SIMULTANEOUS SPLASH: Having two famous locations sit close together is not all that unusual. Celebrated structures around the world don't exist in a vacuum, but rather along a stretch containing other buildings, buildings which also might possess a degree of celebrity. What is pretty dang charming is when two neighboring landmarks can trace their birthdays back to the very same month of a year decades in the past. The TCL Chinese Theatre can do that, as can the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which sits just southwest of the planet's best-known cinema (and repository of movie star handprints and footprints). Both came into being in May of 1927, and while 90th birthday plans -- and centennial parties -- are still quite a ways out, visiting both fabled spots on a single day, whether for a movie, some handprints photos, a drink at the hotel's Public Kitchen and Bar, or a night's stay, is quite doable. Will you discuss...
HOW THE FIRST OSCARS... were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt? Or that the "Star Wars" premiere took place at the cinema founded by impresario Sid Grauman? Those are worthy topics, but there's loads more to know from the lore files (the Roosevelt has its purported phantoms while the TCL Chinese Theatre's forecourt map may be the world's only map of cement, or at least the world's most famous cement map). Want to overnight at the almost-90-year-old inn, a hotel that underwent a major refurbishment a few years back? There are a few packages on including one involving that most Hollywood-y of hotel features, the swimming pool. Ready to lounge on your Cabana Balcony while paging through a book about silent film stars? Time-portaling back to 1927 isn't too hard 'round the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive.
