649 W.
Jefferson Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA. / (213) 749-5123
When
it was built by the Shriners back in 1906 (and rebuilt in 1920 after a
fire) the world-famous Shrine Auditorium was the largest indoor
auditorium in the world, with almost 6,500 seats. It is still one of the
largest such theatres in America, and that sheer size is what has made
the Shrine the preferred venue for Hollywood's most important awards shows,
including long runs of both the Oscars
and the Emmys Awards.
The
appeal certainly didn't lie with the Shrine's location. Situated in a rough
neighborhood (the northern edge of South Central) across the street from
the U.S.C. campus, (near Exposition Park), it is quite clear that
your not in Beverly Hills anymore.
The
Academy Awards show was first presented at the Shrine back in 1947, and
along with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music
Center (in downtown), hosted the show for decades.
Likewise,
the annual Emmy Awards were held
the Shrine for 10-years straight (from 1997 to 2007).
Over the years the
Shrine has also hosted a variety of other dazzling award shows, including
the Grammy Awards, the
MTV Music Awards, the
American Music Awards,
the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Soul Train Music Awards, the American
Comedy Awards, and others.
But in the 2000's,
the Shrine fell from grace with the two biggest award shows, as newer venues
came on the scene to offer fresher locations. The Oscars moved to their
permanent home at the Kodak Theatre
in Hollywood, while the Emmy's moved to the new Nokia
Theatre in downtown. (And it's rumored that the Grammys may also move
to the Nokia.)
The
Shrine was also home to HBO Comic
Relief (with hosts Robin Williams,
Billy Crystal
and Whoopi
Goldberg) and the occasional gala movie
premiere, such as the 1996 premiere of the film version of "Evita"
(starring Madonna).
From the outside,
the Shrine Auditorium resembles an exotic Arabian mosque from ages past,
or some west coast Taj Mahal, replete with white Persian domes and Moorish
arches. Inside, it is a lush, old-fashioned opera house, with red velvet
seats and tiered balconies overlooking its cavernous interior.
The auditorium's
unusual architecture (inside and out) has made it a favorite movie location.
The Shrine has been seen in the original "King Kong" (1933,
with Fay Wray),
the 1954 version of "A Star is Born" (starring Judy Garland),
"The Turning Point" (1977, starring Shirley MacLaine
and Anne Bancroft),
the 1988 comedy "Foul Play" (with Goldie
Hawn and Chevy Chase),
"The Doors"
(1992, starring Val Kilmer
as Jim Morrison), and many others.
The
concluding scenes of the 1994 slapstick comedy "Naked Gun 33 1/3:
The Final Insult," had a bumbling
Leslie Nielsen foiling an assassination
attempt during an Academy Awards ceremony. The sequence included exterior
shots of the stars arriving at that Shrine.
In 1996, it was the site of Frank Sinatra's
80th birthday gala.
And years ago, Michael
Jackson was filming a Pepsi commercial
on stage here at the Shrine when his hair caught on fire, sending him to
the hospital.
And
all of this is in addition to the Shrine's regular schedule of concerts,
operas, TV specials, the Bolshoi Ballet and other special events.
Not all of the concerts
are classical in nature. The Grateful Dead
played a memorable concert here in 1967, Sting
did a TV spot there, and Bruce
Springsteen appeared there in 1995.
In 2002, they finished
a $10 million restoration of the Shrine which has brought back a lot of
the old Hollywood grandeur to the fading auditorium, replacing rthe seats,
restoring the wood floors and making the interior once again a bright,
colorful venue. The exterior of the building is now beige with gold domes
(instead of the previous faded white).
(I first visited
the Shrine as a child, during a school field trip to see Mozarts opera "The
Magic Flute." My initial impression then was that you couldn't
see much from the back row of this huge auditorium, and that still holds
true. It seems that size also has its drawbacks...)
Getting
there: The
Shrine Auditorium is located about five miles south of downtown Los Angeles,
on Jefferson Blvd at Royal Street, across the street from the USC campus,
and not far from Exposition Park. Take the Harbor (110) Freeway to the
Exposition Blvd exit. Turn west on Exposition one block to Figueroa Street,
then turn right (north) on Figueroa and go one long block to Jefferson
Blvd. Turn left (west) on Jefferson, and the Shrine will be on your right
(north) side. You can't miss it.
[You
can see a seating chart of the Shrine online here.]
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