Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall

Shrine Auditorium
	The Shrine Auditorium
	Shrine Auditorium Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area Shrine Auditorium Shrine Auditorium (California) Shrine Auditorium Shrine Auditorium (the United States)
Location	665 W. Jefferson Blvd; Los Angeles, California
Public transit	Jefferson/USC
Owner	Al Malaikah Auditorium Company
Type	Indoor theater
Capacity	6,300
Construction
Built	1925
Opened	1926; 98 years ago
Renovated	2002
Construction cost	$2.7 million
Website
	shrineauditorium.com
	Al Malaikah Temple
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 139
Coordinates	34°01′24″N 118°16′54″W / 34.02333°N 118.28167°W
Architect	John C. Austin
Architectural style	Moorish Revival
NRHP reference No.	87000577
LAHCM No.	139
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 2, 1987
Designated LAHCM	March 5, 1975

The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

History

Opened in 1926, the current Shrine Auditorium replaced an earlier 1906 Al Malaikah Temple which had been destroyed by a fire on January 11, 1920.^[1] The fire gutted the structure in just 30 minutes, and nearly killed six firefighters in the process.^[2]

In the late 1960s, the Shrine was referred to as "The Pinnacle" by the audiences of rock concerts.

In 2002, the auditorium underwent a $15 million renovation that upgraded the stage with state-of-the-art lighting and rigging systems, and included new roofing and air conditioning for both the Auditorium and Expo Center, modernized concession stands, additional restrooms, repainting of the Expo Center, and a new performance plaza and parking garage. The entire complex follows a Moroccan architectural motif.

The old Shrine Auditorium, 1905.
The old Shrine Auditorium, 1910.
The Shrine Auditorium in 1990, before the 2002 renovations.

Building

The new auditorium was designed in the Moorish Revival style by San Francisco-based theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh, with local architects John C. Austin and A. M. Edelman associated. When built, the auditorium could hold 1,200 people on stage and seat an audience of 6,442. An engineer who consulted on the project said that the steel truss supporting the balcony was the largest ever constructed.^[3]

The Shrine Auditorium seats approximately 6,300 people (reduced during the 2002 renovation from the original 6,700 capacity) and has a stage 194 ft (59 m) wide and 69 ft (21 m) deep.

The Auditorium features two boxes above the orchestra level holding 40 people each and seven loges on the balcony holding between 36 and 47 seats each (total capacity of the loges: 274). Of the remaining seats, 2,964 are on the orchestra level and 2,982 on the balcony level.^[4]

Adjacent to the Auditorium is the Shrine Exposition Hall. This is a multi-purpose event facility. It features 54,000 square feet (5,000 m²) of exhibit and meeting space—34,000 in the main level and 20,000 in an open mezzanine. The Exposition Hall has a capacity of 5,000 patrons. Trade shows, banquets, conventions and electronic music festivals, among other events, have been held there.^[5]

View of the building from University Park.
Southwest facade
South Spire
Royal Street vestibule
vestibule different angle
Detail of stained glass window

Notable events

The Shrine Auditorium has hosted a number of events, mainly for entertainment:

Awards ceremony events
Event	Date
Academy Awards	1947–48, 1988–1989, 1991, 1995, 1997–1998, 2000–2001
Academy of Country Music Awards	1978, 1981
American Music Awards	1982–2006
BET Awards	2006–2012
Grammy Awards	1978–1980, 1982–1987, 1989–1990, 1993, 1995–1996, 1999
iHeartRadio Music Awards	2014–2015, 2022
Miss Universe	2006
MTV Movie & TV Awards	2001–2003, 2005, 2017
My VH1 Music Awards	2000–2001
NAACP Image Awards	2006–2013
People's Choice Awards	2001–2003, 2006–2009
Primetime Emmy Awards	1998–2000, 2002–2007
Screen Actors Guild Awards	1998–2020, 2024
Soul Train Music Awards	1989–2001
Teen Choice Awards	2014

