You step off the curb on Hollywood Boulevard, and the noise of the street falls away for a moment. Tour guides shout. Street performers pose for tips. But your eyes are already on the ground, scanning a sea of gray concrete slabs that stretch out like a constellation of fame. This is the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theatre, and it has been pulling visitors into a crouch for nearly a century. You kneel down, press your palm into a stranger’s handprint, and suddenly you understand why people travel thousands of miles just to do exactly what you’re doing right now.
Where Hollywood Left Its Mark: A Walk Through the Forecourt of the Stars
How an Accident Became a Tradition
The story, as the theater tells it, begins with a misstep. In early 1927, while Sid Grauman was showing actress Norma Talmadge around his theater during construction, she accidentally walked through a patch of wet cement. Rather than fixing the damage, Grauman saw an opportunity. He realized that fans would love a permanent, physical connection to the stars they idolized, so he turned an accident into one of the most enduring traditions in entertainment history.
The First Official Prints
Within months, the idea took shape officially. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, Hollywood’s reigning power couple, left the first official prints in April 1927, and the theater’s grand opening followed on May 18, 1927, with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings. From that night forward, the forecourt became known as the place where movie stardom got literal. Nearly two hundred celebrities have left their mark there since, and the tradition continues today, decade after decade, ceremony after ceremony.
As you wander the forecourt now, you’ll notice that the prints aren’t limited to hands and feet. Stars have stamped their personalities into the cement just as much as their bodies. Sonja Henie pressed her ice skates into the slab. John Barrymore, nicknamed “The Great Profile,” left an imprint of the side of his face instead of his hands. Even fictional characters have made appearances, including R2-D2’s wheels and C-3PO’s robotic feet. Consequently, no two visits to this forecourt ever feel quite the same, because there’s always another detail you missed the first time around.
Marilyn Monroe’s Diamond That Never Was
Few names draw a crowd in this forecourt faster than Marilyn Monroe’s. Her prints, along with Jane Russell’s, date back to the 1953 premiere of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Unsurprisingly, the prints come with a story almost as glamorous as the actress herself. Indeed, Monroe reportedly wanted to dot the “i” in her signature with an actual diamond, but the theater’s manager said no. Instead, she pressed one of her earrings into the wet cement. The earring itself was later stolen and eventually resurfaced at auction. However, its backing remains embedded in the slab to this day. You can still see the small indentation where it once sat, a tiny detail that turns a famous name into a genuine relic.
Judy Garland and the Golden Age in Cement
Just a few steps away, you’ll find the prints of Judy Garland, whose star power helped define an entire era of Hollywood filmmaking. Garland left her mark at the height of the studio system, back when a handprint ceremony doubled as proof that a performer had truly arrived. Her career began in childhood, and by the time she reached this forecourt, she’d already become one of the most beloved and closely watched stars in the industry, her voice instantly recognizable to millions of moviegoers. Her slab is a favorite stop for fans of classic musicals, and standing over it tends to feel less like sightseeing and more like paying respects. Many visitors linger a little longer here, quietly humming a bar or two before moving on, as if the forecourt itself remembers the songs.
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The Crew That Boldly Went There
Science fiction fans, meanwhile, gravitate toward a different corner of the forecourt entirely. The original cast of Star Trek left their prints together in 1991, more than two decades after the series first aired, which speaks volumes about the show’s staying power. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy anchor the slab alongside their castmates, and their joint ceremony reflects something the earlier solo stars didn’t have: an ensemble bound together by one shared universe rather than a string of individual films. That distinction matters to fans, many of whom grew up watching reruns long before ever setting foot in Hollywood. You’ll likely spot fans posing here with hands raised in the familiar split-fingered salute, some even reciting a line or two under their breath as they wait for their turn at a photo.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Larger-Than-Life Mark
Nearby, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s prints stand out almost immediately, partly because of the sheer scale of his hands. As an action star whose career spanned bodybuilding, blockbuster films, and eventually politics, Schwarzenegger’s slab represents a different kind of Hollywood legend, one built on spectacle and showmanship. Tourists often hold their own hands up against his for comparison, and the difference usually gets a laugh. Incidentally, if you take a tour of the theatre or see a movie, you can see Arnold’s leather jacket from Terminator II inside the lobby.
