The Historic Hollywood Bowl and Its Changes Over the Years
The iconic Los Angeles music venue, The Hollywood Bowl, is widely viewed as one of the best live concert venues in the country. In 2018 Rolling Stone Magazine listed it as one of the 10 Best Live Music Venues in America. Fodor’s Travel lists it as one of the 13 Best Outdoor Concert Venues in the U.S. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.
Fodor’s says:
Unquestionably one of the top outdoor concert venues in the U.S., the Hollywood Bowl is a legendary performance space, public park, and picnic ground. During its star-studded history, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin, and James Brown have appeared on its world-famous stage.
The Hollywood Bowl is owned by the County of Los Angeles and is the home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The Hollywood Bowl officially opened more than 100 years ago, in July 1922, when Alfred Hertz, also known as the "father of the Bowl," conducted the inaugural concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
The Hollywood Bowl has gone through several design changes since its opening.
The Hollywood Bowl is currently known for its distinctive band shell, originally a set of concentric arches. The design of the Hollywood Bowl band shell went through a number of changes over the years. The original 1926 shell was designed by the Allied Architects group. Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. designed the second and third band shells. For the 1929 season, the Allied Architects built the shell that stood until 2003.
The Hollywood Bowl acoustics deteriorated over time. Various measures were used to mitigate the problems, starting in the 1970s with an inner shell made from large cardboard tubes, which were replaced in the early 1980s by large fiberglass spheres (both designed by Frank Gehry) that remained until 2003. There was a reflecting pool in front of the stage from 1953 to 1972. The pool was replaced by a section of box seats. This section is named the "Pool Circle" in memory of the reflecting pool.
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After the 2003 summer season, the 1929 shell was replaced with a new, somewhat larger, acoustically improved shell, which had its debut in the 2004 summer season. Additional modifications were made to the shell during the 2004 season. At the same time the new shell was being constructed the bowl received four new video screens and towers.
In 2020 The Hollywood Bowl LA Philharmonic season was cancelled for the first time in 98 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
About the 2024 season, The Hollywood Bowl said:
For the 2024 Hollywood Bowl season, the LA Phil continues its tradition of presenting classical concerts under the stars with LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel conducting the orchestra and a roster of star-studded guest artists spanning classical, pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz, Broadway and opera as well as celebrations of beloved film music.
Visit the Hollywood Bowl website for more information.