Shrine Auditorium: history

665 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 | map |

More Shrine Auditorium pages: exterior views | lobby areas | auditorium | backstage | expo hall + support areas |

Opened: January 23, 1926. We're looking at the west facade, facing Royal St. Jefferson Blvd. is down at the far end of the building. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

This was a replacement for a 1906 vintage Shrine Auditorium at 649 W. Jefferson Blvd. that had burned in 1920. Scroll down lower on this page for views of this earlier building. The $2.5 million for the new building was raised from public subscriptions as well as contributions from Shrine organizations. It was first known as the Los Angeles Civic Auditorium. In 1931 it was being advertised as the Shrine Civic Auditorium.

Phone: 213-748-5116     

Website: ShrineAuditorium.com | history | gallery | Al Malaikah Shriners site | Shriners events |

In addition to the auditorium, the complex includes various basement halls and a vast exposition hall to the north. The former lounge area off the 3rd floor lobby is now the Shrine Museum. In the southwest corner of the basement is the Grace Dee May Museum.

Architects: John C. Austin and Abraham M. Edelman did the building. Well, maybe. Both architects are credited on the building's cornerstone. Perhaps Edelman left the project early. Only Austin's name was on the construction fencing and in at least one article about the building he's listed as the sole architect. Austin was a well known L.A. architect but with no theatre experience. Edelman, who was around until 1941, had in 1903 done the Empress Theatre at 344 S. Spring St. and in 1904 the Belasco Theatre at 337 S. Main, a venue later known as the Follies.

The cornerstone makes no mention of G. Albert Lansburgh, the gentleman who designed the auditorium itself as well as determining the look of the facade. Lansburgh's other projects in the L.A. area include the 1911 Orpheum Theatre (now called the Palace), the 1926 Orpheum Theatre, and the auditoriums for the El Capitan Theatre and Wiltern Theatre.

This early design concept was included with "Recent Theatres Designed by G. Albert Lansburgh, Architect," an article in the November 1922 issue of Architect and Engineer. It's on Internet Archive. In the caption Austin hadn't yet hogged all the credit. He and Edelman are listed as merely "Associates." We didn't get the tower Lansburgh wanted.

A section of the auditorium portion of the building appearing with the article "Unusual Engineering Features of the Al Malaikah Temple, Los Angeles" by R. McC. Beanfield, structural engineer for the project. The article, originally a 29 page piece published in the December 1927 issue of The Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, credits John C. Austin as the building's architect. An eight page extract that appeared in The American Architect is on Internet Archive. Thanks to Mike Hume for going on the search to find it.

A main floor plan from the  R. McC. Beanfield article in The American Architect. On the left is what is now known as the Expo Hall, here identified as the Banquet Hall. Note that doors from the Expo Hall lead directly onto the Auditorium's stage.

A balcony plan.

Seating: 6,308 currently. The capacity was originally 6,717. Variety listed its capacity in a 1928 article as 6,457. Its seating capacity ranks it the largest historic theatre in the country, ahead of Radio City Music Hall and the Fox Theatres in Detroit and St. Louis.

Stage Dimensions: The proscenium is 100' wide x 36' high. The stage is 192' wall to wall and 72' deep. At the time of construction it was touted as having the largest indoor stage in the world. Radio City Music Hall, opened in 1932, has the same proscenium width but theirs has a height of 60'. The Music Hall stage at 144' x 66.5' is smaller than the Shrine's but much more elaborately equipped.

The wonders of the great stage as well as other interesting data about the building's electrical installation were detailed in "Electrical Equipment of the World's Largest Stage," an article by C.A. Sanborn in the August 1, 1926 issue of the Journal of Electricity. It's on Internet Archive. Mr. Sanborn was a partner in Holmes and Sanborn, the project's electrical engineering firm. Thanks to Mike Hume for finding the article.