Michael Jackson’s Glove and Legacy
A few rows over, Michael Jackson’s slab tells a story unlike any other in the forecourt, because he wasn’t there to leave it himself. In 2012, three years after his death, his children Paris, Prince, and Blanket honored their father by pressing his iconic sequined glove and one of his shoes into the wet cement, then adding their own handprints beside his name. The result is one of the forecourt’s most emotional stops, a tribute built by family rather than by the star himself.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, Side by Side
A little further along, you’ll find a slab unlike most others in the forecourt, because it belongs to two directors instead of one. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas left their prints together on May 16, 1984, cementing a creative partnership that reshaped blockbuster filmmaking as much as any single movie could. Their friendship dated back years before that ceremony, built on a shared love of adventure stories and a knack for turning them into cultural phenomena. Sharing one block feels fitting, since neither director’s legacy really stands apart from the other’s, and visitors often snap photos with a foot in each set of prints just to say they walked in both their footsteps at once.
Meryl Streep, A Career Set in Stone
Few names in the forecourt carry as much critical weight as Meryl Streep’s. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors of her generation, Streep built her reputation on range rather than repetition, moving effortlessly between drama, comedy, and everything in between across five decades of work. Her slab draws a different kind of visitor than some of the more playful stops nearby, one who tends to linger and reflect rather than snap a quick photo and move on. Standing at her handprints, you get a real sense of what the forecourt was always meant to honor: not just fame, but genuine mastery of the craft.
Tom Hanks, Hollywood’s Everyman
Tom Hanks represents a more modern chapter of the forecourt’s history, yet his prints fit naturally among the legends who came before him. Few actors have managed to combine commercial success with genuine critical acclaim quite like Hanks, and his slab feels like a bridge between Hollywood’s golden past and its ongoing present. Visitors frequently linger here longer than expected, swapping favorite Hanks movies while they wait their turn for a photo.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Unmistakable Energy
Samuel L. Jackson’s slab carries the same commanding presence he brings to every role he plays. Few actors have built a career as prolific or as instantly recognizable, and his prints reflect decades spent moving fluidly between blockbusters and prestige films alike. Fans often pause here longer than they planned, half-expecting the cement to deliver one of his signature lines. His ceremony drew a crowd that spilled well past the forecourt’s rope lines, a reminder of just how far his reach extends across generations of moviegoers.
Jack Nicholson’s Rebel Charm
Jack Nicholson’s prints, set in the cement back in 1974, capture an actor whose grin alone became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable trademarks. King of the antihero era, Nicholson helped usher in a grittier, more rebellious kind of leading man, and his slab reflects a shift away from the polished glamour of the Golden Age stars nearby. Visitors often linger here comparing his handprint size to their own, joking about matching that famous devilish smile for their photo.
Christopher Nolan, A Director Ahead of His Time
For a different kind of stop, seek out Christopher Nolan’s prints, tucked among the forecourt’s newer honorees. Nolan built his reputation on ambitious, mind-bending storytelling, moving from small independent films to era-defining blockbusters like Inception, Interstellar, and the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer. His slab feels especially timely right now, since his latest film, The Odyssey, hits theaters in just a few weeks. Fans planning a Hollywood trip this summer might want to time their visit around the release, since the buzz around his newest project tends to spill out onto the boulevard itself whenever a Nolan premiere draws near.
How to Get to the TCL Chinese Theatre
Finding the forecourt itself is easy once you know the address: 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028. The theater sits right in the heart of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so most visitors simply stumble upon it while wandering the boulevard.
If you’re driving, parking at Ovation Hollywood is your best bet, since the shopping and entertainment complex sits just steps from the theater’s entrance and offers direct access to the forecourt without much extra walking. That said, weekends and evenings can get crowded fast, so arriving early helps you snag a spot without circling the garage.
An even easier option, though, is taking the LA Metro. Hop on the Red Line and get off at the Hollywood/Highland station, whose entrance opens up practically right in front of the theater. Within a minute or two of stepping off the train, you’re already standing in the forecourt, cement slabs and all. For anyone hoping to skip both traffic and parking fees, the Metro remains one of the smartest ways to reach this stretch of Hollywood Boulevard.
Making the Most of Your Visit
If you’re planning your own trip to the forecourt, a few details will help you get the most out of it. Arrive early in the morning if you can, since the crowds thicken considerably by midday and the cement slabs become difficult to photograph without dozens of strangers in frame. Bring a printed map or download one beforehand, because nearly two hundred prints cover the forecourt, and even devoted fans miss favorites without a guide. Additionally, consider booking the theater’s official tour, which runs seven days a week and offers stories you won’t find on any plaque.
Take your time here. Rushing through the forecourt defeats the purpose entirely, since half the joy comes from crouching down, comparing your own hand size to your favorite star’s, and reading the personal messages many performers left behind. Some inscriptions are playful, some are heartfelt, and a few are downright strange, but all of them add texture to a place that could have easily become just another tourist photo stop.
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About The Author
Randy Yagi is an award-winning writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012 to 2019. More than 900 of his stories still appear in syndication across 23 CBS websites, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a reported digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget, NBC.com, NJ.com, MSN.com and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University and is a Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW) member.