Other media events
Date	Description
4 December 1953	Annual Los Angeles Examiner Christmas Show.
1 July 1995	Paris by Night 32 : 20 Years At A Glance - Timeless Memories (Vietnamese music show)

Sports events
Date	Event
For 33 years	Home court for the USC's Trojans basketball team
Briefly	Some playoff games of the Los Angeles Lakers
7 January 2025	NXT: New Year's Evil^[6]

Movie shootings and premieres
Date	Movie	Description
1933	King Kong	Scenes where Kong was displayed manacled on stage.
1954	A Star Is Born	Some scenes.
9 December 2017	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	World premiere.
2018	A Star Is Born	The final scene was filmed at the Shrine as an homage to the earlier 1954 film.
9 July 2023	Barbie	World premiere.

Other shootings
Date	Film	Description
27 January 1984	Pepsi commercial	Michael Jackson's hair was accidentally set on fire by the pyrotechnics. He suffered second-degree burns on his scalp as a result.^[7]

Music events and recordings
Date	Artist or event	Description
May 1949	Art Tatum	Solo piano performance was released by Columbia Records in 1952 as Gene Norman Presents an Art Tatum Concert^[8]^[9]
1955	The Great Shrine Auditorium Concert	Considered a major event in the histories of both American gospel and secular music.^[10] The event featured Dorothy Love Coates & The Original Gospel Harmonettes, Brother Joe May, The Caravans, James Cleveland, a young Sam Cooke performing with The Soul Stirrers.^[11]
8 June 1956	Elvis Presley	Elvis Presley's first concert at the Shrine.
3 August 1958	The Fourteenth Cavalcade of Jazz	Produced by Leon Hefflin Sr.,^[12] featuring Ray Charles with The Cookies, Ann Fisher, Sam Cooke, William Everett Preston, Little Willie John, Bo Rhambo, and The Clark Kids. Sammy Davis Jr. crowned the Queen, Miss Jackie Joyce Simpson.^[13] Charles Trammel, Huggy Boy, Jim Randolph, and Hunter Hancock were the MCs for the starred event.^[14]
1964	Ray Charles	Recorded Live in Concert at the Shrine.
24 August 1968	The Grateful Dead	Recorded the live album Two from the Vault at the Shrine.
24 January 1975	Genesis	Live performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway released in 1998.
1976	The Tubes	3-night concert
8/9 November 1995	Fugazi	Concert
16 December 2000 19 December 2001 6 December 2005	KIIS-FM Jingle Ball
1998 Since 2013	KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concert	^[15]
4 & 8 August 2016	Radiohead	Live performance of A Moon Shaped Pool released in 2016.
20 December 2019	My Chemical Romance	Reunion concert after a seven-year hiatus^[16]
19 May 2022	Sigur Rós	World Tour 2022.
21 & 22 December 2022	The Smile	Live performance of A Light For Attracting Attention released in 2022.
30 March 2024	Mitski	'The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We' tour.
28 & 29 January 2025	ZAYN	'Stairway to the Sky Tour'

Video games
Date	Game	Description
	Midnight Club: Los Angeles	Part of the South Central Map Expansion.^[18]
2023	Valorant	2023 Valorant Champions (Group Stage + Playoffs)

