CARISSA MARSH
A&E Editor
Hollywood is a town saturated in celebrity and film history. There is no better place to experience its cinematic wonders than in one of the earliest movie theaters, called picture palaces because of their elaborate style and the extraordinary movie experience they provide audiences. The following are a few famous picture palaces in the Los Angeles area.
El Capitan Theatre
6838 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood
Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, the El Capitan has a long history, but the famous theater has endured the test of time and is recognized the world over as the exclusive Walt Disney theater.
Built by real estate developer Charles Toberman — who created two other themed theaters with impresario Sid Grauman, including the Chinese and Egyptian theaters — the El Capitan is a hallmark figure on Hollywood Boulevard, sitting across from the new Hollywood & Highland entertainment center.
The theater, which opened May 3, 1926, has an elaborate façade featuring a cast-concrete Spanish Colonial design. However, the exterior is only the beginning of the Hollywood glamour visitors flock to see each year.
“It kind of has that old Hollywood feel to it, but it has all the modern amenities,” said junior Annie Henderson, who visited the El Capitan to see “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
Inside, the theater showcases a colorful East Indian design and boasts a Wurlitzer organ that has four keyboards and 37 ranks of pipes, each representing a different musical instrument.
In 1989, the Walt Disney Company restored the aging theater to its former splendor and reopened the El Capitan in June 1991.
Henderson said that when she saw “Narnia” the theater was decked out in decorations, character posters and cutouts. To top it off, before the film started fake snow fell from the ceiling out onto the audience, creating what she called “a winter wonderland.”
“The theater really created an atmosphere for the movie,” Henderson said. “Its more than just watching the movie. The set comes alive and you can actually be a part of the movie.”
The El Capitan is showing the new holiday flick “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” and Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D.”
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood
Another theater constructed through the creative efforts of Toberman and Grauman is the Egyptian Theatre, which opened to the public in 1922. After the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt in that same year, an Egyptian craze captured the nation and influenced culture, including architecture.
The theater entrance features four large columns that are four-and-a-half feet wide and 20 feet tall, signaling to the visitor the enormous nature of the 40,000 square foot complex. The Egyptian theme can be seen in the Egyptian symbols and hieroglyphics, wall-to-wall yellow drapes and tall palm trees in the courtyard.
Like many of the movie houses at the time, the Egyptian underwent numerous renovations to make the theater more modern, and it went through a series of owners. After closing in 1992, the American Cinematheque purchased the Egyptian to restore the historical landmark to its former glory — the renovations cost $15 million. The non-profit organization re-opened the theater in 1998 and today screens classic films, documentaries, independent films and world cinema in the auditorium that is divided into a 618-seat theater and an 83-seat screening room.
Vista Theater
4473 Sunset Drive, in Los Feliz
Like the Egyptian Theatre, this small, more than 75-year-old building reflects the Egyptian style that was so popular during the 1920s. While the theater is not located in the best part of town and, besides for the neon marquee, can easily be missed due to its somewhat beaten down exterior, the inside reveals that the Vista is simply a diamond in the rough.
Sophomore Michelle Howell recently visited the Vista to see the new Martin Scorcese crime drama, “The Departed.”
“It looked like an old run-down building,” Howell said of the theater’s outer appearance. “It wasn’t a very nice neighborhood and there wasn’t a lot of parking, but all of the decor and the statues and even the bathrooms were nice. It wasn’t extravagant at all on the outside, but once you go inside, it’s beautiful.”
Howell said she enjoyed the whole experience and that going to the Vista was better than going to a regular movie theater. She also said she enjoyed the fact that the theater has a cheaper ticket price of $8 and there are no real estate commercials before the film previews.
“I liked the whole feel of it because it was like you were experiencing a part of going to the movies instead of just watching the movie,” she said. “It felt like we weren’t in modern day — it seemed like a simpler place to be.”
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood
Opened just one year after the El Capitan, the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (not to be confused with the Mann Chinese 6 located nearby), might be the most architecturally awe-inspiring theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Again, Grauman built his “dream theater” with the help of Toberman. After 18 months and a cost of $2 million, the theater opened to the public on May 19, 1927.
To create the pagoda-style theater, authorization had to be obtained from the United States government to import the necessary materials and artifacts from China. The Chinese Theatre is a tall 90-feet high and features two large coral red columns that flank the entrance and hold up the massive bronze roof. Between these columns is a 30-foot high dragon carved from stone, while two giant Heaven Dogs brought from China guard the theater entrance as they did when the Chinese was first opened.
“I thought it was gorgeous,” said sophomore Steven Arnold, who was especially impressed with the history attached to the theater. “The theater was breathtaking, even just in its size, and the architecture is intricate.”
One of the main attractions the theater boasts lies just outside its doors in the Forecourt of Stars. Here, visitors can survey the cement handprints and footprints of the stars of yesteryear and today, even putting their hands and feet into the impressions.
More than 4 million people from all over the world visit Grauman’s Chinese each year, according to the theater’s Web site.
“You know how many talented people have walked up and down that street and have been in the building,” Arnold said. “It is a really dynamic place to watch a movie.”
11-16-2006
