Project Overview
Hollywood’s Historic Egyptian Theatre, A Netflix Renovation, Los Angeles, California
Since its opening over a 100 years ago, the iconic Egyptian Theatre, designed by local impresario, Sid Grauman, has hosted thousands of movies, concerts, and events.
In 1994, the theatre was unfortunately damaged in the Northridge earthquake, which left gaping holes in the building and while several attempts were made to repair the theatre, the redevelopment didn’t materialize due to cost and lack of fundings.
In 2020, Netflix purchased the theatre and began an extensive restoration from the below ground to roof, including major seismic strengthening, reinstating underfloor air conditioning and enhanced ventilation while maintaining all historic elements the magnificent jewelled auditorium ceiling, adorned with lotus flowers, ibis and an Egyptian scarab. The murals and elaborate fountain in the front courtyard were also restored, while also reducing the number of seats inside to 516.
In addition, the mechanical design for the theatre employed decarbonization and electrification as embraced by Netflix even prior to City of Los Angeles and the State of Californian mandates that are now code requirements. Natural gas was eliminated to help in carbon reduction, the existing electrical service was reused without any upgrades, and energy recovery strategies were utilized resulting in higher energy efficiencies exceeded the California Energy Code and securing energy reduction rebate from LADWP.
Syska Hennessy in collaboration with Netflix proudly provided the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering services for the renovation of the historic Egyptian Theatre
