Los Angeles Real Estate for the Design Conscious

L.A. GEM: HISTORY OF THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

  THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 1922

If you've never attended a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, you are missing out a unique and special musical experience.  Having been born and raised in L.A., I've been lucky enough to see a handful incredible performances here including Coldplay, Norah Jones and Dave Matthews Band.  This L.A. Gem is one of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a current seating capacity of just under 18,000.  The Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922.  

In July 11, 1922, with the audience seated on simple wooden benches placed on the natural hillsides of Bolton Canyon, conductor Alfred Hertz and the Los Angeles Philharmonic inaugurated the first season of music under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl. While much has changed in the ensuing years, the tradition of presenting the world's greatest musicians and striving for musical excellence has remained a constant goal of this famed Los Angeles cultural landmark.

In spite of wars, depression on a national scale, financial stress, and internal dissension, the Bowl's summer music festivals have gone on, becoming as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers and Disneyland. Thanks to the area's magnificent climate, only a handful of concerts during the Bowl's history have had to be postponed due to rain. The Bowl grounds themselves — one of Los Angeles County's most renowned parks — are open year-round for visitors to enjoy free of charge.

Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared; in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark. Close to one million admissions were recorded for events at Summer Festival 97. This number also includes those who attended a variety of events that are independently produced, such as the annual Playboy Jazz Festival, the Mariachi USA Festival, and pop and country concerts.  In the future, the Hollywood Bowl will continue to expand the scope of its concert activities while also continuing its regimen of facility maintenance and upgrades that will enhance the concert-going experience for audiences at the world-famous concert center today and in the future.

 THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL, PRESENT DAY

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP . . .

THE WILD BEAST MUSIC HALL, CAL ARTS

Hodgetts + Fung, AIA

Wild Beast Music Pavilion

California Institute of the Arts, Valencia CA

2007-2009

HplusF

Clad in copper-hued shingles, and nestled into the berm which flanks the entry drive, the Wildbeast Pavilion is both a recital hall and an outdoor performance shell.  HplusF conceived of this performance space much as one might design a musical instrument, with an acoustically resonant form, simple adjustments to enhance performances, and functional, yet aesthetically rewarding materials.  The main volume is defined by a curving, three-dimensional form which, much like the soundboard for a stringed instrument, forms the principle structure as well as an acoustically appropriate cavity.  It is complemented by a rank of regulating windowpanes set to create a clerestory, and operated by computer-controlled servos, which act to further "tune" the resonance of the volume.  Below these windows, and extending the width of the room, are monumental retracting panels which open to convert the space into an outdoor pavilion. (Story and images by HplusF) 

The Herb Albert School of Music

The Wild Beast, CalArts’ new variable-use, indoor-outdoor music pavilion, is now in the final stages of construction. Named in honor of the seminal work of composer Morton Feldman—who used the term “wild beast” as a metaphor for the ineffable generative force in art—the pavilion houses a highly flexible performance and rehearsal space that will allow the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts to better serve its growing student population and present more public concerts. The 3,200-square foot structure will seat about 100 when closed; its open-air band-shell configuration accommodates an audience of more than 750. The Wild Beast is scheduled to open this fall for classes with a public gala performance in spring 2010.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP . . .