Qualla: Hollywood Bowl

Hollywood Bowl: Introduction

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States, CC BY 2.0. On August 15, 1956, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Tatum, and Oscar Peterson took the stage together at the Hollywood Bowl for a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert that became the best-attended event in the venue's history. The amphitheater, carved into a natural hollow that locals once called Daisy Dell, has witnessed a century of such moments. From the Beatles' legendary 1964 and 1965 performances (preserved on an album where you can barely hear the music over the screaming) to the final show of Tom Petty's career in September 2017, the Bowl has been California's living room for live music.

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Image: Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States | CC BY 2.0

Hollywood Bowl: Daisy Dell to Concert Hall

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA, CC BY 2.0. In 1919, William Reed and his son H. Ellis Reed were dispatched to find a site for outdoor performances. They discovered a shaded canyon in Bolton Canyon, a popular picnic spot with natural acoustics and proximity to downtown Hollywood. The Theatre Arts Alliance secured the land ...

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Image: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA | CC BY 2.0

Hollywood Bowl: The Search for Perfect Sound

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit RobotGoggles, CC BY 4.0. Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the Bowl's second and third bandshells. His 1927 pyramidal shell, influenced by Southwest Indigenous architecture, was acoustically the finest in Bowl history, but audiences found it ugly, and it was demolished after one season. H...

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Image: RobotGoggles | CC BY 4.0

Hollywood Bowl: Legendary Performances

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Peter Fitzgerald, OpenStreetMap; The Los Angeles Times' Mapping L.A. project created the individual neighborhood boundaries, but not the groupings seen here, CC BY-SA 2.0. The roll call of performers reads like a history of American popular music. The Doors played on July 5, 1968, with Steppenwolf and the Chambers Brothers opening. Jimi Hendrix appeared that September. Monty Python filmed their 1980 concert film here. Depeche Mode became the first ...

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Image: Peter Fitzgerald, OpenStreetMap; The Los Angeles Times' Mapping L.A. project created the individual neighborhood boundaries, but not the groupings seen here | CC BY-SA 2.0

Hollywood Bowl: Women Who Built the Bowl

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alan Light, CC BY 2.0. The Hollywood Bowl owes its existence largely to women. Pianist Artie Mason Carter's connections with Los Angeles arts patrons proved essential in the early years. Stevenson and Clarke provided the funds to purchase the land. E.J. Wakeman, Leiland Atherton Irish, Harriet Clay Pen...

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Image: Alan Light | CC BY 2.0

Hollywood Bowl: Under the Stars

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0. Today the Bowl is owned by Los Angeles County and serves as the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Rolling Stone named it one of the ten best live music venues in America in 2018, and it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. The Hollywood Bowl Museum ...

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Image: Visitor7 | CC BY-SA 3.0