Pipe Organ: It's a 4/78 Moller concert organ. It wasn't originally on a lift but now there's a scissor lift at the house left end of the pit so the console can come up to stage level and be rolled backstage for storage. It hasn't been played since perhaps 2016. Some copy appearing with an auditorium photo in the January 1979 issue of The Console included these comments:

"...It is not unified and part of its ranks play on 20 inches wind pressure. It's not an easy instrument to play due to the great distance between the chambers and the placement of the console which is almost under the left hand chamber....At one time, during the late silent film era, the Shrine was operated as a motion picture theatre and the Moller helped many a cowboy and Indian through gunfire and bow and arrow exchanges and rough rides over the passes. Shriners themselves heard it accompany silent first run features at some of their regular monthly family shows; one well known Shriner was an executive at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and arranged screening of new pictures...Harold Lloyd also headed the local Shrine organization as Potentate..."

An early postcard view of the building. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for finding the card on eBay.

The Shrine Auditorium ran as a full time cinema for a brief period beginning in August 1928. With its 6000+ capacity it was by far the largest film theatre in the country. The initial attractions as a film house were "The Fair Coed" with Marion Davies and "Dressed To Kill" with Edmond Lowe. The admission was 25 cents. C. Sharpe Minor was at the organ. At the time of the opening as a cinema the theatre was boasting about its new cooling system. 

 

Variety covered the event with a front page story in their August 15, 1928 issue. It's on Internet Archive.

A September 1931 ad in the Times calling it the Shrine Civic Auditorium. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

The Academy Awards were held at the Shrine frequently between 1947 and 2001, usually alternating with the much smaller Dorothy Chandler Pavilion after that building opened in 1964.

 

"Napoleon" played the Shrine in 1981 complete with a full orchestra and three projectors for the triptych finale. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this July 14 ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. 

Status: Alive and well as a home for concerts, dance presentations, award shows and other special events.

Since 2012 the Auditorium and Expo Hall have been booked and operated by Goldenvoice, a division of AEG. The building is still owned by the Shrine organization. 

Todd Martens had a story for the L.A. Times in December 2012 about Goldenvoice going in that noted they were putting lots of money into improvements such as restroom upgrades, new lobby carpet and WiFi. Eventual and sound and lighting system improvements were also on the schedule. The Expo Hall gets many more bookings than the main auditorium does.

The 1906 Shrine Auditorium:

Architects: Frank D. Hudson and William A.O. Munsell of the firm Hudson & Munsell

A postcard featuring the first Shrine Auditorium. The building was destroyed by fire in 1920. Thanks to Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles for locating this for a Facebook post. 

 A card from the Brian Michael McCray collection. Thanks, Brian!

A California Historical Society photo in the USC Digital Library collection. 

Another postcard showing the side of the building. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting this one on eBay.

A Charles C. Pierce photo of the building in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. They give it a date of 1910, There's also a version of the photo in the USC Digital Library collection.

A card showing an end view of the structure. It appears on the Shrine Auditorium page of the website Scotty Moore along with lots of data and photos of both old and new buildings.

A photo of the end of the building from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.

The building on fire in 1920. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo. 

Another fire view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 

 

 

A report of the fire that appeared in the Long Beach Press on January 12, 1920. Thanks to Ron Mahan for locating it.  

 

 

A view of the ruins that's on display at the building's Shrine Museum. 

 

The Shrine Auditorium in the Movies: 

The Shrine stands in for a New York theatre in "King Kong" (RKO, 1933). Kong is introduced as the Shrine's asbestos rises. The film stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot and was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Carroll Clark was the production designer. See the Historic L.A.Theatres in Movies post for a dozen additional shots from the sequence at the Shrine, including a rare production shot. 

 

 

Lady Liberty gets her Expo Hall moment at the 1912 Democratic convention in Henry King's film "Wilson" (20th Century Fox, 1944). The film stars Alexander Knox, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Ruth Nelson, Mary Anderson, Ruth Ford, Madeleine Forbes, Charles Coburn, Vincent Price, Eddie Foy Jr. and Cedric Hardwicke. The cinematography was by Leon Shamroy and an uncredited Ernest Palmer. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for identifying this venue as well as the Biltmore Theatre, seen earlier. He's also responsible for the twenty-nine screenshots of the two venues appearing on our Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post. 

