USA holiday 2010: October 2010

MANNS CHINESE THEATRE

Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is located along the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922. Built over 18 months, beginning in January 1926 by a partnership headed by Sid Grauman, the theater opened May 18, 1927 with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's film The King of Kings

It has since been home to many premieres, birthday parties, corporate junkets and three Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theater's most distinctive features are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt, which bear the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular motion picture personalities from the 1920s to the present day.

After his success with the Egyptian Theatre, Sid Grauman turned to C.E. Toberman to secure a long term lease on property located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. Mr. Toberman contracted the architectural firm of Meyer & Holler (who also designed the Egyptian) to design a "palace type theatre" of Chinese design. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was financed by Grauman, who owned a one-third interest, and his partners: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Howard Schenck.^[1] The principal architect of the Chinese Theatre was Raymond M. Kennedy, of Meyer and Holler.

During construction, Grauman hired Jean Klossner to formulate an extremely hard concrete for the forecourt of the theatre. Klossner later became known as "Mr. Footprint," performing the footprint ceremonies from 1927 through 1962.

There are many stories regarding the origins of the footprints. The theater's official account in its books and souvenir programs credit 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 footprints 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." Still another account by Jean Klossner (the construction foreman at the time) recounts that Klossner autographed his work next to the right-hand poster kiosk and that he and Grauman developed the idea then and there. His autograph and hand-print, dated 1927, remain today. The theater's third founding partner, Douglas Fairbanks, was the second celebrity, after Talmadge, to be immortalized in the concrete.

Sid Grauman sold his share to William Fox's Fox Theatres chain in 1929, but remained as the theater's Managing Director until his death in 1950.

In 1968 the Chinese Theatre was declared a historic and cultural landmark, and has undergone various restoration projects in the years since then. It was purchased in 1973 by Ted Mann, owner of the Mann Theatres chain, and husband of actress Rhonda Fleming. From 1973 through 2001, the theatre was known as Mann's Chinese Theatre, owing to its acquisition by Mann Theatres in 1973. In the wake of Mann's bankruptcy, the theatre, along with the other Mann properties, were sold in 2000 to a partnership of Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, who also acquired the Mann brand name. In 2002 the original name was restored to the cinema palace, although the other theatres in the attached Hollywood and Highland mall retain and continue to operate under the name Mann's Chinese 6 Theatre.

In 2008, the land the theatre sits on was sold to the CIM Group for an undisclosed price. Mann Theatres continues to have a long-term lease on the venue for movie premieres and will continue to operate it as a film house. The land was sold to CIM by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation of New York and Barlow Respiratory Hospital of Los Angeles. CIM Group also owns the Hollywood and Highland retail mall next door to the Chinese Theatre, as well as numerous other residential and commercial properties in Hollywood.

The exterior of the theater is meant to resemble a giant, red Chinese pagoda. The architecture features a huge Chinese dragon across the front, two Authentic Chinese Ming Heavens dogs guard the main entrance, and the silhouettes of tiny dragons up and down the sides of the copper roof. To the dismay of many fans of historic architecture, the free-standing ticket booth was removed (which was not original to the theatre, but rather installed in the 1930s), along with the left and right neon marquees—but their absence brings the theatre back closer to its original state. The auditorium has recently been completely restored along with much of the exterior, however, the wear and tear on the physical structure over the years has caused some of the external décor to be removed, rather than repaired.

In 1944, 1945, and 1946 the Academy Awards ceremonies were held at the Chinese Theatre; they are now held at the adjacent Kodak Theatre. Grauman's Chinese Theatre continues to serve the public as a first-run movie theater. Many Hollywood films have had their premieres at the Chinese Theatre throughout its history. Today its premiers are attended by celebrities and large throngs of fans as they have been since 1927. There are nearly 200 Hollywood celebrity handprints, footprints, and autographs in the concrete of the theater's forecourt.

