Free previewStop 3 of Hollywood Walk of Fame Walking Tour: Chinese Theatre to Hollywood and Vine
The Oscars Finally Get a Home
You're standing at Hollywood and Highland, in the shopping complex locals still call by that corner's name, and the Dolby Theatre sits at the very back of it. Look down the long hall that runs from the boulevard toward the grand stairway. On both sides stand columns, and on those columns are the names of films that won Best Picture. Keep looking. A lot of the spaces are blank.
Those blanks are the story of this building. It was designed specifically with the Oscars in mind.
From 1929 to 2001, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences staged 73 ceremonies at nine different venues. Grauman's Chinese, right next door, had a turn. The show also landed in big halls like the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown and the Shrine Auditorium, and those caused logistical headaches for a ceremony that had become a live television broadcast.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 3 of Hollywood Walk of Fame Walking Tour: Chinese Theatre to Hollywood and Vine (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
