Hollywood Bowl 237540 224142508 2008-07-07T14:42:35Z Mfield 911178 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/68.213.54.175|68.213.54.175]] ([[User talk:68.213.54.175|talk]]) to last version by Jpbowen [[Image:Hollywood bowl and sign.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Hollywood Bowl in 2005.]] [[Image:Big Technocracy Event.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Public event being held at the Hollywood Bowl by the [[Technocracy movement]], circa 1930's.]] [[Image:Playboy Jazz Festival 2007.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Playboy Jazz Festival hosted in the Hollywood Bowl 2007]] [[Image:Hollywood Bowl 2005.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Hollywood Bowl opening night 2005.]] [[Image:Hollywood Bowl USGS.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] satellite image of the Hollywood Bowl.]] The '''Hollywood Bowl''' is a modern [[amphitheatre]] at 2301 North [[Highland Avenue]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[United States|USA]], that is used primarily for music [[performance]]s. The "bowl" in this context is the natural cavity in the earth into which the amphitheater is built, rather than the shape of the [[bandshell]]. It officially opened on [[July 11]], [[1922]] on the site of a natural amphitheater formerly known as the Daisy Dell, and has been the summer home of the [[Los Angeles Philharmonic]] since then. The Bowl is also home to a second resident ensemble, the "[[Hollywood Bowl Orchestra]]". The Hollywood Bowl is well known for its [[band shell]], a distinctive set of concentric [[arch]]es that has graced the site since [[1929]]. [[Cartoon]] buffs may see a resemblance between the concentric arches of the shell and [[Porky Pig]]'s backdrop in ''Th-th-that's all, Folks''; it is debatable whether it was intentional (however, the Bowl did make appearances in various [[Warner Brothers]] cartoon shorts, at least one [[DePatie-Freleng]] [[Pink Panther]] cartoon, and a [[Tom and Jerry (MGM)|Tom and Jerry]] 1950 cartoon [[Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl]]). Adding to the atmosphere of the Bowl, the famous [[Hollywood Sign]], several miles away, is visible from the Bowl site, to the north-northeast, behind and to the right of it from the spectators' viewpoint. Shortly after the end of the 2003 summer season, the Board of Supervisors of [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]], which owns the Hollywood Bowl ([[seating capacity]] 17,376), replaced the 1929 shell with a new, somewhat larger, [[Acoustics|acoustically]] improved shell, which had its debut in the 2004 summer season. Preservationists fiercely opposed the demolition for many years, citing the shell's storied history. However, even when it was built, the 1929 shell was (at least acoustically) only the third-best shell in the Bowl's history, behind its two immediate predecessors (which were designed by [[Lloyd Wright]], the son of famed architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]). By the late 1970s the Hollywood Bowl became an acoustic liability because of continued hardening of its [[transite]] skin. The new shell incorporates design elements of not only the 1929 shell, but of both the Lloyd Wright shells. During the 2004 summer season, the sound steadily improved, as engineers learned to work with its live acoustics. Every [[Easter]] Sunday, [[Bel Air Presbyterian Church]] holds the largest worship service in [[Southern California]] at the Hollywood Bowl, with attendance exceeding 10,000.<ref>[http://easteratthebowl.com Easter at the Bowl<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Shells== At first, the Bowl was very close to its natural state, with only makeshift wooden benches for the audience, and eventually a simple awning over the stage. In 1926, a group known as the Allied Architects was contracted to [[regrading|regrade]] the Bowl, providing permanent seating and a shell. These improvements did provide increased capacity (the all-time record for attendance was set in 1936, when 26,410 people crowded into the Bowl to hear opera singer [[Lily Pons]]), but were otherwise disappointing, as the regrading noticeably degraded the natural acoustics, and the original shell was deemed acoustically unsatisfactory (as well as visually unfashionable, with its murals of sailing ships). For the 1927 season, [[Lloyd Wright]] built a pyramidal shell, with a vaguely Southwestern look, out of left-over lumber from a production of Robin Hood. This was generally regarded as the best shell the Bowl ever had from an acoustic standpoint; unfortunately, its appearance was deemed too avant-garde, and it was demolished at the end of the season. It did, however, get Wright a second chance, this time with the stipulation that the shell was to have an arch shape. For the 1928 season, Wright built a fiberglass shell in the shape of concentric 120-degree arches, with movable panels inside that could be used to tune the acoustics. It was designed to be easily dismantled and stored between concert seasons; apparently for political reasons this was not done, and it did not survive the winter. For the 1929 season, the Allied Architects built the shell that stood until [[2003]], using