The only person not associated with the movie industry to have a signature and handprint in front of the theater is Grauman's mother. Additionally, Charles Nelson, the winner of a "Talent Quest," had his handprints and footprints embedded in the "Forecourt of the Stars."

1920's

Norma Talmadge (post dated for the opening day May 18, 1927)

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (April 30, 1927)

Norma Shearer (August 1, 1927)

Harold Lloyd (November 21, 1927)

William S. Hart (November 28, 1927)

Tom Mix and Tony the Wonder Horse (December 12, 1927)

Colleen Moore (December 19, 1927)

Gloria Swanson (circa 1927)

Constance Talmadge (circa 1927)

Pola Negri (April 2, 1928)

Bebe Daniels (May 11, 1929)

Marion Davies (May 13, 1929)

Janet Gaynor (May 29, 1929)

Joan Crawford (September 14, 1929)

Despite claims by some that he did and that they were later removed during blacklisting in the 1950s, Charlie Chaplin never placed his handprints in the concrete at the theatre.

1930s

Ann Harding (August 30, 1930)

Raoul Walsh (November 14, 1930)

Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler (January 31, 1931)

Jackie Cooper (December 12, 1931)

Eddie Cantor (March 9, 1932)

Diana Wynyard (January 26, 1933)

The Marx Brothers (February 17, 1933)

Jean Harlow (September 25 and September 29, 1933)

Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald (December 4, 1934)

Shirley Temple (March 14, 1935)

Joe E. Brown (March 5, 1936)

Al Jolson (March 12, 1936)

Freddie Bartholomew (April 4, 1936)

Bing Crosby (April 8, 1936)

Victor McLaglen (May 25, 1936)

William Powell and Myrna Loy (October 20, 1936)

Clark Gable and Woody Van Dyke (January 20, 1937)

Dick Powell and Joan Blondell (February 10, 1937)

Fredric March (April 21, 1937)

May Robson (April 22, 1937)

Tyrone Power and Loretta Young (May 31, 1937)

Sonja Henie (June 28, 1937)

The Ritz Brothers (September 22, 1937)

Eleanor Powell (December 23, 1937)

Don Ameche (January 27, 1938)

Fred Astaire (February 4, 1938)

Deanna Durbin (February 7, 1938)

Alice Faye and Tony Martin (March 20, 1938)

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy (July 20, 1938)

Jean Hersholt (October 11, 1938)

Mickey Rooney (October 18, 1938)

Nelson Eddy (December 28, 1938)

Ginger Rogers (September 5, 1939)

Judy Garland (October 10, 1939)

Jane Withers (November 6, 1939)

1940s

Linda Darnell (March 18, 1940)

Rosa Grauman and George Raft (March 25, 1940)

John Barrymore (September 5, 1940)

Jack Benny (January 13, 1941)

Carmen Miranda (March 24, 1941)

Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor (June 11, 1941)

Rudy Vallee (July 21, 1941)

Cecil B. DeMille (August 7, 1941)

The Family of Judge James K. Hardy (August 15, 1941)

Abbott and Costello (December 8, 1941)

Edward Arnold (January 6, 1942)

Joan Fontaine (May 26, 1942)

Red Skelton (June 18, 1942)

Greer Garson (July 23, 1942)

Henry Fonda, Rita Hayworth, Charles Boyer, Edward G. Robinson, and Charles Laughton (July 24, 1942)

Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (February 5, 1943)

Betty Grable (February 15, 1943)

Monty Woolley (May 28, 1943)

Gary Cooper (August 13, 1943)

Esther Williams and Private Joe Brian (August 1, 1944)

Gene Tierney (January 24, 1945)

Jack Oakie (February 21, 1945)

Jimmy Durante (October 31, 1945)

Sid Grauman (January 24, 1946)

Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison (July 8, 1946)

Margaret O'Brien (August 15, 1946)

Humphrey Bogart (August 21, 1946)

