Grauman's Egyptian Theater

The Egyptian as it stands in 2013 on Hollywood Blvd.

     Sitting humbly upon it's throne, Grauman's Egyptian Theater reigns supreme as the king of Hollywood's great movie palaces.  Built in 1922, this palatial Southern California landmark has been home to many achievements in American film history.  Once the undisputed champ of movie premiers, the Egyptian brought spectators from near and far to Hollywood's once fledgling economy.  Founded by Sid Grauman, along with early show business icons: Mary Pickford, Cecil B. Demille, and Douglas Fairbanks, the Egyptian was poised for greatness from its origin.  Under the United Artists banner, the Egyptian enjoyed decades of dominance in the Hollywood theater scene.  While sometimes lost in the shadows of its more famous younger brother Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Egyptian is still profound in its own right, and deserves recognition.  From its beginnings as one of the premier theaters in Los Angeles, to now being what is considered a Southern California landmark, Grauman's Egyptian Theater has something for everybody to enjoy.

Robin Hood premiere at The Egyptian, the first of its' kind.

       Grauman's Egyptian Theater was originally built for the world premiere of Robin Hood all the way back on October 18, 1922.  The Egyptian Theater was actually the first theater in Hollywood to host a movie premier of any kind.  This displays the rich history for which it was founded and how it helped usher in a new era of filmgoing in the early 20th century.  Along with being the first theater to hold a movie premier in the city of Hollywood, Grauman's Egyptian Theater was the very first movie theater on historic Hollywood Blvd.  The Egyptian paved the way for other theaters such as the aforementioned Chinese and the Pantages to get built and flourish.  In the early days of the theater, Sid Grauman would hold live prologues before the showing of films that sometimes featured in excess of 100 actors on stage. Another significant event that occured at the Egyptian Theater was the world premiere of Don Juan.  This was historic, because Don Juan was the first movie in history to have sound of any kind.  These credentials stack up against any theater, historically speaking.  Along with Don Juan and Robin Hood, a slew of other Academy Award nominated films held their premier at the Egyptian.  Films from all across the spectrum in different genres originated there.  These included Ben Hur (epic), South Pacific (musical), and The Poseidon Adventure (disaster).  Grauman's Egyptian was not pigeon holed into displaying merely one genre of film.  They were dedicated from the get-go to showcase every side of the cinematic spectrum.

An ad showcasing the Robin Hood premiere and parade that encompanied it.

                                                                                                                                                                  When The Egyptian was originally commissioned to be built it was meant to have a Spanish style, however due to the craze behind the discovery of King Tut's tomb it was decided that it would be both Egyptian in theme and name. Construction and design was headed by Meyer and Holler of the Milwaukee Building Company, with Raymond M. Kennedy as lead designer and decorator. The construction costed a whopping $800,000 at the time and lasted for just over eighteen months. Upon completion, the single level theater held a massive indoor seating capacity of 1,771. Before the Egyptian underwent its' name change however, the Spanish style materials for the roof had already been ordered and were used on the build in lieu of discarding them. To give the theater a small Los Angeles feel, the courtyard and red carpet was lined with palm trees. Along the exterior of the Egyptian artists were hired to paint classic Egyptian style murals to add some glamour. They even went so far as to hire an Egyptologist to confirm their accuracy. The most distinguishing feature of the Egyptian is its' signature stone pillars that support the main entryway to the theater, and give patrons the feel as if they are walking in from Hollywood and into a real Egyptian palace.

View of the original stage and screen of Grauman's Egyptian Theater

 

Program for the premiere of Don Juan held at the Egyptian

     . In 1927, Sid Grauman relinquished control of the theater in order to establish and operate the Grauman's Chinese Theater.  When he left, 20th Century Fox's West Coast theater division controlled all operations of the theater.  Due to a clause in the contract of the transaction, the theater was allowed to remain under the Grauman banner, so long as it was used solely for the re-running of pictures.  In 1944, the Egyptian became the west coast showcase house for all MGM films. By all accounts, things were going great.  However, during construction for the premier of the musical Oklahoma in 1955, major renovations were done.  These included the building of a new seventy five foot projection screen.  While the new technology did provide an exciting peek into the ever-evolving industry of film innovation, it did force the original trademark archway of the theater to be demolished and caused the removal of the classic organ. This took away much of the grand charm and history of the proud Egyptian. In 1949 operation of the Egyptian was taken over by United Artists, who paid for a small renovation of the theater, including a grand new sign at the theaters entrance. These renovations, along with the post war boom in America gave the Egyptian a period of great success. This success however was short-lived, with interest in film failing in favor of television and a culture change throughout the nation, the theater began its' slow demise.

