Chinese Theatre Gets Brightest LED Marquees in LA

New signs and an historic designation are just ahead for the Hollywood landmark

Change? We mean, c'mon. Even though we know to expect to, it can stress the bedickens out of us.

And when a beloved landmark, one where many of us saw "Star Wars" for the first time or "The Wizard of Oz," announced a big transformation in the spring of 2013, well. Fans fretted, through and through.

Many people voiced their concerns when they learned the TCL Chinese Theatre would get an IMAX screen. They wondered whether it would lose its famous chandeliers and whimsical dragons and scarlet-hued wow.

End of the story? It did not. Some seats were removed, and upgrades were made, and the Hollywood venue now stands as one of the largest IMAX theaters in the world and the only IMAX to have a curtain. (Seriously, we're most relieved that the curtain stayed.)

Now the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, the organization behind supporting and restoring many of our great movie palaces, has a post-restoration commendation to give: The Chinese is receiving its Theatre of the Year award for 2013 on Thursday, June 5.

That doesn't happen all that often in this world, right? That past charms were kept well intact, so much so an award is given? Definitely applause-worthy.

Also applause-worthy, or at least eye-catching after sundown: The theater is set to get new LED marquees, the "brightest ones in Los Angeles." That stretch of the boulevard is already pretty twinkly, but the signs are set to out-twinkle 'em all.

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Shine on, TCL Chinese Theatre. And please, forever and always, keep that vintage-cool curtain.

Want to see the amazing time-lapse film again, the one detailing the theater's update? Here it is. Filmmaker's Andrew Oleck.

Time-Lapse of the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX Renovation from Andrew Oleck on Vimeo.

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