Louella Parsons (September 30, 1946)

Ray Milland (April 17, 1947)

Lauritz Melchior (November 17, 1947)

James Stewart (February 13, 1948)

Van Johnson (March 25, 1948)

George Jessel (March 1, 1949)

Roy Rogers and Trigger (April 21, 1949)

Richard Widmark and Charles Nelson (April 24, 1949)

Jeanne Crain (October 17, 1949)

Jean Hersholt (October 20, 1949)

Anne Baxter and Gregory Peck (December 15, 1949)

Gene Autry and Champion (December 23, 1949)

1950s

John Wayne (January 25, 1950)

Lana Turner (May 24, 1950)

Bette Davis (November 6, 1950)

William Lundigan (December 29, 1950)

Cary Grant (July 16, 1951)

Susan Hayward (August 10, 1951)

Hildegard Knef (as Hildegarde Neff) (December 13, 1951)

Oskar Werner (December 13, 1951)

Jane Wyman (September 17, 1952)

Ava Gardner (October 21, 1952)

Clifton Webb (December 7, 1952)

Olivia de Havilland (December 9, 1952)

Adolph Zukor (January 5, 1953)

Ezio Pinza (January 26, 1953)

Donald O'Connor and mother Effie (February 25, 1953)

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (June 26, 1953)

Jean Simmons (September 24, 1953)

Danny Thomas (January 26, 1954)

James Mason (March 30, 1954)

Alan Ladd (May 12, 1954)

Edmund Purdom (August 30, 1954)

Van Heflin (October 8, 1954)

George Murphy (November 8, 1954)

Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr (March 22, 1956)

Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and George Stevens (September 26, 1956)

Elmer C. Rhoden (September 16, 1958)

Rosalind Russell (February 19, 1959)

1960s

Steve McQueen's hand and footprints, placed upside down at his request.

Cantinflas (December 28, 1960)

Doris Day (January 19, 1961)

Natalie Wood (December 5, 1961)

Charlton Heston (January 18, 1962)

Sophia Loren (July 26, 1962)

Kirk Douglas (November 1, 1962)

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (May 25, 1963)

Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (June 29, 1963)

Mervyn LeRoy (October 15, 1963)

Hayley Mills (February 22, 1964)

Dean Martin (March 21, 1964)

Peter Sellers (June 3, 1964)

Debbie Reynolds (January 14, 1965)

Marcello Mastroianni (February 8, 1965)

Frank Sinatra (July 20, 1965)

Julie Andrews (March 26, 1966)

Dick Van Dyke (June 25, 1966)

Steve McQueen (March 21, 1967)

Sidney Poitier (June 23, 1967)

Anthony Quinn (December 21, 1968)

Danny Kaye (October 19, 1969)

Gene Kelly (November 24, 1969)

1970s

Jack Nicholson's prints from 1974.

Francis X. Bushman (November 17, 1970)

Ali MacGraw (December 14, 1972)

Jack Nicholson (June 17, 1974)

Tom Bradley and Ted Mann (May 18, 1977)

The Chinese Theatre's 50th Anniversary (May 24, 1977)

C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2-D2, and Darth Vader (August 3, 1977)

George Burns (January 25, 1979)

1980s

John Travolta (June 2, 1980)

Burt Reynolds (September 24, 1981)

Rhonda Fleming (September 28, 1981)

Sylvester Stallone (June 29, 1983)

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (May 16, 1984)

Donald Duck and Clarence Nash (May 21, 1984)

Clint Eastwood (August 21, 1984)

Mickey Rooney (February 18, 1986)

Eddie Murphy and Hollywood's 100th Anniversary (May 14, 1987)

McLean Stevenson (December 19, 1989)

1990s

Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, George Takei, and Walter Koenig (December 5, 1991)

Harrison Ford (June 4, 1992)

Michael Keaton (June 15, 1992)

