1855 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90401 | map |
The news: See "What Will Become of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium?," a February 16 article by Chris Nichols for Los Angeles Magazine.
An earlier plan was to give or sell the building to the school district. But in 2024 the City was trying to find some entity that wanted to rehab the Civic for entertainment purposes. In a January Facebook post, the City gave a February 8 deadline and noted:
Opened: 1958. The Civic was the site of the 1961 - 1968 Academy Awards. Thanks to Richard Wojcik for sharing this mid-60s postcard as a post on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.
Phone: 310-458-8551 Website: smgov.net/departments/ccs/civicauditorium
The
city's website provides information regarding the
future of the building. A contact person is Thomas Poon at 310-458-8350. The city expects to issue a RFP in the fall of 2017. They're looking for a developer to renovate the building and then be its operator.
The
main floor is on a hydraulic lift allowing the front of the auditorium
to be brought up to stage level for use of the space as a 16,200
s.f. flat floored exhibition hall.
The stage is 39' deep x 115' wide. Grid height is 70'. The proscenium is 31' high x 65' wide.
Architect: Welton Becket and Associates, a firm responsible for many other Los Angeles buildings including the Cinerama Dome.
A 1957 story about the construction. Thanks to Ben Golomb for locating it for a post on the private Facebook group "You know you're from Santa Monica if..."
Seating: 3,000 in concert format.
Closing: It closed June 30, 2013 and its future is being debated. In recent years it had been
underutilized.
Status:
Endangered. The City of Santa Monica wanted to tear it down instead
of giving it an expensive upgrade. One possibility is redeveloping adjacent property to pay for
renovations.
There was going to be a deal with the
Nederlander organization to book the theatre. Evidently that was
contingent on a chunk of redevelopment agency money being available for
renovations. With the demise of redevelopment agencies statewide, the
money vanished -- and the deal collapsed.
See the May 2013 Curbed story "Should SaMo Tear Down Its Midcentury Civic Auditorium?" The Santa Monica Daily Press ran a May 19 story about the city's plan to mothball the venue. A June Santa Monica Mirror piece detailed the city's struggles with the future of the building.
The L.A. Times ran a June 29, 2013 story about the closure. Curbed L.A.
ran a piece in March 2014 by Neal Broverman suggesting that a
revitalized Civic could be the centerpiece of a new cultural district.
The news: The city wants to sell or lease it and has been deliberating. Arnold Darrow noted that the Auditorium was designated as surplus land by the City Council at their meeting on October 11, 2022. In "Santa Monica to Consider Selling Civic Auditorium to Developers in a Closed Session," a July 19, 2023 story from the Santa Monica Observer, David Ganezer asks:
"Will
the historic building's landmark status be maintained in any
transaction regarding its future? Be allowed to be torn down if sold?...
One local resident says that in a closed session, the Santa Monica City
Council could sell it off to developers in a desperate attempt to close
a budget shortfall."
In "Absenteeism and anger delay Civic Auditorium discussion," a July 20 Santa Monica Daily Press story, Matthew Hall noted:
Interior photos:
In the lobby for opening day at the Santa Monica Civic in 1958. It's a photo taken by Christina House for the L.A. Times. Thanks to Alison Martino for posting the photo on her Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles where she credits it to the Los Angeles Public Library.
A 2013 lobby view. The terrazzo was re-done in the 90s. It's a photo by Nina Fresco from a 25 photo set on the Save the Civic Facebook page.
The Oscars in 1966. "The Sound of Music" got the Best Picture award. Thanks to the Santa Monica History Museum for sharing five photos of the event from their Bob Smith collection as a post on their Facebook page. There was also a re-post in 2024.
The auditorium in concert mode. It's a photo from the City of Santa Monica's web page for the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
The house set up with a flat floor in banquet configuration. Photo: Nina Fresco - Save the Civic Facebook page - 2013
Ever wondered what was underneath the Civic's adjustable floor? This is part of the hydraulic system. Photo: Nina Fresco - Save the Civic Facebook page - 2013
A few more exterior views:
A May 1, 1958 photo by Howard D. Kelly from the Los Angeles Public Library. Thanks to the Los Angeles Relics Facebook page for spotting it in the collection. The Library's caption:
"Aerial view of a section of Santa Monica showing the Ocean Park Arena (across Pico Blvd. from auditorium), Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (square white building at center, Welton Becket and Associates, Architects), Santa Monica High School and Memorial Open Air Theater (at upper center); view is looking slightly northeast. Pico Boulevard runs diagonally from bottom left to top right; Neilson Way peeks out from bottom left corner; Main Street zig-zags from middle left to botom right; 3rd street from center to middle right; 4th street runs from middle left to middle right, between high school track and auditorium property; the Santa Monica (10) Freeway is visible from middle left to top right and is paralleled by Olympic Boulevard on the left. Photograph was taken for Pioneer Flintkote."
Thanks to Richard Wojcik for his post of this 1958 Julius Shulman / Getty Research Institute photo. It was a post on Vintage Los Angeles where his comments include several additional photos.
More Information: There's a Save The Civic page on Facebook. Wikipedia has an article on the Santa Monica Civic.
See a page listing various concerts that had been held at the theatre on the site Concert Archives. Thanks to Arnold Darrow for spotting this.
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