Palladium Hollywood
The art deco Hollywood Palladium was built where the original Paramount
lot once stood by film producer Maurice Cohen and is located between
Argyle and El Centro avenues.
History
The style dance hall was designed by Gordon Kaufmann, architect of the Greystone Mansion, the Los Angeles Times building and the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia. He was also the architect for the Hoover Dam and early Caltech dorms.The theater opened September 23, 1940 with a concert by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. It had six bars serving liquor and two more serving soft drinks and a $1 cover charge and a $3 charge for dinner.
Over the years, it has hosted the Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards,Toyah, Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Fugazi, The Cure, Bad Religion, Skrewdriver, The Ramones, Faces, Bjork, The Strokes, Modest Mouse, Missy Elliott and Portishead.
During WWII, the Palladium hosted radio broadcasts featuring Betty Grable greeting servicemens' song requests. Big Band acts began losing popularity in the 1950s, causing the Palladium to hold charity balls, political events, auto shows, and rock concerts. In the 1960s-70s, many episodes of the long-running The Lawrence Welk Show were taped in the facility.
Pop Expo '69, referred to as a 'teenage fair,' was a youth-oriented event held from 3/28/69 to 4/6/69 at the Palladium, and included performances by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the MC5. Beginning in the 1980s and 90s, punk rock, rap and heavy metal concerts started to be booked at the venue. Several white power disturbances resulted, eventually leading to the Palladium closing for eight weeks, starting in February 1993.
In 1964 it was announced that none of the jazz bands scheduled were to be paid and a riot ensued after the show was cancelled. In 1973 Stevie Wonder performed with Taj Mahal in what was advertised as an "Afrocentric concert" to benefit African refugees.
Since 1985 the theater has been owned by Palladium Investors Ltd., a privately held group. In 2007 the owners agreed to a long-term lease to operate, manage and exclusively book the Hollywood Palladium with Live Nation, a Los Angeles-based company.[5] Curfews were implemented in 1993 and a because of a brawl a few nights prior a Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch show was called off.[2] It was also used for Hollywood celebrity parties.
Renovation and reopening
The Palladium reopened with a Jay-Z concert on October 15, 2008 after a year long, multi-million dollar renovation by Live Nation. The renovation included an overhaul of the venue's interior and exterior, a new dance floor, expanded concessions, upgraded restrooms and improvements to the stage infrastructure. Jay-Z performed for nearly an hour-and-half, backed by an eight-piece band and DJ AM, who played his first show after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina. The Hollywood Palladium was also used as the memorial service site for DJ AM on September 3, 2009.
For the 2008-2009 season a yearlong table for four cost $30,000.
Hollywood Palladium
6215 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
+1 323-962-7600