Tom Cruise (June 15, 1992)

Mel Gibson (August 23, 1993)

Arnold Schwarzenegger (July 14, 1994)

Meryl Streep (September 25, 1994)

Whoopi Goldberg (February 2, 1995)

Bruce Willis (May 18, 1995)

Steven Seagal (July 10, 1995)

Jim Carrey (November 1, 1995)

Johnny Grant (May 13, 1997)

Robert Zemeckis (July 8, 1997)

Michael Douglas (September 10, 1997)

Al Pacino (October 16, 1997)

Denzel Washington (January 15, 1998)

Walter Matthau (April 2, 1998)

Warren Beatty (May 21, 1998)

Danny Glover (July 7, 1998)

Tom Hanks (July 23, 1998)

Robin Williams (December 22, 1998)

Susan Sarandon (January 11, 1999)

William F. "Bill" Hertz (March 18, 1999)

Ron Howard (March 23, 1999)

Sean Connery (April 13, 1999)

Richard Gere (July 26, 1999)

Terry Semel and Bob Daly (September 30, 1999)

2000s

Anthony Hopkins (January 11, 2001)

Nicolas Cage (August 14, 2001)

Martin Lawrence (November 19, 2001)

John Woo (May 21, 2002)

Morgan Freeman (June 5, 2002)

Christopher Walken (October 8, 2004)

Jack Valenti (December 6, 2004)

Sherry Lansing (February 16, 2005)

Adam Sandler (May 17, 2005)

Johnny Depp (September 16, 2005)

Samuel L. Jackson (January 30, 2006)

Kevin Costner (September 6, 2006)

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Jerry Weintraub (June 5, 2007)

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint (July 9, 2007)

Johnny Grant (July 9, 2007) placed hands and footprints in concrete 2nd time

Will Smith (December 10, 2007)

Michael Caine (July 11, 2008)

Hugh Jackman (April 21, 2009)

Robert Downey Jr. (December 7, 2009)

VENICE LOS ANGELES

Venice is a district on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, that features performers, fortune-tellers and vendors. Throughout the summer months, the boardwalk is actively entertaining, and this tradition continues on weekends in the winter. It is an important tourist attraction in Southern California, and has retained its popularity in part because it is an attractive location for walking and bicycling. It was home to some of Los Angeles' early beat poets and artists and has served as important cultural center of the city.

Venice is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, by the unincorporated Marina Del Rey on the southeast, by Culver City on the east, by the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mar Vista on the northeast, and by the city of Santa Monica on the north.

Venice of America was founded by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a beach resort town, 14 miles (23 km) west of Los Angeles. He and his partner Francis Ryan had bought two miles (3.24 km) of oceanfront property south of Santa Monica in 1891. They built a resort town on the north end of the property called Ocean Park, which was soon annexed to Santa Monica. After Ryan died, Kinney and his new partners continued building south of Navy Street in the unincorporated territory. After the partnership dissolved in 1904, Kinney built on the marshy land on the south end of the property, intending to create a seaside resort like its namesake in Italy.

When Venice of America opened on July 4, 1905, Kinney had dug several miles of canals to drain the marshes for his residential area, built a 1200-foot-long pleasure pier with an auditorium, ship restaurant, and dance hall, constructed a hot salt-water plunge, and built a block-long arcaded business street with Venetian architecture. Tourists, mostly arriving on the "Red Cars" of the Pacific Electric Railway from Los Angeles and Santa Monica, then rode Venice's miniature railroad and gondolas to tour the town. But the biggest attraction was Venice's mile-long gently sloping beach. Cottages and housekeeping tents were available for rent.

The town's population increased, annexed adjacent housing tracts, and changed its official name from Ocean Park to Venice in 1911. The population (3119 residents in 1910) soon exceeded 10,000, and drew 50,000 to 150,000 tourists on weekends.

