Chinese Theatre

The most famous movie house in the world, built by acclaimed showman Sid Grauman. Actress Anna Mae Wong drove the first rivet in the steel girders when construction began in 1925, and the theatre opened with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings on May 18, 1927. With its magnificent carved ceiling, muraled walls, plush carpeting, and ornate columns, the Exotic Revival-styled structure awed spectators. Superstars Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Norma Talmadge were the first to place their hand and footprints in the forecourt.