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Shrine Auditorium: exterior views

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

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


1922 - Groundbreaking for the new building. The earlier Shrine Auditorium on the site had burned in 1920. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.



c.1925 - The big dig. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.



1925 - Framing going up. It's a photo that appeared with the article "Unusual Engineering Features of the Al Malaikah Temple, Los Angeles" by R. McC. Beanfield, structural engineer for the project. The article, from The American Architect, is on Internet Archive. Thanks to Mike Hume for going on the search to find it. The photo is also in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1925 - A newspaper collage showing the construction. Note the construction fence signage saying the architect was John C. Austin. Abraham M. Edelman is also credited on the building's cornerstone. Perhaps he left the project early. The cornerstone makes no mention of the gentleman who designed the auditorium itself, G. Albert Lansburgh. The image is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1926 - A look east down busy 33rd St. at the new building's entrance at 3224 Royal St. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library.



1926 - Finishing up the construction on the 32nd St. "Ballroom Entrance," what later became known as the Exposition Hall. It's a Keystone photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



January 3, 1926 - Opening night for the Shrine Auditorium. It's an L.A. Times photo in the UCLA Los Angeles Times Photographs Collection. Thanks to Eitan Alexander for finding this one in the collection.



1926 - The south end of the facade. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library



1926 - Down lower on the south end of the facade. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library



1926 - An entrance detail. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library. There's also a version of the photo in the USC Digital Library collection.



1926 - A corner view with the Jefferson Blvd. side of the building on the right. The entrance of the building, on the left, is on Royal St. It looks like we did a bit of retouching to get rid overhead wires and a telephone pole on the corner. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library



1926 - Here's the corner view if you want to see the crooked telephone pole. This version is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1926 - A closer look at the southwest corner of the building. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library



1926 - A facade view in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1926 - A dome detail. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library 



1926 - These celebrants in the dome windows don't look at all like Shriners. The photo by Keystone Photo Service is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1926 - The stage end of the building along Jefferson. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library



1926 - The Expo Hall entrance on 32nd St. Photo: Mott Studios - California State Library

The California State Library has 44 photos of the building in four sets. | set #1445667 - 6 photos including an auditorium view plus exterior and outer lobby shots | set #1387004 - 18 photos of lobbies, auditorium, backstage, expo hall and exterior | set #1447647 - 18 photos of lobbies and exterior | set #1385653 - two exterior views |



 
1926 - A view from the USC Digital Library Los Angeles Examiner collection. 
 

1926 - A lovely night view by Keystone Photo Service. It's a photo that's on display in the Shrine Museum on the building's 2nd floor.


early 1930s - Thanks to Brian Michael McCray for this early postcard of the building.



early 1930s - Another version of the card, this time with a somewhat distorted car added in front. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this one, a post on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.



mid 1930s - A view south along the facade of the rather forlorn looking building. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.



mid 1930s - Looking north. It's a Los Angeles Public Library photo.



1937 - Looking north. Photo: Herman Schultheis - Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1937 - A view looking south along Royal St. Photo: Herman Schultheis - Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1937 - Opening night for "Tristan and Isolde." Photo: Herman Schultheis - Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1937 - A minaret! We're looking south toward the Shrine with the University Park branch library on the right. Photo: Herman Schultheis - Los Angeles Public Library collection. 



1939 - A crisp look at the southwest corner of the building from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 



1939 - A Los Angeles Public Library shot giving us a bit more of the front of the building. It's a photo from their Works progress Administration collection.



c.1940 - A Dick Whittington shot of the entrance to the Expo Hall on 32nd. St. The photo is in the USC Digital Library collection. Beyond the Expo Hall that's the Shrine Auditorium's stagehouse.



 
1940s - The Jefferson Blvd. side of the building and the back wall of the stage. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection that evidently got lost during their website makeover. It used to be indexed as #00015558.



1940s - Another view along Jefferson Blvd. from the Los Angeles Public Library.



1945 - A diagram showing how an unmanned experimental plane hit the building. It's a newspaper photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.



1947 - The Oscars at the Shrine. The photo appeared on Photos of Los Angeles, a post by Ken McIntyre.



c.1950? - An entrance view from the California Historical Society that's in the USC Digital Library collection. Note that the wall above the entrance doors has lost the decorative paint job it had originally.  



1953 - Thanks to Richard Wojcik for this great photo, a post of his on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.



early 1960s - A fine look at the Shrine discovered on eBay by Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality. He included it in his Noirish post #23819.


 
1989 - A shot of the 61st Academy Awards that Ken McIntyre located for a post on the private Facebook group on Photos of Los Angeles.
 

1990 - A photo by Alan Light that appears on Wikimedia Commons. See Alan's profile on Flickr
 

1995 - Getting ready for Oscar night. It's a Gary Leonard photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. 
 

2000 - Prep time for the Oscar show. Thanks to Susan Wise for sharing five of her photos in a post on the Lost Angeles Facebook page. 
 

2000 - Looking in from Jefferson Blvd. before the show. Thanks to Susan Wise for sharing her photo.


2007 - Along the roof toward the north dome. Thanks to Dave Bullock for this photo, one in a set of 29 terrific views that appear on his website eecue.



2008 - The building from across Jefferson Blvd. Thanks to Floyd Bariscale for his photo, included in his 46 photo Shrine Auditorium set on Flickr. And don't miss the fine article about the Shrine Auditorium on his blog Big Orange Landmarks.



2008 - The south side of the building, along Jefferson Blvd. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr



2008 - The building's west facade on Royal St. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr



2008 - The facade from the south. What had been an open-air lobby behind the arches got enclosed in 1993. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr



2008 - The facade from the north. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr



2008 - The north dome. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr



2008 - The south dome. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr



2008 - The Expo Hall entrance on 32nd St. Photo: Floyd Bariscale - Flickr. Thanks, Floyd! 



2010 - A window detail. Photo: Bill Counter



2017 - The Shrine from across Jefferson Blvd. Thanks to Mike Hume for his photo. Visit his Historic Theatre Photography site for hundreds of great photos of theatres he's explored. And don't miss his page on the Shrine Auditorium.



2017 - A view north on Royal St. Photo: Mike Hume



2017 - An entrance detail. Photo: Mike Hume



2018 - Looking south along Royal St. Photo: Bill Counter



2018 - The south dome. Photo: Bill Counter



2018 - Ornament at the entrance arches. Photo: Bill Counter



2018 - Upper facade ornament. Photo: Bill Counter



2018 - The boxoffice area north of the entrance. Off to the left is the parking garage. Photo: Bill Counter 



2019 - A view to the south from the top of the parking garage. Photo: Mike Hume



2019 - The north side of the building. Photo: Mike Hume.



2019 - Looking northwest from the ladder heading to the upper portion of the roof.  Photo: Mike Hume. Check out his Shrine Auditorium page for many fine interior views.


 
2019 - Looking toward the north dome at dusk. Photo: Bill Counter 
 

2023 - Scaffolding up for a round of restoration work on the domes. Photo: Bill Counter - October 28
 

2023 - A look along the south side of the facade. Photo: Bill Counter - October 28

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

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