Attractions on the Kinney Pier became more amusement oriented by 1910, when a Venice Scenic Railway, Aquarium, Virginia Reel, Whip, Racing Derby and other rides and game booths were added. Since the business district was allotted only three one-block-long streets, and the City Hall was more than a mile away, other competing business districts developed. Unfortunately, this created a fractious political climate. Kinney, however, governed with an iron hand and kept things in check. When he died in November 1920, Venice became harder to govern. With the amusement pier burning six weeks later in December 1920, and Prohibition (which had begun the previous January), the town's tax revenue was severely affected.

The Kinney family rebuilt their amusement pier quickly to compete with Ocean Park's Pickering Pier, and the new Sunset Pier. When it opened it had two roller coasters, a new Racing Derby, a Noah's Ark, a Mill Chutes, and many other rides. By 1925 with the addition of a third coaster, a tall Dragon Slide, Fun House and Flying Circus aerial ride, it was the finest amusement pier on the West Coast. Several hundred thousand tourists visited on weekends. In 1923 Charles Lick built the Lick Pier at Navy Street in Venice, adjacent to the Ocean Park Pier at Pier Avenue in Ocean Park. Another pier was planned for Venice in 1925 at Leona Street (now Washington Street).

For the amusement of the public, Kinney hired aviators to do aerial stunts over the beach. One of them, movie aviator and Venice airport owner B. H. DeLay, implemented the first lighted airport in the United States on DeLay Field (previously known as Ince Field). He also initiated the first aerial police in the nation, after a marine rescue attempt was thwarted. DeLay also performed many of the world's first aerial stunts for motion pictures in Venice.

By 1925, Venice's politics became unmanageable. Its roads, water and sewage systems badly needed repair and expansion to keep up with its growing population. When it was proposed that Venice be annexed to Los Angeles, the board of Trustees voted to hold an election. Those for annexation and those against were nearly evenly matched, but many Los Angeles residents, who moved to Venice to vote, turned the tide. Venice became part of Los Angeles in November 1925.

Los Angeles had annexed the Disneyland of its day, and proceeded to remake Venice in its own image. They felt the town needed more streets, not canals, and paved most of them in 1929 after a three-year court battle led by canal residents. They wanted to close Venice's three amusement piers, but had to wait until the first of the tidelands' leases expired in 1946.

In 1929, oil was discovered south of Washington Street on the Venice Peninsula. Within two years, 450 oil wells covered the area and drilling waste clogged the remaining waterways. It was a short-lived boom that provided needed income to the community, which suffered during the Great Depression. The wells produced oil into the 1970s.

Los Angeles had neglected Venice so long that, by the 1950s, it had become the "Slum by the Sea." With the exception of new police and fire stations in 1930, the city spent little on improvements after annexation. The city did not pave Trolleyway (Pacific Avenue) until 1954 when county and state funds became available. Low rents for run-down bungalows attracted predominantly European immigrants (including a substantial number of Holocaust survivors), and young counterculture artists, poets and writers. The Beat Generation hung out at the Gas House on Ocean Front Walk and at Venice West Cafe on Dudley. Police raids were frequent during that era.

Venice and neighboring Santa Monica were hosts for a decade to Pacific Ocean Park (POP), an amusement and pleasure-pier built atop the old Lick Pier and Ocean Park Pier by CBS and the Los Angeles Turf Club (Santa Anita). It opened in July 1958, in Santa Monica. They kept the pier's old roller coaster, airplane ride and historic carousel, but converted its theaters and smaller pier buildings into sea-themed rides and space-themed attractions designed by Hollywood special-effects people. Visitors could travel in space on the Flight to Mars ride, tour the world in Around the World in 80 Turns, go beneath the sea in the Diving Bells or at Neptune's Kingdom, take a fantasy excursion into the Tales of the Arabian Nights on the Flying Carpet ride, visit a pirate world at Davy Jones' Locker, or visit a tropical paradise and its volcano by riding a train on Mystery Island. There were also thrill rides like the Whirlpool (rotor whose floor dropped out), the Flying Fish wild mouse coaster, an auto ride, gondola ride, double Ferris wheel, safari ride, and an area of children's rides called Fun Forest. Sea lion shows were performed at the Sea Circus.