In George Cukor's "A Star Is Born" (Warner Bros., 1954) Judy Garland is onstage at the Shrine in benefits at the beginning of the film (as a small time singer/dancer) and at the end (as a star). This exterior shot is part of the film's opening. The film tries to pretend the theatre is in Hollywood.

An onstage shot from "A Star Is Born" with Judy Garland trying to pull a drunk James Mason offstage. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for more shots from the film featuring the Shrine Auditorium.

 

 

We're in New York at a rally to raise funds for the defense of a kid wrongly accused of murder in the Mark Robson Film "Trial" (MGM, 1955). They used the Expo Hall but augmented it a bit to appear like it's a much larger three-balcony venue. The story is a chaotic mix involving a murder trial, the KKK, a thwarted lynching, Communist front organizations, and an unscrupulous lawyer. It stars Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire and Arthur Kennedy. The cinematography was by Robert Surtees. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots from the scene at the Expo Hall.

 

The scenes in the main hall at the 1924 Democratic National Convention for the end of "Sunrise at Campobello" (Warner Bros., 1960) were shot in the Shrine Expo Hall. The actual convention was in New York at Madison Square Garden. The film, directed by Vincent J. Donehue, stars Ralph Bellamy as FDR, Greer Garson as Eleanor, and Hume Cronyn as Louis Howe. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots from the scene. 

God (George Burns) doesn't go to the Shrine in Carl Reiner's "Oh, God!" (Warner Bros., 1977) but he does send John Denver on a mission there to chastise greedy revival preacher Paul Sorvino. It doesn't go well. The film also stars Terri Garr as Denver's wife, trying to be understanding. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more shots from the scene at the Shrine.

The Shrine is standing in for a theatre in Oklahoma City at the beginning of the Herbert Ross film "The Turning Point" (20th Century Fox, 1977). Here Shirley MacLaine is backstage to say hi to Martha Scott, playing the manager of the New York based ballet company she used to dance with. The film also stars Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for six more shots of the scenes at the Shrine.

A chase near the end of the Goldie Hawn / Chevy Chase film "Foul Play" (Paramount, 1978) is set at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House but some of the backstage shots were done at the Shrine. Here we're looking down into the wingspace stage left. Thanks to Mike Hume for the screenshot. Earlier in the film Goldie has a bad experience at a movie at the Nuart. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots from the film.

Jodie Foster and her teenage friends say they're going to a concert at the Shrine Auditorium in Adrian Lyne's "Foxes" (United Artists, 1980). We get lots of shots in a parking lot, a lobby area, and of a group performing onstage. But none of it is identifiable as the Shrine. It's unknown where that sequence was shot. The film about drugs, sex and growing up in L.A. also features Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid and Lois Smith. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a view of the Ivar Theatre and a shot down Hollywood Blvd. toward the Pix that are seen in the film.

 

 

Whitney Houston and Gary Kemp are in a Shrine basement dressing room before the Academy Awards in Mick Jackson's "The Bodyguard" (Warner Bros., 1992). Kevin Costner is the man of the title. Also featured are Michele Lamar Richards, Bill Cobbs, Mike Starr and Thomas Arana. The film was written by Lawrence Kasdan. The cinematography was by Andrew Dunn. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for another Shrine shot, plus views of the Pantages and the Mayan.

Among other adventures, the Shrine Auditorium gets a visit in "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" (Paramount, 1994). Peter Segal directed the film starring Leslie Nielson, Priscilla Presley, Fred Ward, Anna Nicole Smith and George Kennedy. The last 20 minutes of the film are at the Shrine with Leslie trying to thwart a bombing. There are many backstage views, such as this one off left. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a dozen more shots from the film.

