Grauman's Egyptian Theatre

Origins

The Egyptian was built by showman Sid Grauman, who previously opened the Million Dollar Theater and later designed Grauman's Chinese, and Charles E. Toberman, who later built the El Capitan and Chinese.[1][2] This theater, designed with an Egyptian theme to capitalize on the Egyptomania that was occurring at the time,[3] took 18 months to construct at a cost of $800,000 .[4] Architects Meyer & Holler designed the building and it was constructed by the Milwaukee Building Company, a Meyer & Holler affiliate.[5]

The Egyptian was the site of world's first film premiere, Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood, in 1922.[6] Additional premieres that took place in this theater in the 1920s include The Ten Commandments,[6] The Thief of Bagdad,[7] The Gold Rush,[6] Don Juan,[6] the west coast premiere of The Black Pirate,[8][9] and many more. The theater sat 1,771.[4]

Decline

In 1927, Grauman opened Grauman's Chinese, also on Hollywood Boulevard. This theater's popularity surpassed the Egyptian, most likely due to the Chinese's celebrity handprints, footprints, and signatures in the concrete of its forecourt,[10] and following its opening, Fox West Coast Theaters operated the Egyptian as a re-run house.[4]

The Egyptian returned to first-run premieres in 1944, when it became the exclusive Hollywood showcase for MGM. However, MGM was forced to relinquish this theater in 1949, when the Paramount Decree barred major studios from operating movie theaters. United Artists operated this theater from 1949 to 1992, with the theater showcasing 20th Century Fox films from the 1970s onwards. Additionally, a large curved Todd-AO screen was added to the theater in 1955; much of the original proscenium arch demolished to make room for the screen.[4]

In 1985, the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with the Egyptian Theatre listed as a contributing property in the district;[11] despite this, the theater fell into disrepair and closed in 1992. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency bought the theater for $1.7 million the following year,[12] the same year the theater was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.[13]

Revitalization

The Egyptian underwent two large restoration efforts, the first by the American Cinematheque in the late 1990s and the second by Netflix in the early 2020s. The entire process is considered a "case study in reversibility" by Los Angeles City staff.[14]

American Cinematheque

In 1996, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency sold the Egyptian to the American Cinematheque for a nominal $1, with the provision that the building be restored to its original grandeur and reopened as a movie theater.[12] The Cinematheque raised $12.8 million to pay for the restoration,[15] which was done by architecture and design studio Hodgetts + Fung.[16]

The Egyptian theater reopened on December 4, 1998. The restored theater, named after Lloyd Rigler, sat 616 patrons, while a second theater named after Steven Spielberg was also added; it sat 78. The forecourt was also restored, with palm trees and planters added. In 2000, the restoration project won the National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Netflix

In 2019, Netflix announced plans to purchase the Egyptian for use as a special events venue[15] and also to qualify its films for Oscar nominations and screen its films and television shows for Oscar and Emmy voters.[17] Netflix also announced that the American Cinematheque would still hold events on weekends.[18] A year later, Netflix announced that they would acquire the theater and invest in renovations.[19] The theater's purchase price was $14.4 million [20] and the renovations totaled more than $70 million .[21]

The Egyptian was renovated and restored beginning in 2020 until 2023. The restoration included the removal of elements added during the 1990s restoration, such as the main theater's balcony section and acoustic panels, the entire second theater, and the palm trees and planters in the forecourt. Modern lighting and sound upgrades were also added, and the theater's capacity was reduced to 516.[22][23]

Netflix reopened the theater on November 9, 2023 with a screening of The Killer followed by a Q&A session with director David Fincher. Netflix also announced the release of the documentary short Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre, which features interviews from Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and the theater's restoration architect Peyton Hall.[24]

In media

The Egyptian was featured in episode 712 of Visiting... with Huell Howser.[27] It also appears in Jonathan Franzen's 2021 novel Crossroads and is a location in the 2011 video game L.A. Noire.