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"Hollywood
Boulevard"
by Paul McGehee. This early 1930's panorama of the famous thoroughfare
in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California depicts the iconic
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the First National Bank building and the El
Capitan Theatre looking east from North Orange Drive. This was the
theatre district of Hollywood, the movie-making capital of the
world...scene of countless film premieres and star-studded red carpet
events, with newsreel cameras turning. Sid Grauman was from an
entertainment background which transformed into theatre ownership of
vaudeville stages and then movie houses in the golden age of silent
films. In 1922 Grauman opened an exotic movie palace called the
Egyptian Theatre (up the Boulevard a couple blocks to the right), a
beautiful place with Egyptian references throughout. It was so
successful that Grauman, along with partners which included America's
Sweetheart Mary Pickford and her husband, silent film swashbuckler
Douglas Fairbanks, decided to build the ultimate movie house, one so
opulent, so magnificent as to defy description...the perfect place to
see Hollywood's best. In the 1920's, oriental mysticism was quite
popular, so what better theme than a Chinese Theatre! The site was
chosen, and a long-term lease was taken out on property belonging to
silent star Francis X. Bushman (to whom the building was eventually
dedicated). The new Chinese Theatre was constructed during 1926-27, and
was the first major theatre to have a built-in central air conditioning
system. Grauman's Chinese Theatre had its grand opening May 18, 1927
with the world premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's "King of Kings". The
theatre was a huge success, and many, many important films had their
start there, including "Star Wars" (50 years after that first premiere)
in 1977. Off to the right in this scene is the El Capitan Theatre, also
a Grauman project, which was primarily built for stage productions in
the late 1920's and 30's but was converted to motion pictures in 1941.
Among other famous events which took place at the El Capitan was the
premiere of Orson Welles' classic "Citizen Kane". All three Grauman
theatres, each beautiful in their own right, also featured mighty
Wurlitzer organs at stageside to entertain their patrons. Thankfully
each theatre still survives to this day and have been beautifully
restored to their golden age glory. And, of course, the famous
celebrity imprints and inscriptions in the cement at Grauman's
Chinese continues to be a major tourist attraction as well...a
tangible reminder of Hollywood's storied past.
"Hollywood Boulevard" is
faithfully reproduced from Paul's original color pencil and acrylic
artwork in a
limited edition of 2,000 hand-signed prints.
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