Free previewStop 4 of Hollywood Walk of Fame Walking Tour: Chinese Theatre to Hollywood and Vine
The Theater That Saved Citizen Kane
You're on Hollywood Boulevard, across the street from the Dolby, and the building in front of you with the ornate face and the tall sign tower is the El Capitan Theatre. Look at that facade, all carved swirls and flourishes. The style is Italian Baroque, and it's the original, saved and restored. Hold on to that word, saved, because this building has needed saving more than once.
The El Capitan opened on May 3, 1926, and it wasn't built for movies at all. Charles Toberman, the developer people called the Father of Hollywood, wanted a real theater district here, and this was billed as Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama. Live plays. Over the next decade it staged more than 120 productions, with names like Clark Gable and Joan Fontaine.
Then the Depression hit, the plays thinned out, and the El Capitan started showing films to survive.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 4 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.
