Travel Tidbits: End of An Era

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

04 Sep 2007 01:38 PM

I've told you about my childhood crush on Michael J. Fox (and Jason Bateman and Ricky Schroeder and...) in previous blogs. It's tue; I've seen "Back to the Future" more times than most people have gone out to eat dinner. Which is why I was saddened to learn that the Universal Studios Hollywood ride based on the film trilogy that starred my beloved Michael (is a) Fox is officially a part of history.

The ride took its final passengers yesterday and now is relegated to the past. (Sniff, sniff.) What's even sadder is that the ride was closed to make room for a (gasp) new "Simpsons" attraction. (My apologies to all you "Simpsons" fans, but come on, Bart bumping my Mikey--What is this world coming to?!)

For those of you who have never visited the theme park, "Back to the Future - The Ride," was christened as the first high-tech thrill ride at Universal Studios Hollywood when it opened in 1993. The lines for the ride dwindled over the years, but it still had a special place in my heart. There was nothing like being strapped into a moving cart - modeled after the film's DeLorean time machine - and blasted into "the future" via a film projected on a domed screen, which gave the illusion that you were actually experiencing time travel.

While the "Back to the Future" ride was being immortalized in amusement park lore, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the 80-year-old California landmark that attracts millions of tourists every year, was making history as well.

According to news reports, Hollywood's largest commercial landlord is the new owner of Grauman's, but will continue to operate it as a film house. And here's an interesting bit of trivia: the new owners, CIM Group of Los Angeles, bought the property for an undisclosed price from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Center of New York. Who knew the landmark was owned by a research hospital?

I'm sure many visitors to the 1,612-seat theatre had no clue. They're too busy snapping pictures of themselves near the building's signature pagoda-inspired entrance. For those of you who have never visited, the theatre has two red columns topped by iron masks that hold up the bronze roof. In between the two columns sits the structure's signature 30-foot tall stone carved dragon. Meanwhile, the theater's entrance is guarded by a couple of giant stone Heaven Dogs, which are original artifacts brought back from China by Sid Grauman (he built the theater).

Since it's construction in 1927, Grauman's Chinese has become one of Southern California's most popular tourist attractions, namely because it features a courtyard filled with foot and handprints cast in concrete from just about every major movie star in the business. In addition, the venue hosts dozens of film premieres every year.

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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