
Look close enough at the facade of the Million Dollar Theater on Broadway, and sooner or later strange and wondrous creatures will appear.
However fixated the eye may be upon the theater’s elaborate gated Spanish Rococo arch with its most intricately carved concrete sea waves, ribbons, sentries, ancient symbols, eagles, and ten-pointed star, marking the entrance, as the eyes begin to wander to the left or to the right, they will eventually focus on something truly unexpected. A surprising exterior of Spanish Colonial statues hand-carved by Uruguayan-born Joseph Jacinto Mora.
Mora carved longhorn skulls, dancing maidens, brave warriors, longhorn steer skulls, a portly masked man, and… Thoft the bird-headed God of Writing from ancient Egypt?

Yup.
When the Million Dollar Theater opened in 1918, not only was it an enormous display of what money could buy, it would become the first grand theater purposefully made for silent movies in Los Angeles, paving the way for a growing number of elaborate theaters that would line up all the way down Broadway.
Voted 10 Greatest Buildings in Downtown Los Angeles in a recent poll by Downtown LA Photo Group, commenters wasted no time adding Sid Grauman, an American entrepreneur and showman who established The Million Dollar Theater, the Chinese Theatre, and the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood to the list.
So at least we know Sid’s admiration of ancient Egypt may have been the reason behind the strange bird-headed statue, while others play with the notion of hidden meanings and secret societies. Historians and theater enthusiasts claim statues known to historians as the Muses of the Arts exist to pay homage to the art of filmmaking, with Thoft representing the writer’s task.
Regardless, you’ll have to tilt your head back to admire the full grandeur of the 12-story wonder, and just when you’ve thought you’d seen it all, after taking a short trek up the side of the building on 2nd Street, even more wonders are revealed.

Inside the Million Dollar Theater
The theater’s interior is designed by William Lee Woollett and architect Albert C. Martin Sr.
It seats roughly 2000 people within its auditorium, decorated in a similar style to the exterior, and has a curved proscenium arch to support its long, plush velvet curtains.
The ceiling has a coffered dome, and there are numerous statues, and the organ grilles on the side walls are in the style of Spanish Colonial altar screens that still remain.

Like many of the Broadway theaters, history has seen them in disarray and in need of refurbishment. Over the century, it had been host to many guests, performances, and even a Spanish-speaking church.
In October 2005, the Million Dollar Theatre was restored by Robert Voskanian. In July of 2019, the Million Dollar Theatre was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles.