Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

.'' It was remodeled and converted into an indoor theatre in 1982 to improve acoustics. The amphitheater closed on September 6, 2013 and was demolished for ''

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a chain of themed areas at Universal Parks & Resorts based on the ''Harry Potter'' media franchise, adapting elements from the Warner Bros.' film series and original novels by J. K. Rowling. The areas wer ...

'' attraction at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies w ...

Early history

The Amphitheatre was built as a daytime arena where patrons of the Universal Studios Studio Tour could watch stuntmen perform a western-themed stunt show and shootout. Construction began in 1969. By 1970, the stage was completed and three old west facades were constructed for the show. The arena was completed in 1971. Because it was empty at night, a young studio tour guide suggested that the arena be used to hold rock concerts. On June 28, 1972, the venue hosted its first concert, a production of the Broadway rock musical ''

''. The show was a hit and was extended until cold weather forced its closure. During its early years, the stunt show was performed during the day while at night the venue hosted concerts. The theatre proved to be so popular that it regularly filled to 98% capacity. After one year, the studio expanded it to seat 5,200 patrons. In 1980, the venue closed for two years for a major renovation. A roof was constructed to enable year-round entertainment. Acoustics were improved and seating was expanded again to 6,251 seats. On September 15, 1987 singer Tony Melendez sang ''Never Be The Same'' while playing the guitar with his feet in a special performance for Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

as part of the pope's two day visit to

. The Universal Amphitheatre hosted the ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compa ...

'' 8th Anniversary Special in 1990. In May 1993, Universal added the Universal CityWalk shopping and dining district around the entrance to the theatre, allowing patrons to seek refreshments before and after concerts. On July 29 and 30, 1999, pop/R&B singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

gave her last two North American concerts at the theatre on her My Love Is Your Love World Tour. Houston would go on to have one more world tour in 2010, but did not tour North America again. During its forty-year history, the venue hosted concerts by high-profile touring artists such as

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, The Grateful Dead,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, Jenni Rivera,

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

, Selena,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Toto,

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

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Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

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Crosby, Stills, and Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, ...

, Slipknot, System of A Down and Gloria Trevi. Pop/Folk star

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

recorded An Evening With John Denver there over several nights in 1974.Joni Mitchell recorded most of Miles of Aisles there August 14 to 17, 1974. The venue also hosted musicals such as '' The Who's Tommy'' and major recurring events, including the MTV Movie Awards, the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

and the

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

Name change

The theatre was known as the Universal Amphitheatre from its inception until early 2005, when

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...

were acquired by the

Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was form ...

as part of a partnership between Gibson, Universal and

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

Closure

On December 6, 2011, it was announced that Universal Amphitheatre would close and would be demolished to make way for ''

'' theme park area at

. Although the venue had events scheduled until October 2013, it officially closed in September of that year.Gibson Amphitheatre to close, make room for Harry Potter attraction
Retrieved April 24, 2013 The final performance held at the Gibson Amphitheatre was Pepe Aguilar on September 6, 2013. At the time of its closure, it was the third largest mid-sized venue in

, behind the Nokia Theatre and the Shrine Auditorium - two other

venues. The amphitheatre was demolished on September 25, 2013.

References

External links

*
Gibson Amphitheatre on Live NationGibson AmphitheatreHome movies showing the arena with the original Wild West stunt show in 1971
{{Authority control Amphitheaters in California Music venues in Los Angeles Universal City, California Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley Landmarks in Los Angeles Theatres in Hollywood, Los Angeles Music venues completed in 1972 Theatres completed in 1972 1972 establishments in California 2013 disestablishments in California Demolished buildings and structures in Los Angeles Buildings and structures demolished in 2013

Early history

Name change

Closure

See also

References

External links