The Grauman's Chinese pages:
| Chinese overview | street views 1926 to 1954 | street views 1955 to present | forecourt | lobby | lounges | vintage auditorium views | recent auditorium views | upstairs boxes and offices | booth | stage | basement | attic and roof | Chinese Twin | Chinese 6 |
Architects: Mel C. Glatz & Associates
Seating: 1,500 total
A grand opening ad in the L.A. Times. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org
A few comments:
Paul Carroll:
"A lot of parking lot parties took place behind The Chinese Twins. I should know...I worked as a manager between 1988 and 1989. Nothing but great memories."
Robert Neff:
"Back when everyone wanted a multi-plex. They had to put them somewhere. The Egyptian did the same thing and put a building with two small screens on their East side."
Charly Abraham:
"I loved those theaters. They looked good, sounded good, and were comfy for their time."
Interior views:
The Chinese Twin snack bar in 1981. Thanks to actor Stephen Stanton for the use of his photos taken when he was a manager at the theatre in the early 80s. You can find him on IMDb and Facebook.
The Chinese style pay phones in the lobby of the Twin. Thanks to Matthew Jones for the 1994 photo on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.
Thanks to Scott Neff for this photo of the lobby of the Twin prior to demolition. It appears on the Cinema Tour Chinese Theatre page. Also see another lobby view.
More exterior views:
Thanks to the amazing Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for this image looking west in 1978 as the framing rises for the Chinese Twin. The photo collection is now owned by the McAvoy family.
A McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection view of the theatre during construction taken from across the street.
A McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection view of the new theatres open with their initial films "Superman" and "Old Boyfriends" on the marquees.
An April 1980 view by Steve Piotrowski of Grauman's and, on the right, its glamorous neighbor, the Mann Chinese Twin. Steve had the photo as a post on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.
A 1980 photo from the Bill Gabel collection looking west toward the Chinese Twin and the main theatre beyond. It was a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. Bill noted that on the trees there are yellow ribbons for the Iranian hostages.
The Mann Chinese Twin in 1981. They're running "Looker" on one screen with "Fox & the Hound" and "Song of the South" on the other. Thanks to Stephen Stanton for the photo.
A 1981 view from what was then the Holiday Inn (now the Loews Hollywood) looking at the back of the Chinese Twin and, on the right, Grauman's Chinese. It's a photo by Nigel Hailwood-Cook.
A look east in 1984 with "Tightrope" in the main theatre and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" at the 2&3. Thanks to Noirish los Angeles contributor Hoss C, who put the photo in his Noirish post #17356. "Tightrope" ran in the main auditorium from August 17 through October 3.
A lovely c.1984 overhead shot from Richard Wojcik, shared on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. On the lower right we're looking down onto the stagehouse of the Chinese and its smoke vents. To the left of the main theatre is the Chinese Twin.
Thanks, Richard! He notes: "A bus is parked at the lower left on Orchid Ave. close to where it meets Hollywood Blvd. That section of Orchid Ave. was built over with the construction of the Dolby Theater / Hollywood Highland Center in 2001."
The Chinese Twin in the Movies:
We see a lot of Hollywood Blvd. in Robert Vincent O'Neill's "Angel" (New World, 1984). Fifteen year old Molly is a high school student by day, a hooker by night. That's Molly in the distance, off to school, in this view west toward the Chinese Twin. The film stars Donna Wilkes, Cliff Gorman, Dick Shawn and Rory Calhoun. John Diehl is the killer preying on teenage hookers. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a dozen shots from the film.
Richard
Gere is in that white car he doesn't really know how to drive as we
look west with the Chinese Twin in the background. It's a shot from
Garry Marshall's "Pretty
Woman" (Touchstone, 1990). The film also stars
Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo, Hector Elizondo and
Ralph Bellamy. The cinematography was by Charles Minsky. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a view of one of the dragon marquees plus shots of the Vogue, Egyptian and Pantages theatres from the film.
Kurt Russell hikes over the hills and gets this view of the Chinese and
the Mann Chinese Twin in John Carpenter's "Escape From L.A."
(Paramount, 1996). L.A. has sheared off from the mainland in a big quake
and is now a colony for undesirables. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot of the State Theatre and half a dozen lobby shots at the Los Angeles from the film.
The Grauman's Chinese pages:
| Chinese overview | street views 1926 to 1954 | street views 1955 to present | forecourt | lobby | lounges | vintage auditorium views | recent auditorium views | upstairs boxes and offices | booth | stage | basement | attic and roof | back to top - Chinese Twin | Chinese 6 |
| Hollywood Theatres: overview and alphabetical lists | Hollywood Theatres: list by address | Downtown theatres | Westside | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | L.A. Theatres: main alphabetical list | L.A. Theatres: list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |
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