Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox venue The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

History

Opened on January 23, 1926, the current Shrine Auditorium replaced an earlier 1906 Al Malaikah Temple which had been destroyed by a fire on January 11, 1920.<ref name="fire1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fire gutted the structure in just 30 minutes, and nearly killed six firefighters in the process.<ref name="name2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the late 1960s, the Shrine was referred to as "The Pinnacle" by the audiences of rock concerts.

In 2002, the auditorium underwent a $15 million renovation that upgraded the stage with state-of-the-art lighting and rigging systems, and included new roofing and air conditioning for both the Auditorium and Expo Center, modernized concession stands, additional restrooms, repainting of the Expo Center, and a new performance plaza and parking garage. The entire complex follows a Moroccan architectural motif.

• The old Shrine Auditorium, 1905.
  The old Shrine Auditorium, 1905.
• The old Shrine Auditorium, 1910.
  The old Shrine Auditorium, 1910.
• The Shrine Auditorium in 1990, before the 2002 renovations.
  The Shrine Auditorium in 1990, before the 2002 renovations.

Building

The new auditorium was designed in the Moorish Revival style by San Francisco-based theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh, with local architects John C. Austin and A. M. Edelman associated. When built, the auditorium could hold 1,200 people on stage and seat an audience of 6,442. An engineer who consulted on the project said that the steel truss supporting the balcony was the largest ever constructed.<ref name=Moore2006>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Shrine Auditorium seats approximately 6,300 people (reduced during the 2002 renovation from the original 6,700 capacity) and has a stage Template:Cvt wide and Template:Cvt deep.

The Auditorium features two boxes above the orchestra level holding 40 people each and seven loges on the balcony holding between 36 and 47 seats each (total capacity of the loges: 274). Of the remaining seats, 2,964 are on the orchestra level and 2,982 on the balcony level.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Adjacent to the Auditorium is the Shrine Exposition Hall. This is a multi-purpose event facility. It features Template:Convert of exhibit and meeting space—34,000 in the main level and 20,000 in an open mezzanine. The Exposition Hall has a capacity of 5,000 patrons. Trade shows, banquets, conventions and electronic music festivals, among other events, have been held there.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• View of the building from University Park.
  View of the building from University Park.
• Southwest facade
  Southwest facade
• South Spire
  South Spire
• Royal Street vestibule
  Royal Street vestibule
• vestibule different angle
  vestibule different angle
• Detail of stained glass window
  Detail of stained glass window

Notable events

The Shrine Auditorium has hosted a number of events, mainly for entertainment:

Awards ceremony events

Event	Date
Academy Awards	1947–48, 1988–1989, 1991, 1995, 1997–1998, 2000–2001
Academy of Country Music Awards	1978, 1981
American Music Awards	1982–2006
BET Awards	2006–2012
Grammy Awards	1978–1980, 1982–1987, 1989–1990, 1993, 1995–1996, 1999
iHeartRadio Music Awards	2014–2015, 2022
Miss Universe	2006
MTV Movie & TV Awards	2001–2003, 2005, 2017
My VH1 Music Awards	2000–2001
NAACP Image Awards	2006–2013
People's Choice Awards	2001–2003, 2006–2009
Primetime Emmy Awards	1998–2000, 2002–2007
Screen Actors Guild Awards	1998–2020, 2024, 2025
Soul Train Music Awards	1989–2001
Teen Choice Awards	2014

Other media events

Date	Description
4 December 1953	Annual Los Angeles Examiner Christmas Show.
1 July 1995	Paris by Night 32: 20 Years At A Glance – Timeless Memories (Vietnamese music show)

Sports events

Date	Event
For 33 years	Home court for the USC's Trojans basketball team
Briefly	Some playoff games of the Los Angeles Lakers
7 January 2025	NXT: New Year's Evil<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Movie shootings and premieres

Date	Movie	Description
1933	King Kong	Scenes where Kong was displayed manacled on stage.
1954	A Star Is Born	Some scenes.
9 December 2017	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	World premiere.
2018	A Star Is Born	The final scene was filmed at the Shrine as an homage to the earlier 1954 film.
9 July 2023	Barbie	World premiere.

Other shootings

Date	Film	Description
27 January 1984	Pepsi commercial	Michael Jackson's hair was accidentally set on fire by the pyrotechnics. He suffered second-degree burns on his scalp as a result.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Music events and recordings

Date	Artist or event	Description
May 1949	Art Tatum	Solo piano performance was released by Columbia Records in 1952 as Gene Norman Presents an Art Tatum Concert<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1955	The Great Shrine Auditorium Concert	Considered a major event in the histories of both American gospel and secular music.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref> The event featured Dorothy Love Coates & The Original Gospel Harmonettes, Brother Joe May, The Caravans, James Cleveland, a young Sam Cooke performing with The Soul Stirrers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
8 June 1956	Elvis Presley	Elvis Presley's first concert at the Shrine.
3 August 1958	The Fourteenth Cavalcade of Jazz	Produced by Leon Hefflin Sr.,<ref>“Fourteenth Year Jazz Cavalcade At Shrine Next” The California Eagle. July 3, 1958.</ref> featuring Ray Charles with The Cookies, Ann Fisher, Sam Cooke, William Everett Preston, Little Willie John, Bo Rhambo, and The Clark Kids. Sammy Davis Jr. crowned the Queen, Miss Jackie Joyce Simpson.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Charles Trammel, Huggy Boy, Jim Randolph, and Hunter Hancock were the MCs for the starred event.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
1964	Ray Charles	Recorded Live in Concert at the Shrine.
24 August 1968	The Grateful Dead	Recorded the live album Two from the Vault at the Shrine.
24 January 1975	Genesis	Live performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, released in 1998 and also 2025.
1976	The Tubes	3-night concert
8/9 November 1995	Fugazi	Concert
16 December 2000 19 December 2001 6 December 2005	KIIS-FM Jingle Ball
1998 Since 2013	KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concert	<ref name=KROQ>Template:Cite journal</ref>
4 & 8 August 2016	Radiohead	Live performance of A Moon Shaped Pool released in 2016.
20 December 2019	My Chemical Romance	Reunion concert after a seven-year hiatus<ref name=Chemical>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
21 & 22 December 2022	The Smile	Live performance of A Light For Attracting Attention released in 2022.

Video games

Date	Game	Description
	Midnight Club: Los Angeles	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023	Valorant	2023 Valorant Champions (Group Stage + Playoffs)

See also

• List of convention centers in the United States
• List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles
• List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
• Bridges Auditorium
• Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

External links

• Shrine LA! Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall Official Site
• Template:Glasssteelandstone
• Image of Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle performing at the Shrine Auditorium, 1978. Los Angeles TimesPhotographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

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