Dolby Theatre - Home of the Oscars

A stop on Hollywood Boulevard Walk, a free self-guided tour.

For more than two decades, this is where the movie world held its breath every spring. The Dolby Theatre opened on November 9, 2001, as the Kodak Theatre, designed by David Rockwell with one big job in mind: hosting the Academy Awards. The Oscars moved in for the 2002 ceremony and stayed, except in 2021, when the pandemic sent the show to Union Station.

On Oscar weekend this stretch of Hollywood Boulevard closes, bleachers go up for fans and the red carpet leads the nominees up into the theater. Inside are about 3,300 seats and a stage 113 feet wide, one of the largest in the country. Kodak's name came off in 2012 and Dolby took over the naming rights.

The Academy has announced plans to move the ceremony to the Peacock Theater downtown starting in 2029, so this is still Oscar central for a few more years. The rest of the year it hosts concerts, award shows and touring productions; check the website for guided tours.

Getting here: Cross Hollywood Boulevard at the light and step into the Ovation Hollywood complex, where the Dolby Theatre has its entrance.

Did you know?: Before settling here, the Oscars moved around for decades, with turns at the Roosevelt, the Pantages, the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Photo op: At the foot of the Ovation steps, turn around for the red carpet view reversed: the El Capitan's marquee directly across the boulevard.

More on Wikipedia: Dolby Theatre · Academy Awards · Ovation Hollywood · David Rockwell

Dolby Theatre - Home of the Oscars

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