What do Fullerton’s Fox and Grauman’s Chinese have in common? Beyond the obvious link of being 20’s era theatres, each was designed by the gentleman pictured below.
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A prominent architectural designer, Raymond M. Kennedy played a major role in shaping the commercial landscape of southern california during the 1920’s. While employed by noted builder Meyer and Holler, Mr. Kennedy took part in a host of high profile projects, ranging from lavish churches to ornate office buildings. While his most famous work was, obviously, Grauman’s Chinese, Fullerton’s Fox Theatre (then known as Chapman’s Alician Court) served as Mr. Kennedy’s first venture in to theatre design and the testing ground for many of the ideas he would later incorporate in to Grauman’s.
After leaving Meyer and Holler, following the company’s depression era collapse, Mr. Kennedy divided his time between teaching at the University of Southern California and being a stage designer for several major film studios; briefly departing for Washington D.C. to take part in the design of the Pentagon. Raymond Kennedy wrapped up his illustrious career designing municipal buildings, for two leading California based architectural firms, retiring in 1960, at the age of 69.
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