Pan-Pacific Auditorium facts for kids
Entrance of the Pan-Pacific Auditorium, 1970s
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| Location | 7600 W. Beverly Blvd. |
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| Coordinates | 34°4′31″N 118°21′15″W / 34.07528°N 118.35417°W |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1935 |
| Closed | 1972 |
| Architect | Wurdeman & Becket |
| Tenants | |
| USC Trojans (NCAA) (1949–1959) | |
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Pan-Pacific Auditorium
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Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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| NRHP reference No. | 78000688 |
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| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 16, 1978 |
| Removed from NRHP | September 27, 1989 |
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a famous building in Los Angeles, California. It was a large hall used for many public events. Built in 1935, it quickly became a top spot for indoor shows in the city.
This special building was known for its unique look. It stood for over 35 years before closing in 1972. After its closure, the building was left empty and started to fall apart. In 1978, it was recognized as an important historic place. Sadly, in 1989, the wooden structure was completely destroyed by a fire.
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A Hub for Exciting Events
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was designed by architects Wurdeman & Becket. It opened its doors on May 18, 1935, with a big exhibition. The building was a great example of Streamline Moderne style. This was a popular design trend from the 1930s.
The auditorium's front was green and white and looked very fancy. It had four tall, curved towers that looked like airplane tails. This eye-catching front was very well-known. Inside, the building was a huge wooden hall, like a giant gym. It covered about 100,000 square feet and could seat up to 6,000 people.
Sports and Shows Galore
For over 30 years, the Pan-Pacific hosted many exciting events.
- It was home to the Ice Capades, a famous ice show.
- The Harlem Globetrotters basketball team played there.
- It hosted hockey games for the Los Angeles Monarchs.
- Both UCLA and USC basketball teams played games there.
- People also enjoyed professional tennis matches and big car shows.
- Even circuses came to perform under its roof.
In the 1940s, national radio shows were broadcast live from the auditorium. In the 1950s, it was used for televised wrestling matches. At its busiest, the Pan-Pacific was the main place for almost all major indoor events in Los Angeles.
Famous Visitors and Moments
Beyond sports, many other important events happened at the Pan-Pacific.
- Famous conductor Leopold Stokowski led music performances there.
- Actress Jeanne Crain was crowned "Miss Pan Pacific" in the 1940s.
- General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke to a huge crowd of 10,000 people in 1952. He became President a month later.
- Elvis Presley performed there in 1957.
- Vice President Richard Nixon gave a speech to a national audience in 1960.
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was Los Angeles's main indoor venue until 1972. That year, the much larger Los Angeles Convention Center opened. After that, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium closed its doors for good.
The Building's Decline and Final Fire
After closing, people in the nearby area hoped to fix up the Pan-Pacific. They thought it could become an ice rink or a cultural center. The parking lot around it was even turned into a park.
In 1978, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This brought some new interest to its future. However, the building continued to be ignored for many years. Small fires, often started by people seeking shelter, caused damage.
From the mid-1970s to the 1980s, the auditorium was sometimes used for movie and music video scenes. But it kept getting worse because no one took care of it. A large loading door was often forced open, letting people go inside easily. A fire in May 1983 damaged the northern part of the building.
Then, on the evening of May 24, 1989, a huge fire destroyed the Pan-Pacific Auditorium. The smoke from this fire could be seen all across Los Angeles.
What's There Today?
The land where the auditorium once stood is now part of Pan-Pacific Park. In 2002, a new recreation center opened in the park. It was designed to look like a smaller version of one of the auditorium's famous towers.
Pan-Pacific in Pop Culture
The unique look of the Pan-Pacific Auditorium made it popular in movies and music videos.
- In the 1975 movie Funny Lady, the Pan-Pacific briefly appeared as the entrance to NBC Studios.
- The 1980 movie musical Xanadu used the auditorium's front. It showed a run-down building turning into a bright roller disco.
- It also appeared in the 1980 music video for the Barnes & Barnes song "Fish Heads".
- The video for "Dancing in the Sheets" by Shalamar also featured the old building.
- The 1981 Devo music video "Beautiful World" showed a man flying in front of the facade.
- The Producers' 1982 music video "She Sheila" was partly filmed there.
- The 1984 movie Ghost Warrior included scenes of the decayed front and the dimly lit inside.
- The music video for "She's My Girl" by The Babys showed the band playing on and in front of the building.
- A black and white photo of the building was in the opening of LL Cool J's 1988 music video "Going Back to Cali".
- It also appeared in the 1988 movie Miracle Mile.
Inspired Designs
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium's design was so iconic that it inspired other buildings.
- A large, stylized copy of its front opened as the main entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. This was at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida in 1989. This happened just three weeks before the original building burned down.
- Disney California Adventure Park also opened new entrance gates in 2011. These gates were designed to look like the Pan-Pacific's famous facade.