a [[transite]] skin over a metal frame. Its acoustics, though not nearly as good as those of the Lloyd Wright shells, were deemed satisfactory at first, and its clean lines and white, almost-semicircular arches were copied for music shells elsewhere. As the acoustics deteriorated, various measures were used to mitigate the problems, starting with an inner shell made from large cardboard tubes (of the sort used as forms for round concrete pillars) in the 1970s, which were replaced by the early 1980s with the large fiberglass spheres (designed by [[Frank Gehry]]) that remained until 2003. These dampened out the unfavorable [[acoustics]], but required massive use of electronic amplification to reach the full audience, particularly since the background noise level had risen sharply since the 1920s. The appearance underwent other, purely visual, changes as well, including the addition of a broad outer arch (forming a [[proscenium]]) where it had once had only a narrow rim and the [[reflecting pool]] in front of the stage that lasted from 1953 till 1972<ref>[http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/about/history.cfm LA Phil Presents Hollywood Bowl | History of the Hollywood Bowl<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The 2004 shell incorporates the prominent front arch, flared at the base and forming a [[proscenium]], of the 1926 shell, the broad profile of the 1928 shell, and the unadorned white finish (and most of the general lines) of the 1929 shell. In addition, the ring-shaped structure hung within the shell, supporting lights and acoustic clouds, echoes a somewhat similar structure hung within the 1927 shell. During the 2004 season, because the back wall was not yet finished, a white curtain was hung at the back; beginning with the 2005 season, the curtain was removed to reveal a finished back wall. The architectural concept for the shell was developed by the LA based architectural practice Hodgetts and Fung, with the structural concept developed by the local office of [[Arup]]. In addition, the new shell is wired for [[video]] [[camera]]s, with two large screens on either side, and two more atop the rearmost lighting towers; during most concerts, three remotely-operated cameras in the shell, and a fourth, manually-operated camera among the box seats, provide the audience with close-up views of the musicians, usually alternating between a view of the conductor, and a view of whichever musician(s) have "the melody." ==Films== The Hollywood Bowl features in the following motion pictures: *''[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1937) *''[[Double Indemnity (film)|Double Indemnity]]'' (1944) *''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Away]]'' (1945) with [[Gene Kelly]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Jose Iturbi]]. During the sequence, Iturbi conducts a group of young pianists in a special arrangement of [[Franz Lizst]]'s ''Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2''. Later, Sinatra sings "I Fall In Love Too Easily", on the empty stage, after Iturbi and the pianists have left.<ref>Turner Classic Movies</ref> *''[[Columbo]]: Étude in Black'' (1972) *''[[Xanadu (film)|Xanadu]]'' (1980) *''[[Some Kind of Wonderful (film)|Some Kind of Wonderful]]'' (1987) *''[[Beaches]]'' (1988), where [[Bette Midler]]'s character CC Bloom is rehearsing for her concert at the Bowl. *''[[Escape from L.A.]]'' (1996) *''[[Shrek 2]]'' (2004), in the ''[[Far Far Away Idol]]'' DVD extra ==See also== *[[Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl]] *[[The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl]] * [[National Bowl]] in [[Milton Keynes]], [[England]] * [[Waikiki Shell]] in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]] * [[List of contemporary amphitheatres]] * [[Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl]] * [[Long-Haired Hare]] ==Further information== *{{ cite video | people=[[John Rubinstein]] |year=2002 |title=The Hollywood Bowl - Music Under the Stars |url=http://thebowlstore.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=169 |medium=Documentary |publisher=Video Artists International, Inc.}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons|Category:Hollywood_Bowl|Hollywood Bowl}} * [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.112678,-118.338944&spn=0,0&t=k&hl=en Google Maps satellite view of Hollywood Bowl] * [http://www.hollywoodbowl.org/ Official Hollywood Bowl Website] * [http://www.seatadvisor.com/cgi/lookup_venue_dyn.pl?venue_code=802 Hollywood Bowl seating chart with photograph views from the different sections] * [http://www.peggylee.com/solos/july2004.html 'A Tribute To Miss Peggy Lee' at the Hollywood Bowl, 2004] * [http://supak.com/fj/default.htm The Story of a Hollywood Bowl Soundman] {{coor title dms|34|06|45|N|118|20|20|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark}} [[Category:Amphitheaters]] [[Category:Culture of Los Angeles, California]] [[Category:Hollywood history and culture]] [[Category:Landmarks in Los Angeles, California]] [[Category:Music venues in California]] [[Category:1922 establishments]] [[category:Outdoor theatres]] [[de:Hollywood Bowl]] [[fr:Hollywood Bowl]] [[nl:Hollywood Bowl]] [[ja:ハリウッド・ボウル]] [[zh:好萊塢露天劇場]]