of my favorite Hollywood stars, writer/director/actor Kevin Smith, and actor Jason Mewes, aka Jay and Silent Bob, got their hand and foot prints added in 2019.  There's a big ceremony when prints are added, with a few prominent people speaking at the ceremony.  For Jason and Kevin's ceremony, actor Ben Affleck and Kevin's daughter Harley Quinn Smith spoke, among others.  Kevin, an avid comic book reader since childhood, said on a podcast later that he had Batman and Harley Quinn introduce him.  It doesn't get much more modern Hollywood than that.  Check out this Wikipedia page for a full list of the hand and foot print ceremonies held at Gramuan's/Mann's/TCL Chinese theater.  #steveemigphotos

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