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. 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. 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. 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. There are nearly 200 Hollywood celebrity handprints, footprints, and autographs in the concrete of the theater's forecourt.

You will find the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood and Highland Shopping Centre and Entertainment Complex. Even though this might be the first time you have come here for a concert, you will have already seen this theatre many times on television over the last nine years or so. You don’t recognise it?

Well, you would be forgiven if you don’t. Usually when it’s on television the shops on each side of it are delicately hidden behind swathes of red cloth and there is a long red carpet leading to the lobby, along which your favourite (and not so favourite) stars wave to huge crowds as they make their way to the front doors. The theatre hosts the Academy Awards Ceremony every year.

The theatre was built in 2001 by David Rockwell and sponsored by the Eastman Kodak Company, especially for the famous Oscars. It holds one of the largest stages in the United States, being 34 metres wide and 18 metres deep. The Award-Winning Ceremony has taken place here every year since 2002. The columns in the lobby all bear the names of the lucky Winners dating back to 1927.

For several weeks before the Oscars the theatre is rented out to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For the rest of the year it hosts live concerts and, of course American Idol – although the finals are held in another theatre. Since the beginning of 2011 it is also the home of the Cirque du Soleil. If you don’t want to take in a show, there are daily guided tours, except during Awards Week.

If you want to give your children a great treat during your stay in Los Angeles – or if you want to give yourself one for that matter – the best place to go is to the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

This movie theatre was commissioned by Charles Toberman in collaboration with Sid Grauman, a showman who had worked on two other theme theatres. This theatre had a Spanish Colonial Revival exterior and a beautiful Eastern Indian red and gold interior. It opened as a live theatre in 1926 and for over ten years some of the greatest artists of the time performed here, including Clark Gable and Will Rogers.

Towards the end of the nineteen thirties, audiences fell off and in 1941, after Orson Wells used the place for the premier of his controversial film “Citizen Kane”, the theatre closed for over a year. It was remodeled in “Art Moderne”, completely covering Sid Grauman’s original decorations and it reopened in 1942 as a movie house called Hollywood Paramount.

In the late nineteen eighties the Walt Disney Company bought the theatre and restored it to its original 1926 decoration. A magnificent Wurlitzer organ and hi-tech special effect equipment was installed.

Before enjoying one of Disney’s great films, the kids will love the show on the stage in front of the screen, featuring characters from the film they are about to see. The children will be transfixed which is a great change from having them fidget through long boring advertising spots.

Sid Grauman and Charles Toberman collaborated to create three theme theatres and probably the best one – if not the most famous – is the Egyptian Theatre.

The theatre was built during the great interest in all things Egyptian sparked off by the English archaeologist Howard Carter and his excavations in the Valley of the Kings and the building was given an Egyptian Revival façade with Egyptian paintings and hieroglyphs on the interior and exterior walls. Four huge columns were erected in front of the entrance and a fountain and palm trees were set in the forecourt.

The theatre opened its doors for the first time in October 1922 – just two weeks before Howard Carter found Tutankhamen’s tomb. The film “Robin Hood” staring Hollywood idol Douglas Fairbanks had its premiere here and was the only picture house where you could see the film for over a year. This insured a full house every day which helped to repay the massive investment Grauman and Toberman had put into its construction.

During the nineteen eighties and nineties the theatre fell into disrepair and was threatened with demolition. Luckily, Los Angeles was going through period where they preferred to restore historic buildings if they could find the funds. The theatre was sold to the American Cinematheque, a non profit-making cultural organization, for the symbolic sum of $1, on the grounds that they restored the building.

Today you can see a daily screening of “Forever Hollywood” an interesting, hour-long documentary film explaining the history of Hollywood. Several famous actors are interviewed and they tell us about their love for the film industry and Hollywood in particular. Throughout the year American Cinematheque organizes events including the film, television and video festivals that are very popular.

A lot of films have their premiere here and sometimes the star and/or director of a film will host screenings and are there to discuss the film. There are two screens and sliding walls open to reveal the old theatre before closing to create a hi-tech cinema.

One of the best theatres for live performances in Los Angeles is the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

This wonderful theatre with its 2500 seating capacity and great acoustics was opened for the first time in 1930. Built in Art Deco design by B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last building commissioned by the great vaudeville impresario, Alexander Pantages.

Pantages was a very shrewd businessman; he knew that the “talkies”, as sound films were called, would soon mean the decline, if not the end, of live performances. This, he knew, was due to several factors: the sound in “talkies” was steadily improving; the price of cinema seats was less expensive than theatre ones and the films were action-packed, swash-buckling affairs designed to take people’s minds off the Depression that was spreading across the United States.

His theatre was therefore a mixture of movies and live vaudeville performances, therefore providing something for everyone. The building was also designed to give maximum comfort, with plenty of restrooms and lounges. The theatre operated with way for two years, until being sold to the Fox Theatre Company. From 1932 until 1977 it was exclusively a movie theatre. Howard Hughes bought it in 1949 for the RKO Theatre Circuit and had his offices on the second floor. Between 1949 and 1959 it was the hosting theatre of the Academy Awards.

In 1977 it closed as a cinema and after expensive remodeling it reopened as a live theatre. Since then it has staged many plays and comedy musicals, such as the Lion King and other Broadway hits. It is also a favorite venue for rock concerts and is often used as a backdrop in films.

If you are looking for a little nostalgia, not in your choice of movie, but in your choice of cinema, check out the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Boulevard.

This movie theatre, opened in 1963 is easily recognized by its famous geodesic dome consisting of 316 concrete roof panels decorated in 16 different geometric patterns. When the film “Shrek” was showing there, the dome was covered with a green sheath and two “Shrek ears” were added. During the showing of “Spiderman”, a giant model of the hero was set up on the dome.

The dome is 70 feet high, the auditorium is round and the screen has a 126° curve. The seats are really comfortable and the delicious pop-corn from the cinema’s snack bar is home-made. You are shown to your seats by an usher, who also announces the film. It’s like going back in time to the days when going to the movies was a real treat and the theatre staff was kind and helpful.

The futuristic sound system in DTS-6 boasts 44 surround speakers and a Kinoton projector is used for some 70mm films. Other films are shown in digital projection, or 3D, depending on the film. You can be sure to find a great film showing during your stay in Los Angeles, because of the great acoustics and the curved screen at lot of films are shown here first after their premier.