Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
| Santa Monica Civic Auditorium | |
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Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
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| Coordinates | 34°0′32″N 118°29′21″W / 34.00889°N 118.48917°WCoordinates: 34°0′32″N 118°29′21″W / 34.00889°N 118.48917°W |
| Built | 1958 |
| Architect | Welton Becket & Associates |
| Designated | 9 April 2002 |
 Location of Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket.
The building was made of reinforced concrete and combined elements of a theater, concert hall, and trade show and convention auditorium. Parabolic pylons supported the exterior grand cantilevered canopy fronting a glass curtain wall and brise soleil, a patterned wall that reduced the effects of the sun's glare.
For trade shows, the Civic Auditorium features 11,775 sq ft (1,093.9 m2), while the stage adds 4,485 sq ft (416.7 m2) more space, for a total of 16,260 sq ft (1,511 m2). The East Wing meeting room adds an additional 4,200 sq ft (390 m2), while the main lobby features 6,708 sq ft (623.2 m2).
The main hall of the Civic is adaptable for not only trade shows, but also sporting events, concerts, meetings, awards shows and other events. As a concert venue it can seat 3,000, as a banquet hall 720 in tables, and as a sports arena it can seat up to 2,500. The most widely touted innovation was the auditorium's main floor, which in a matter of seconds could be tilted by a hydraulic mechanism to form raked seating for theatrical productions or a flat surface for dancing or exhibits. The main floor of the auditorium can thus be raised or lowered to create a raked floor for theatre seating or a level floor for exhibits.
The parcel includes the auditorium and surrounding land bounded on the north by the county building, on the west by Main Street, on the east by 4th Street and on the south by Pico Boulevard.
The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium opened in the summer of 1958. At that time, it was the second-largest auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
The $2.9-million city-owned project soon became an acclaimed music venue, for artists as varied as Eric Clapton, Frank Sinatra, Village People, Dave Brubeck, Laura Nyro, The Limeliters, Ella Fitzgerald, Free, Traffic, Prince, Tim Buckley and Bob Dylan. On 28th and 29th October, 1964, the auditorium was host to the T.A.M.I. Show, a filmed concert featuring James Brown and The Rolling Stones. A home of the Academy Awards from 1961-1967, the auditorium remains home to the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra. Pink Floyd performed there on 1st May, 1970.
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