Greek Theatre is an
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
located in
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the ...
,
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. It is owned by the city of Los Angeles and is operated by ASM Global. Designed by architects
Samuel Tilden Norton, Frederick Hastings Wallisand, and the Tacoma firm
Heath, Gove, & Bell, the theatre stage is modeled after a
Greek temple.
History
The idea for the Greek Theatre originated with wealthy landowner
Griffith J. Griffith, who donated of land to the city of Los Angeles in 1896 to create Griffith Park.
In his will he left money for the construction of a Greek theatre. A canyon site was chosen because of its good acoustics. The cornerstone was laid in 1928 and the building was dedicated on September 25, 1930. The first performance took place on June 26, 1931, attended by a capacity crowd of 4,000.
During its first decades the theatre was rarely used, and it was used as a barracks during World War II. In the late 1940s a San Francisco producer brought touring shows to the venue. In the 1950s James Doolittle, a Los Angeles showman, leased the theatre and upgraded it with better seating and backstage equipment. Between 1975 and 2015, the theatre was managed by the Nederlander Organization, which further improved it and began a regular rotation of contemporary and classical productions and concerts. The theatre underwent an earthquake retrofit in 1995. In 2006 the facade was renovated in celebration of the venue's 75th anniversary.
In 2015,
Live Nation
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertai ...
attempted to replace Nederlander in operating the theatre, leading to a joint venture with Live Nation and Nederlander, along with
Goldenvoice, programming shows while SMG managed the venue.
The venue cancelled its season in 2020 due to the
Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
which would have been its 90th anniversary and also put up for sale their red chairs that were replaced for renovation in the terrace sections.
Capacity
In 1983, the Greek Theatre's
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...
was expanded to 6,187, but renovations brought the Greek Theatre's capacity down to 6,162 in 1995 and to 5,700 in 2004. In 2009 the Los Angeles Fire Marshal permitted the addition of two more rows in the pit, bringing full capacity at the Greek to 5,870 seated and 5,900 general admission.
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Current usage
The Greek Theatre is used for concerts, stage shows, and graduation ceremonies for Thomas Starr King Middle School and John Marshall High School, among others.
The Greek Theatre won the Best Small Outdoor Venue award seven times in the past eight years, awarded by Pollstar Magazine, the industry's leading trade publication.
The annual Bell-Jeff Invitational cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...
event starts adjacent to the theater.
Filming
Several concerts have been filmed at the venue, including concerts by The Go-Go's, Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
, Joe Bonamassa, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, and Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
's 1976 televised concert '' Love at the Greek''. Movies that have been filmed at the venue include '' Get Him to the Greek'', '' Bye Bye Birdie'', and the "Shallow" scene from the 2018 film '' A Star Is Born''.Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...
's Live at Greek Theater 1979. "Swan Song", Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...
, 24th serie of Columbo
''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC fr ...
in 1974, and Season 1, Episode 24 of The Rockford Files.
See also
* List of contemporary amphitheaters
This is a list of amphitheatres in use today.
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, Rhode Island
, Providence
, Waterplace Park Amphitheatre
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, Simpsonville
, Heritage Park Amphitheatre
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References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Event venues established in 1929
Frederick Heath buildings
Greek Revival architecture in California
Griffith Park
Landmarks in Los Angeles
Music venues in Los Angeles
Samuel Tilden Norton buildings
Theatres completed in 1929
Theatres in Los Angeles
Amphitheaters in California