The Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles. 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 Shrine Auditorium replaced an earlier 1906 Al Malaikah Temple which had been destroyed by a fire on January 11, 1920. The fire gutted the structure in just 30 minutes nearly killing six firefighters. 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 which upgraded the stage with state-of-the-art lighting and rigging systems, and included new roofing and air conditioning for 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 has a Moroccan architectural motif. In 2012, Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Worldwide, announced that it would assume all booking and operations of the venue.
Building The auditorium was designed in the Moorish Revival style by San Francisco-based theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh, with local architects John C. Austin and Abram M. Edelman associated. When built, the auditorium could hold 1,200 people on stage and seat an audience of 6,442.
The Shrine Auditorium seats approximately 6,300 people (reduced during the 2002 renovation from the original 6,700 capacity) and has a stage wide and 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.
Adjacent to the Auditorium is the Shrine Exposition Hall. This is a multi-purpose event facility. It features 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.
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 December 4, 1953 Annual Los Angeles Examiner Christmas Show. July 1, 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 LakersJanuary 7, 2025WWE NXT: New Year's EvilJuly 26. 2025International Dance League (IDL) 2025 Launch EventSeptember 19-20, 2026IDL 2026 Los Angeles Series & Championship + 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. December 9, 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. July 9, 2023 BarbieWorld premiere. + Other shootings Date Film Description January 27, 1984 Pepsi commercial American pop star Michael Jackson's hair was accidentally set on fire by the pyrotechnics. He suffered second-degree burns on his scalp as a result. + Music events and recordings Date Artist or event DescriptionMay 1949Art TatumSolo piano performance was released by Columbia Records in 1952 as Gene Norman Presents an Art Tatum Concert 1955 The Great Shrine Auditorium Concert Considered a major event in the histories of both American gospel and secular music. 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. June 8, 1956 Elvis Presley Elvis Presley's first concert at the Shrine. August 3, 1958 The Fourteenth Cavalcade of Jazz Produced by Leon Hefflin Sr.,“Fourteenth Year Jazz Cavalcade At Shrine Next” The California Eagle. July 3, 1958. 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. Charles Trammel, Huggy Boy, Jim Randolph, and Hunter Hancock were the MCs for the starred event. 1964 Ray Charles Recorded Live in Concert at the Shrine. 1967 and 1968 The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead played a total of nine shows, some of which were recorded and released commercially. 10 November 1967 The Grateful Dead Performance was recorded and released (without Feedback) on Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles, CA 11/10/1967 and as part of the 30-show release 30 Trips Around The Sun. 23 August 1968 The Grateful Dead Performance was recorded and a substantial part of the show was released on the 50th anniversary edition of Anthem of the Sun. 24 August 1968 The Grateful Dead Performance was recorded and released as 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 November 8-9, 1995 Fugazi Concert December 16, 2000 KIIS-FM Jingle Ball December 19, 2001 December 6, 2005 1998Since 2013 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concert August 4 & 8, 2016 Radiohead Live performance of A Moon Shaped Pool released in 2016. December 20, 2019 My Chemical Romance Reunion concert after a seven-year hiatus December 21 & 22, 2022 The Smile Live performance of A Light For Attracting Attention released in 2022. + Video games Date Game Description Midnight Club: Los Angeles Part of the South Central Map Expansion.2023Valorant2023 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
References
External links
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.