Los Angeles'
Hollywood & Highland Complex / Ovation Hollywood

Hollywood, L.A.'s seventy-five-store shopping and entertainment extravaganza opened in November 2001. Originally known as the HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND COMPLEX, it got off to a less than stellar start. Things did pick up in later years, with the venue eventually serving as a catalyst for a revitalization of Hollywood Boulevard.
Photo from Wikipedia / Gary Minnaert

The H&H COMPLEX was built on the northwest corner of the Hollywood Boulevard / Highland Avenue intersection; the epicenter of Hollywood. Originally, Hotel Hollywood occupied the site. This circa-1902 photo shows the initial stage of the building.
Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library's Photo Collection

Hotel Hollywood was expanded between 1904 and 1908. Here we see the completed structure, which was the area's first major lodging establishment. By the 1920s, it was officially known as the Hollywood Hotel and was home to several silent-era movie stars. Its grand Orchid Ballroom was the place to see and be seen in Roaring '20s Tinseltown.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library's Photo Collection

Just down The Boulevard was the majestic Grauman's Chinese Theatre, with its famed Forecourt. Here is where the creme de la creme of Hollywood came to etch their names in wet cement. The first to do so was actress Norma Talmedge, in May 1927. 

"MM" was immortalized in June 1953, as a promotion for Twentieth Century-

Fox's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

The 2-block area, that would eventually host the H&H COMPLEX, as it was situated in 1953. The Hollywood Hotel, in the lower right, would be bulldozed 3 years later. It was considered out of the question, at the time, to renovate the historic structure...

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. The First Federal Savings & Loan Building, which replaced the Hollywood Hotel in early 1959. The remainder of the old hotel site was covered with asphalt and four small retail buildings. These joined the plethora of cheesy souvenir shops that now lined formerly fabulous Hollywood Boulevard.

In March 1960, the illustrious -or so they hoped- Hollywood Walk of Fame premiered. It remade a 1.7 mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street into a sidewalk tribute to various Tinseltown luminaries. Director Stanley Kramer was the first artist to be commemorated with a star.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Richardw"

Marilyn Monroe's WOF star. It resides at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Hollywood & Highland McDonald's. The fast foodery is located near the southeast corner of the intersection.

The site of the H&H COMPLEX, in 1980. A high-rise Holiday Inn had opened in 1970. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was rebranded as Mann's Chinese Theatre in 1973. The Mann's Chinese II & III Theatres were added in April 1979. 

A rendering of the proposed HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND COMPLEX. Originally, there was to be a "Premier Theatre" (it was branded by Kodak in July 2000). Q's Juke Joint, a nightclub envisaged by Quincy Jones, never came to fruition. Its space became a Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley. Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Motion Picture Collection, announced in the summer of 2001, never panned out either. 
Drawing from http://www.marketingwithstyle.com / McCarthynews 

An aerial view of the H&H COMPLEX construction site, taken in October 1999. I was visiting So-Cal during this stage. Looking down into the incredibly deep excavation, I was almost certain I could see a city block of Beijing, lol.
Drawing from http://www.marketingwithstyle.com / McCarthynews

Among my souvenirs...a photo that I snapped at the Hollywood-Highland intersection in June 2000. The H&H COMPLEX, under construction at the time, is seen on the right. That's the famed El Capitan Theatre on the left.

A circa-2002 site plan of the shiny new HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND COMPLEX. The existing "Chinese Theatre" has been worked into the 640,000 square foot shopping and entertainment venue. A circa-1970 Holiday Inn had closed in April 1999, in anticipation of a 130 million dollar expansion and renovation. It re-opened, as the Renaissance Hollywood, in December 2001.

The complex was renamed HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND CENTER in 2004. The stairways lead up to what was originally known as the "Babylon Court," later referred to as the "Central Courtyard."
Photo from Wikipedia / Gary Minnaert

The open Central Courtyard, with its gigantic "Grand Portal" Arch. This was modeled after a set built for D.W. Griffith's silent-era epic "Intolerance" (1916). This area was rebuilt between 2020 and 2023, when such "Babylonian-themed" adornment was replaced.
Photo from http://communitybenefits.blogspot.com 

A still from "Intolerance," showing the original Arch. After shooting was completed, the set was moved to the intersection of Sunset and Vine. It stood there for several years before being demolished.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Ihcoyc"

Moving back to the present, we see a trainset on L.A.'s Metro subway. The system was inaugurated, with the 4.4 route mile Union Station-to-Westlake-MacArthur Park line, in January 1993. Metro's Hollywood-Highland station opened, as part of the North Hollywood Red Line Extension, in June of the year 2000. 

Photo from Wikipedia / "The Port of Authority" 

An interior view of the Hollywood-Highland Metro station.
Photo from http://www.metro.net

That famed -and coveted- little statue. Originally known as The Academy Award of Merit, it is now commonly referred to as "The Oscar."