"Blankman" (Columbia, 1994) is set in Chicago but various L.A. locations keep creeping in around the edges. Damon Wayans, a self-styled crime fighter, has figured out the villain is hiding out in the Shrine Expo Hall. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another view of the Expo Hall as well as a shot of the building that was formerly the Liberty Theatre at 3rd and Main and two views of Wayans trying to catch a Chicago bus in front of the State Theatre.  

In Michael Bay's "Armageddon," (Touchstone, 1998) we get this very quick shot of the FBI pulling up to the Shrine, supposedly across the street from a bar in New Orleans. They're looking for oil-driller Steve Buscemi to be part of a team to go to an asteroid and plant a nuke in it before it hits the earth. Thanks to Mike Hume for the screenshot. The film also stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Owen Wilson, Will Patton and Michael Clarke Duncan. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another shot of the Shrine as well as two views of the lobby of the Los Angeles as a strip club.

Christina Milian onstage at the Shrine Auditorium for the MTV Music Awards near the end of F. Gary Gray's "Be Cool" (MGM, 2005). 

Another "Be Cool" shot with a look into the auditorium. The film also visits the Mayan and the Chinese. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for shots at those theatres as well as a photo of John Travolta on the set at the Shrine with author Elmore Leonard. 

In "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (Columbia, 2007) the Shrine Auditorium is used for a glitzy concert sequence with star John C. Reilly as well as other performers including Jewel and Lyle Lovett. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for two more shots at the Shrine as well as views of other theatres featured in the film including the Warner Grand, Palace and Variety Arts.

We start "An Actor Prepares" (Gravitas Ventures, 2018) at the Shrine for a tribute to actor Atticus Smith, played by Jeremy Irons. At least for an exterior shot. His character has a heart attack at the tribute and, unable to fly, the film becomes a road trip east to go to his daughter's wedding. Steve Clark directed. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of another theatre used for the interior shots. 

Perhaps in homage to the 1954 version of the film, we visit the Shrine Auditorium twice during Bradley Cooper's "A Star is Born" (Warner Bros, 2018). Here at the end of the film Ally (Lady Gaga) is onstage for a tribute to her dead husband. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a shot earlier in the film of Jackson Maine (Cooper) onstage for a Grammy Awards program that doesn't go well. 

 

 

We get this nice flyover before a music awards scene in "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (Columbia, 2022). The interiors used a theatre in Boston. Anthony McCarten wrote the script, Kasi Lemmons directed. The cinematography was by Barry Ackroyd. The film stars Naomi Ackie as Whitney, Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis, Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston and Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for six shots from two scenes that used the Los Angeles Theatre.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page for a history of the building by Ken Roe with lots of interesting data. The Cinema Tour page on the Shrine features five photos by the indefatigable Mr. Roe.

Check out Shrine Auditorium 3.5.2022, a lovely 49 photo set on Facebook from Michelle Gerdes that features her shots from the March 2022 open house. Visit Mike Hume's Historic Theatre Photography site for hundreds of terrific photos of the theatres he's explored in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere. And don't miss his page on the Shrine Auditorium. 

For another fine selection of photos from the 2022 open house browse the 32 photos in the Open House at 1926 Shrine Auditorium album from Claudia Mullins on Facebook.

Paul R. Spitzzeri did a fine article for the Homestead Museum blog about an April 1926 Spring Ceremonial at the Auditorium. Seeing Stars has a page with data about various events held at the Shrine. 

The Water and Power Associates Early L.A. Buildings page 1 has many photos of the Shrine drawn from the Los Angeles Public Library and USC Archives collections. The Arcadia Publishing book "West Adams" has a photo the old auditorium and three of the new Shrine Auditorium on pages 30 and 31.

The Shriners do an annual open house, usually in January. Yes, non-Shriners are welcome at these events. Keep an eye on their website for news: amshriners.com/

The Shrine Auditorium pages: back to top - history | exterior views | lobby areas | auditorium | backstage | expo hall + support areas |

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