Beginnings In March 1923, a meeting occurred at the offices of
Fox West Coast Theatres where
Sid Grauman,
Mary Pickford,
Douglas Fairbanks, and several other executives discussed plans for a new venue that would be dedicated to "the
spoken drama" with films only being screened on rare occasions. Although the project called for immediate construction, it was ultimately shelved for three years. In that time, several of its aspects were altered, including a change in scope from play house to movie theater due to the increasing profitability of motion pictures. is in the foreground. Grauman, a theater mogul who previously founded the
Million Dollar Theatre and
Egyptian Theatre, moved forward with the plans for a new venue in 1925. Looking to build along Hollywood Boulevard, he leased the site of actor
Francis X. Bushman's mansion in a deal brokered by real estate developer
Charles E. Toberman. In appreciation, a plaque was installed on the front of the theater dedicating it to Bushman. Los Angeles-based architecture firm
Meyer & Holler, which previously collaborated with Grauman on the Egyptian, designed the "palace-type" Chinese Theatre.
Raymond M. Kennedy served as principal architect on the project. In October 1925, local newspapers published an artist's impression of the planned theater's facade. The accounts promised a cost as well as a "tropical garden" in the forecourt, complete with imported flowers, trees, and fish in ponds. In contrast to early reports, the theater cost $2.1 million to construct. Grauman co-owned the venue with Pickford, Fairbanks, Howard Schenck, and West Coast Theatres. Wong also put the first rivet into the structure of the theater. During construction, Grauman hired Jean Klossner to formulate an extremely hard concrete for the forecourt of the theater. Klossner later became known as "Mr. Footprint", performing the footprint ceremonies from 1927 through 1957. Many stories exist to explain the origins of the footprints. The theater's official account credits Norma Talmadge as having inspired the tradition when she accidentally stepped into the wet concrete. However, in a short interview during the September 13, 1937,
Lux Radio Theatre broadcast of a radio adaptation of
A Star Is Born, Grauman related another version of how he got the idea to put hand and foot prints in the concrete. He said it was "pure accident. I walked right into it. While we were building the theatre, I accidentally happened to step in some soft concrete. And there it was. So, I went to Mary Pickford immediately. Mary put her foot into it." Another account, says that the original "accidental" slabs were made and stayed, at the curb, on the sidewalk, until 1958, when they were removed for the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. When they stepped up off the curb, they accidentally walked on wet cement and left a trail of footprints from the street to the front doors of the theater ... The stars, seeing what they had done, grabbed a nail on the ground and signed their names next to their footprints, Pickford even dated it." — Marc Wanamaker, Hollywood Heritage Museum. His autograph and handprint, dated 1927, remain today. (Note: In 1949, Klossner's story changed to say that Grauman had accidentally stepped into the wet concrete.) The theater's third founding partner, Douglas Fairbanks, was the second celebrity after Talmadge to be immortalized in the concrete. In 1929, Grauman decided to retire and sell his share to
William Fox's
Fox Theatres chain. However, just a few months later,
Howard Hughes convinced Grauman to return to the theater, because he wanted Grauman to produce the world premiere of his aviation epic ''
Hell's Angels'', which would also feature one of Grauman's theatrical prologues before the film. Grauman remained as the theater's managing director for the entire run of ''Hell's Angels'', retiring once again after its run finished. Unsatisfied with retirement, though, Grauman returned to the theater as managing director on Christmas Day 1931 and kept that position until his death in 1950. One of the highlights of the Chinese Theatre has always been its grandeur and décor. In 1952, John Tartaglia, the artist of nearby
Saint Sophia Cathedral, became the head interior decorator of the Chinese Theatre, as well as the theater chain then owned by Fox West Coast Theatres. He later continued the work of Klossner, by recommendation of J. Walter Bantau, for the Hollywood footprint ceremonies. Tartaglia performed his first ceremony as what the City of Los Angeles termed "Hollywood's Master Mason" In 1984, the
Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the
National Register of Historic Places, with the Chinese Theater listed as a
contributing property in the district. In 1988, Warner Bros. Discovery's predecessor, Warner Communications Inc., bought a 50% stake from Gulf+Western for $150 million. The theater chain was eventually sold to WestStar Holdings in 1997. In 2000, a partnership of
Warner Bros. and
Paramount Pictures acquired the theater, along with the other Mann Theatres properties. In 2000, Behr Browers Architects, a firm previously engaged by Mann Theatres, prepared a restoration and modernization program for the structure. The program included a seismic upgrade, new state-of-the-art immersive sound and projection, new vending kiosks, and exterior signage, and the addition of a larger concession area under the balcony. The program began in 2002 and restored the original name — "Grauman's Chinese Theatre" — to the cinema palace. As part of the upgrade, Behr Browers also designed a new Chinese-themed six-plex in the attached
Hollywood and Highland shopping center that continued to operate under the name Mann's Chinese 6 Theatre. In 2007, the
CIM Group purchased the land on which the theater sits for an undisclosed price from the
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation of New York and
Barlow Respiratory Hospital of Los Angeles. CIM Group also owns the
Hollywood and Highland shopping center, as well as numerous other residential and commercial properties in Hollywood. On May 27, 2011, Chinese Theatres LLC, a collaboration owned by producer
Elie Samaha and
Donald Kushner, purchased both Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the adjacent Mann Chinese 6. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was sold for $25 million in 2013, and today it continues to serve the public as a
first-run movie theater. ==Architecture==