References

^ "The Shrine Auditorium Fire". Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive. L.A. Fire. 1999. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
^ "LAFD Blog: 88 Years Ago: The Shrine Auditorium Fire". Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
^ Moore, William D. (August 15, 2006). Masonic temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes. University of Tennessee Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-57233-496-0. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
^ Auditorium, Shrine. "Venues | Shrine Auditorium". www.shrineauditorium.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
^ "Facilities : :: Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall ::". Shrineauditorium.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
^ "NXT kicks off 2025 with New Year's Evil from Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 7". WWE. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
^ Kaufman, Gil (July 16, 2009). "Pepsi Questions Why Michael Jackson Accident Video Was Shared". MTV. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
^ "Tatum and Goodman". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 29, 1952. p. 36.
^ England, Jim (May 25, 1952). "Toscanini Sings on Wax". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 128.
^ Ed Gordon, Jack Marchbanks (July 22, 2005). "Marking a Great Gospel Concert's 50th Anniversary". News & Notes. NPR. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
^ "Inductee Explorer". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
^ “Fourteenth Year Jazz Cavalcade At Shrine Next” The California Eagle. July 3, 1958.
^ Reed, Tom (1992). The Black Music History of Los Angeles - Its Roots: A Classical Pictorial History of Black Music in Los Angeles from 1920-1970 (1st, limited ed.). Los Angeles: Black Accent on L.A. Press. ISBN 978-0963290861. OCLC 28801394.
^ Guralnick, Peter (2005). Dream boogie: the triumph of Sam Cooke (1st ed.). New York: Little, Brown. p. 250. ISBN 978-0316377942. Retrieved December 31, 2019. shrine auditorium.
^ "KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas At Shrine". TheScenestar. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
^ Elassar, Alaa (December 21, 2019). "My Chemical Romance play its first concert in seven years". CNN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
^ "Shrine Auditorium - Los Angeles, CA". www.shrineauditorium.com. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
^ "Midnight Club: Los Angeles South Central". Rockstar Games. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.

External links

Shrine LA! Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall Official Site
Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall at Glass Steel and Stone (archived)
Image of Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle performing at the Shrine Auditorium, 1978. Los Angeles TimesPhotographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Preceded by Impact Arena Bangkok	Miss Universe Venue 2006	Succeeded by National Auditorium Mexico City

[fire1-1] "The Shrine Auditorium Fire". Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive. L.A. Fire. 1999. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2013.

[name2-2] "LAFD Blog: 88 Years Ago: The Shrine Auditorium Fire". Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2008.

[Moore2006-3] Moore, William D. (August 15, 2006). Masonic temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes. University of Tennessee Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-57233-496-0. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2016.

[4] Auditorium, Shrine. "Venues | Shrine Auditorium". www.shrineauditorium.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.

[5] "Facilities : :: Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall ::". Shrineauditorium.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.

[6] "NXT kicks off 2025 with New Year's Evil from Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 7". WWE. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

[7] Kaufman, Gil (July 16, 2009). "Pepsi Questions Why Michael Jackson Accident Video Was Shared". MTV. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.

[8] "Tatum and Goodman". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 29, 1952. p. 36.

[9] England, Jim (May 25, 1952). "Toscanini Sings on Wax". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 128.

[10] Ed Gordon, Jack Marchbanks (July 22, 2005). "Marking a Great Gospel Concert's 50th Anniversary". News & Notes. NPR. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.

[11] "Inductee Explorer". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2017.

[12] “Fourteenth Year Jazz Cavalcade At Shrine Next” The California Eagle. July 3, 1958.

[13] Reed, Tom (1992). The Black Music History of Los Angeles - Its Roots: A Classical Pictorial History of Black Music in Los Angeles from 1920-1970 (1st, limited ed.). Los Angeles: Black Accent on L.A. Press. ISBN 978-0963290861. OCLC 28801394.

[:0-14] Guralnick, Peter (2005). Dream boogie: the triumph of Sam Cooke (1st ed.). New York: Little, Brown. p. 250. ISBN 978-0316377942. Retrieved December 31, 2019. shrine auditorium.

[KROQ-15] "KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas At Shrine". TheScenestar. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.

[Chemical-16] Elassar, Alaa (December 21, 2019). "My Chemical Romance play its first concert in seven years". CNN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.

[17] "Shrine Auditorium - Los Angeles, CA". www.shrineauditorium.com. Retrieved March 31, 2024.

[Midnight_Club:_Los_Angeles_South_Central_Shrine_Auditorium-18] "Midnight Club: Los Angeles South Central". Rockstar Games. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.

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v t e USC Trojans men's basketball
Venues	Shrine Auditorium (1926–1949) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (1949–1959) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–2006) Galen Center (2006–present)
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Helms national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

History

Building

Notable events

See also

References

External links