El Capitan Theatre
Restored nineteen-twenties movie palace with a gilded East Indian interior, host to landmark Hollywood film premieres.
Location
About this audio guide
El Capitan Theatre's guide begins in 1941, when Orson Welles brought the world premiere of Citizen Kane here after the big studios refused to book it, filling this 1926 playhouse's gold-leaf, East Indian-style hall with temporary projection gear for a single night. It follows what happened to the theatre afterward, as it closed within months and reopened under a new name and a sleek modern look, its original nineteen-twenties decor sealed away behind new paneling. For decades, audiences here had no idea what waited behind the walls.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
TCL Chinese Theatre
Pagoda-style movie palace with a bronze roof and stone dragon, its forecourt paved with celebrity hand and footprints.
The Orpheum Theatre
Gilded nineteen twenties vaudeville palace with a still-functioning Wurlitzer theater organ hidden behind its walls.
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Streamline Moderne department store turned film museum, its restored gold-leaf dome anchoring Hollywood's history and controversies alike.
The Biltmore Los Angeles
Grand nineteen-twenties hotel where Hollywood elite gathered and the Oscars were first conceived.
Dolby Theatre
Art Deco performance venue with a grand staircase, home to the Academy Awards ceremony each year.
The Hollywood Museum
Art deco former cosmetics salon with color-coded makeup rooms and a basement horror-film prop collection.