The TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre) is a famous 1920s landmark. A full renovation and seismic upgrade was in order, but the requirements were stringent: the fully operational theatre would continue to open to the public every day, and the owner did not want guests to see any evidence of construction. PCL’s project team not only met this goal, but also completed construction ahead of schedule, despite being restricted to off-hours work.

The seismic upgrade was accomplished with the addition of a cast-in-place shear wall in the theatre and a shotcrete shear wall behind the movie screen in the fly tower. The shear walls were connected by strengthening the roof truss with steel angles and adding a sloping tube-steel truss. The existing projection room, located on the main theatre floor, was relocated to its original position in the balcony. The theatre floor was reseated, and handicapped seating areas were added. A new enlarged concession stand was added in the main lobby. A portion of the office area (Sid Grauman’s original office) was also part of the renovation work. The exterior forecourt, famous for the hand and footprints of Hollywood stars but modified over the years with a number of poorly conceived additions, was refurbished to match the original 1927 look.