Since attendance at the park was too low to justify winter operation, and with competition from Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and Marineland, it was sold after two seasons to a succession of owners, who allowed the park deteriorate. Since Santa Monica was redeveloping the surrounding area for high-rise apartments and condos, it became difficult for patrons to reach the park, and it was forced into bankruptcy in 1967. The park suffered a series of arson fires beginning in 1970, and its was demolished by 1974. Another aging attraction in the 1960s was the Aragon Ballroom that had been the longtime home of The Lawrence Welk Show and the Spade Cooley Show, and later the Cheetah Club where rock bands such as the Doors, Blue Cheer & many other top bands performed. It burned in the 1970 fire. The district around POP in the southside of Santa Monica is known as Dogtown, it is a common misconception that Dogtown is in Venice.

THIRD STREET PROMENADE

The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian mall in Santa Monica, California, United States. It is considered one of the premier shopping destinations in West Los Angeles and frequently draws crowds from all over Los Angeles County. Due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean coupled with Los Angeles's mild climate, it is also a popular tourist destination.

Third Street has been a center of business in Santa Monica since the town's inception in the late 1800s. The Promenade's roots date back to the 1960s when three blocks of Third Street were converted into a pedestrian mall. Although successful at first, by the late 1970s, the pedestrian mall was in serious decline, despite the construction of Santa Monica Place mall designed by Frank Gehry, at its southern end. Subsequently, the area was redeveloped in the late 1980s-early 1990s (and renamed Third Street Promenade) to become the nationally recognized success that it is today. The project was part of a larger redevelopment effort in Downtown Santa Monica, encompassing several blocks of an area called Bayside District. Santa Monica Place has since been renovated as well into a new shopping center, which also resembles a pedestrian street, and is scheduled to open August 6th, 2010

The Third Street Promenade includes a mix of local and chain businesses. It had the original Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse before it went out of business; currently, it boasts a Mann Theatres, AMC Theatres, and Loews Theatres. Larger tenants include Anthropologie, H&M, French Connection UK, Barnes & Noble, Urban Outfitters, a three-story Gap, Armani Exchange, Guess?, Apple, American Eagle Outfitters and Pottery Barn.Third Street Promenade hosts a popular farmers' market twice a week. Street performers and entertainers are a frequent sight on the street. On a typical Saturday night in the summer, singer-songwriters, classical guitar players, magicians, clowns, hip-hop dancers, lounge singers, session drummers, and many harder-to-classify artists line up approximately 50 feet (15 m) apart from each other all along Third Street.

On July 16, 2003, 86-year-old George Russell Weller lost control of his car and drove through a crowded farmer's market on the promenade, killing 10 people. The Third Street Promenade is featured in the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles.

HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD

Hollywood Boulevard is a boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest to Vermont Avenue, where it straightens out and runs due west to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. West of Laurel Canyon it continues as a small residential street in the hills, finally ending at Sunset Plaza Drive. On the east side of Hollywood Boulevard it passes through the neighborhoods of Little Armenia and Thai Town.

The famous street was named Prospect Avenue from 1887 to 1910, when the town of Hollywood was annexed to the city of Los Angeles. After annexation, the street numbers changed from 100 Prospect Avenue, at Vermont Avenue, to 6400 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1946 Gene Autry rode his horse in the Hollywood Christmas parade and was inspired by the children yelling "Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus," to write the song "Here Comes Santa Claus" along with Oakley Hnicknamed "Santa Claus Lane". The Hollywood Christmas Parade passes down Hollywood Boulevard every Sunday after Thanksgiving .