Pasadena Convention Center facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pasadena Convention Center
Front entrance of Pasadena Civic Auditorium, part of the Pasadena Convention Center complex, in October 2016.
Location	Pasadena, California
Owner	City of Pasadena (operated by Pasadena Center Operating Company)
Built	1931
Enclosed space

The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California. It consists of three buildings.

Pasadena Civic Auditorium

The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 and is best known for being the home for the Emmy Awards from 1977 until 1997. It was designed by architects George Edwin Bergstrom, Cyril Bennett, and Fitch Haskell. Today, the Auditorium is home to the People's Choice Awards and the former home of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. It has also been used for some episodes of American Idol. It was used as the show's venue for "Hollywood Week" in season 10. The 3,029-seat theater hosts musicals, operas and concerts, among other events, on its 56 by 42 ft (17 by 13 m) stage.

The venue's theatre organ was acquired in 1979, having been commissioned in 1938 as a touring organ by Reginald Foort, who attended its inauguration on April 23, 1980. It was used by the BBC during and after World War II.

In addition to the main auditorium, the Civic Auditorium building originally contained two lecture rooms and an exhibition hall of 100 by 200 ft (30 by 61 m).

The auditorium was famously the site of some of the earliest live performances of Van Halen before being discovered.

The Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special was taped here on March 25, 1983; and aired on NBC in May. The show is best remembered for Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" in which he debuted his signature dance move the "Moonwalk". Louis Armstrong's 1951 album Satchmo at Pasadena was also recorded here.

The auditorium has also been used for the Miss Teen USA 2007 pageant. The preliminary and final competitions were broadcast live on NBC.

The Pasadena Civic Auditorium hosted the 44th, 45th, and 46th Daytime Emmy Awards alongside their related Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

The auditorium has hosted the America's Got Talent audition rounds since season 11 and has hosted the NAACP Image Awards numerous times.

The auditorium hosts the annual Pasadena Unified School District graduation ceremonies for Blair High School, John Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, John Muir High School and Pasadena High School, which takes place after the Memorial Day holiday, since 2011.

Exhibition Building

The Exhibition Building features 31,200 sq ft (2,900 m²) of exhibit space and can seat up to 4,400 for various events. Adjacent to the Exhibition Building is a 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m²) annex seating up to 600 patrons.

Conference Building

The Conference Building has 20 meeting rooms totaling 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m²).