Photo from The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

[see Fair Use Rationale at end of article]

OSCAR NIGHT VENUES

1. ROOSEVELT HOTEL, Hollywood, Los Angeles (1929)
2. & 3. Alternated between the AMBASSADOR HOTEL, Mid-Wilshire,
Los Angeles and BILTMORE HOTEL, Downtown Los Angeles (1930-1943)
4. GRAUMAN'S CHINESE THEATRE, Hollywood, Los Angeles (1944-
1946)
5. SHRINE AUDITORIUM, West Adams, Los Angeles (1947-1948)
6. ACADEMY AWARD THEATRE [American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Headquarters], Hollywood, Los Angeles (1949)
7. PANTAGES THEATRE, Hollywood, Los Angeles (1950-1959)
[Awards ceremony held simultaneously at NBC INTERNATIONAL THEATRE,
New York City (1953) and NBC CENTURY THEATRE, New York City (1954-
1957)]
8. SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUDITORIUM, City of Santa Monica (1960-1968)
9. DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION, Downtown Los Angeles (1969-2001)
10. KODAK THEATRE, Hollywood, Los Angeles (2002-2012) / DOLBY THEATRE (2013-)


A list of the ten Academy Award ceremony venues. The presentation has been a Tinseltown tradition since the first was held on May 16, 1929. After 43 years of being staged in various parts of Los Angeles, the annual Oscar Night ceremony moved back to Hollywood. This occurred with the 74th soiree. It was held at the HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND COMPLEX Kodak Theatre, on March 24, 2002.

Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel, which hosted the first Academy Award ceremony in 1929. The building is located along Hollywood Boulevard, directly southwest of today's H&H CENTER.
Photo from Wikipedia / Gary Minnaert

Hollywood's Pantages ["Pan-tay-jus"] Theatre, which was an Oscar Night venue for the years between 1950 and 1959. It is located at the Hollywood & Vine intersection, several blocks east of the H&H CENTER.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Captain-tucker" / LA Times

Central city Los Angeles' Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Oscar Night venue between 1969 and 2001.
Photo from Wikipedia / Carol M. Highsmith 

The Kodak Theatre, which was the site for Oscar presentations between 2002 and 2012. Billy Crystal referred to the venue as the "Bankruptcy Theatre" at the 2012 presentations. As a facet of the camera company's demise, the Kodak branding had been removed in February of that year. In May, a new sponsor was announced and the auditorium was bequeathed a new name. On June 11, 2012, it officially became the Dolby Theatre.
Photo from Wikepedia / "DirectorG"

 

The HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND California Pizza Kitchen is a circa-2001 charter tenant.

Photo from http://hollywoodandhighland.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

The Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley opened in late 2002.

Photo from http://hollywoodandhighland.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

A circa-2016 plan shows that much has changed since our 2002 layout. The original Street Level, Level 1, Level 2 and Dining Level orientation has been altered. The floors are now named Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. As previously mentioned, the Kodak Theatre has been rebranded as the Dolby Theatre. Lastly, Grauman's Chinese Theatre has had -yet- another corporate name tacked on. As of January 2013, it is officially known as the TCL Chinese Theatre. Boo Hiss to this.

We continue our HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND induction with a montage of logos used to promote the shopping hub between the years 2001 and 2022.

Graphics from http://hollywoodandhighland.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine) 

A massive renovation of the shopping hub commenced in 2020. As part of this endeavor, the name of the complex was changed to OVATION HOLLYWOOD in March 2022. 

Graphic from https://www.ovationhollywood.com

OVATION HOLLYWOOD TENANTS 2023:

SHOPPING:

Aldo shoes / Baly’s apparel / Bric’s Milano / Dodgers Clubhouse / Foot Locker / Forever 21 young ladies' wear / Gelato Festival / Hot Topic apparel / Japan House / Lids hats / M.A.C. Cosmetics / Pandora / Pink / Q Fashions / Sephora cosmetics / Shoe Palace / Skechers shoes / Sun’s Up / Victoria’s Secret lingerie / Walgreen Drug / Wuitusu

  

DINING:

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream / Cabo Wabo Cantina / California Pizza Kitchen / Capital One Cafe / Chado Tea Room / Cho Oishi Japanese cuisine / Cold Stone Creamery / Cookie Dough Dreams / Hard Rock Cafe / Japan House / Jinya Ramen Express / Johnny Rockets restaurant / Latin Fusion Kitchen / Pokinometry / The Tea & Coffee Exchange / Waffle Jack / Wolfgang Puck Catering

THEATRES & ENTERTAINMENT:

DOLBY THEATRE / CHINESE THEATRE / CHINESE 6 THEATRES / Anvio VR / Dave & Busters Grand Sports Cafe / Lucky Strike Lanes (with bar & grill) / Starline Tours / The Ray Dolby Ballroom