  

      Opening night ad for "Grauman's Egyptian Theater"

New marquee built by United Artists

     Even with public interest dwindling for years, Grauman's Egyptian Theater managed to stay open until 1992.  During the last years of its operation, United Artists was only charging $1.50 for admission, and was only showing films at the end of their run. Without a doubt, the golden years of the Egyptian Theater had come and gone. By the end 0f 1992, United Artists had lost all hope of keeping the once great theater alive. Upon closure, live theater productions were shown in the smaller theaters number two and three, while the main theater was boarded up.  When the City of Los Angeles finally decided to purchase the theater in early 1994, there were over 100 homeless calling the grand auditorium home. This purchase gave many hope that the once great theater would live again. Sadly however, just a few short months after its' purchase the Northridge earthquake of 1994 hit hard and left the historic theater as one of its' victims, downtrodden and in disrepair. Luckily, the American Cinematheque was willing to give the downtrodden theater one last shot and agreed to purchase it from the city for an astounding sum of one dollar.  The deal was a success for both sides, as it allowed the city to complete a clean break from any liability and one of its' great landmarks a home, and gave film lovers and professionals alike a chance to once again appreciate one of the original gems of the movie palace age in all of its' original glory.

Severe damage from the Northridge Earthquake

Repaired damage c. 2007

Looking out at Hollywood Blvd. from the renovated entryway

     After the acquisition of Grauman's Egyptian Theater by American Cinematheque, renovations were quickly underway.  The goal of the nearly fifteen million dollar restoration project was to first repair the damage done by the 1994 earthquake and make sure that the building was under safety codes. The second order of business was to restore the theater to all of its' former beauty and grandeur. Some of the items on the docket included restoring the original front entryway (palm trees and all), restoring the Egyptian artwork and murals, completely modernizing the large main theater using brand new state-of-the-art equipment, and repairing and dedicating one of the smaller theaters downstairs to a somewhat well known donor by the name of Steven Spielberg. This modernization took the seating capacity from the original 1,771 to a more manageable 650 with an additional 83 seats in the secondary Steven Spielberg Theater. Officially re-opening on December 4, 1998, The Egyptian Theater's main attraction was a modern premiere of the Cecil B. DeMille classic The Ten Commandments which had its' grand premiere at Grauman's Egyptian exactly seventy five years prior on December 4, 1923. The renovation of The Egyptian helped to spark the renaissance of Hollywood Blvd. in the late 1990's up through the 2000's that saw many of the old Hollywood landmarks brought back to life giving the area that classic Hollywood feel once again. Along with the renovation of the theater, The neighboring Pig and Whistle restaurant, built only five years after the theater in 1927, was restored as well. In the early days of moviegoing, theaters did not sell food, so patrons of Grauman's Egyptian flocked the The Pig and Whistle just next door. Due to its' location just next door to The Egyptian, The Pig and Whistle became highly popular with the movie crowd and enjoyed great success. It was even a favorite spot for such stars as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Cary Grant who frequented both theater and restaurant. Around the time of United Artists purchasing The Egyptian, The Pig and Whistle closed down. It stood that way for over 50 years until the grand renovations brought it back, officially reopening in 2001, back in its' rightful place along the Egyptian

The Pig and Whistle today, as seen from The Egyptian

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     Today, The Egyptian stands along with The Pantages and Grauman's Chinese as beacons of Hollywood Boulevard's rich film and theater history. The theater has weekly screenings of older movies as well as walking tours on the weekends. It also hosts film festivals and special events. In addition, since the re-opening, The Egyptian hosts an anniversary showing of The Ten Commandments on December 4th every year. So if you ever wish to see the way theaters are supposed to look, or experience a classic movie as it would have been presented when it was released, then The Egyptian is the only destination on the map.

Works and Pictures Cited

"A Brief Egyptian Theater History& Other Interesting Related Facts." Eghistory. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

"Egyptian Theatre." Cinema Treasures. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

"Happy 90th Birthday, Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre! | Millennium Hollywood." Millennium Hollywood Happy 90th Birthday Graumans Egyptian Theatre Comments. Millenium Hollywood, 22 Nov. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Reconciling the Pharaohs to 50' 4th ed. Vol. March. N.p.: Boxoffice Magazine, 1950. Print.

Torrence, Bruce. "Blog." Grauman's Egyptian Theater. Hollywoood Photographs, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Wappler, Margaret. "Where Would Premieres Be without the Egyptian?" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2007. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Modern Photographs taken first hand by Chris Rivers