Unspecified/General

Set into a natural hollow in the Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood Bowl is a vast outdoor amphitheatre that has served as the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since it first opened in 1922. Its concentric arcs of bench seating follow the contours of the canyon once known as Daisy Dell, and with room for roughly 17,500 people it ranks among the largest natural amphitheatres in the world. The venue began with little more than a wooden platform and an awning, the audience seated on benches scattered across the slope. A succession of architects refined it over the following decades, among them Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose shells were tried and replaced. The white concentric arch of the band shell, first established in 1929, became the Bowl's signature silhouette and a symbol of Los Angeles, appearing even on the county seal, and it was rebuilt in 2004 to sharpen the acoustics while preserving the familiar shape. Programming ranges from classical concerts under the stars to jazz, pop and film screenings accompanied by a live orchestra, capped each summer by a celebrated Independence Day fireworks tradition. The all-time attendance record, more than 26,000, was set in 1936 for the soprano Lily Pons, in an era before seating was reduced for comfort. The amphitheatre was designated the first Los Angeles County historical landmark and has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The experience is as much picnic as performance. Many visitors bring food and wine to enjoy on the terraces before the music starts, and the relaxed, open-air setting beneath the hills is a large part of the appeal. A clear summer evening, with the Hollywood Sign visible on the ridge nearby, makes for a quintessential Los Angeles night out. For practical purposes, parking is famously tight, so stacked parking, shuttles and park-and-ride services are widely used, and arriving early to picnic is the norm. Performances run mainly through the warmer months, tickets are sold by the show across a wide range of prices, and the adjacent Hollywood Bowl Museum, free to enter, traces the venue's long history for those who come early.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 2301 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Website: https://www.hollywoodbowl.com

Capacity: 17500

Opening Date: 11/07/1922