Teragram is "Margaret" spelled backwards, a tribute to Margaret Hannigan, the late wife of founder Michael Swier, who died in 2009. Swier, an operator behind New York's Bowery Ballroom, brought that pedigree west when he and his partners opened the Teragram Ballroom on 31 May 2015 in a century-old building on the edge of downtown Los Angeles and the Westlake neighbourhood, launching with a show by the band Spoon. The venue occupies the former Playhouse Theatre, erected in 1913 as a small independent movie house at 1234 West 7th Street. Over the decades it had served as a cinema, a print works, a church and retail space before its conversion into a modern performance room, a roughly 9,000-square-foot space reworked with a ballroom dance floor, a balcony added during the renovation, three bars and updated sound, lighting and acoustic treatments. With a standing capacity of 625, the Teragram slotted neatly into a gap in the Los Angeles circuit, larger than rooms such as the Roxy and smaller than the El Rey, a size that agents had said was in demand. Its 30-foot stage, three dressing rooms and unobstructed sight lines made it attractive both for touring bands and as a film and private-event location. Independent in a market dominated by larger companies, the venue traded on its experienced ownership, intimate scale and quality sound to build a reputation as one of the city's better mid-sized live rooms. Set a few blocks from the LA Live district and close to the 7th Street Metro Center, the Teragram Ballroom has become a dependable stop for indie and rock acts while preserving a piece of early Los Angeles theatre history. The venture brought together Swier, his brother, the architect Brian Swier, and local bar operator Joe Baxley, applying the template that had made the Bowery Ballroom a New York institution. The room reopened with a thirty-foot stage and a balcony added in the renovation, raising the historic theatre's capacity to around 600. Part of the storefront the ballroom replaced had once been the Quality Cafe, a location used for years in film productions for its vintage diner look, and arched ceilings hidden above the entry were uncovered during the works. Sitting just west of the LA Live entertainment district, the Teragram competes for bookings with much larger operators while trading on its independence, sound quality and intimate scale.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 1234 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90017

Website: https://teragramballroom.com

Capacity: 625

Opening Date: 31/05/2015