The John Anson Ford Theatre is a music venue in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

neighborhood of

Los Angeles, California 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' ...

. The 1,200-seat outdoor

amphitheater 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 ...

is situated within the

Cahuenga Pass The Cahuenga Pass (, ; Tongva: ''Kawé’nga'') is a low mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood Hills district of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has an elevation of . The Cahuenga Pass connec ...

within the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

. Located in a County regional park, the facility is owned by the

County of Los Angeles Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

and operated in partnership with th
Ford Theatre Foundation
and the

Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is an agency of the County of Los Angeles which oversees its parks and recreational facilities. It was created in 1944. It operates and maintains over of parks, gardens, lakes, natural ga ...

History

Christine Wetherill Stevenson and The Pilgrimage Play

An amphitheatre was built in 1920 as a venue for The Pilgrimage Play. The author, Christine Wetherill Stevenson, believed the rugged beauty of the Cahuenga Pass would provide a dramatic outdoor setting for the play. Together with Mrs. Chauncey D. Clark, she purchased the land along with that on which the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

now sits. A wooden, outdoor amphitheatre was built on the site and the play was performed by noted actors every summer from 1920 to 1929, until the original structure was destroyed by a

brush fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

in October 1929.

Rebuild and Renaming

A new theatre was constructed of poured concrete and designed in the style of ancient Judaic architecture to resemble the gates of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

on the same site and opened in 1931. The Pilgrimage Play was again performed there, interrupted only by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1941 the land was deeded to the County of Los Angeles. The Pilgrimage Play continued to be presented until a lawsuit in 1964 forced its closure because of its religious nature. In 1976, the Pilgrimage Theatre was renamed the John Anson Ford Theatre in honor of the late LA County Supervisor's significant support of the arts. John Anson Ford (1883–1983) helped found the LA County Arts Commission, encouraged the Board of Supervisors to support the building of The Music Center and led the County's acquisition of

Descanso Gardens Descanso Gardens is a botanical garden located in La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California. Descanso gardens features a wide area, mostly forested, with artificial streams, ponds, and lawns. Descanso Gardens has a wide collectio ...

, among many other achievements. The 1,200 seat amphitheatre and an 87-seat indoor black box theatre built underneath the amphitheatre in 1971 were used intermittently for Shakespearean theatre, jazz concerts and dance performances until former County Supervisor Ed Edelman revived the historic theatre, spurring the creation of the Ford Amphitheatre Summer Season (originally called "Summer Nights at the Ford") in 1993 and obtaining funding for capital improvements to the facility.

Ford Theatres Project

Starting in 2014, the Ford Theatres began the process of undergoing a series of renovations that would rehabilitate and improve the current historic theatre and add new facilities and amenities within the current boundaries of the Ford Theatres property. After two years of renovations, the Ford reopened in 2016 with completion of Phase One of th
Ford Theatres Project

Summer Season and Partnership Program

The Ford summer season's partnership program was designed to enable Los Angeles County music, dance and theatre groups to produce successfully in a major venue. Unlike a typical presenting model, groups and producers are selected through a competitive application process and receive front of house, production and marketing support, while keeping the bulk of the box office proceeds. From that first summer series in 1993, the program has supported hundreds of local arts organizations and producers. The Ford Theatres presents an eclectic season of music, dance, theatre, film and family events reflective of the communities that comprise Los Angeles County. In addition to its multidisciplinary partnership program, the Ford's summer season includes a 10-part series showcasing artists from around the world, a six-part series for families and interactive participatory arts events that take place at its amphitheatre in Hollywood and at public sites across the County.

References

External links

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100-Year Timeline
{{Authority control Theatres in Los Angeles Hollywood Hills Amphitheaters in California Theatres completed in 1920 Theatres completed in 1931 Landmarks in Los Angeles Santa Monica Mountains Event venues established in 1920 Music venues in Los Angeles