Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Olympic Auditorium’s Storied History Venue On Display At New LA Plaza De Cultura Y Artes Exhibit
Listen
• 32:24
The Olympic Auditorium in April 1970.
(
Courtesy Theo Ehret Estate
)
When it was built in 1925, the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles was a cutting-edge sports venue and quickly became known as the Madison Square Garden of the West.
Now, a brand new exhibit at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes titled "18th and Grand: The Olympic Auditorium," recounts the 80-year history of the Grand Olympic Auditorium. The historic venue, once the epicenter of L.A. fight nights, was designed to attract and host some of the biggest matches in boxing, wresting, roller derby and music.
The boxing card for a match between World Welterweight Champion Carlos Palomino and challenger Mando Muniz at the Olympic Auditorium on Jan. 22, 1977.
(
Courtesy of Gene Aguilera
)
"The Olympic was like a rite of passage for a boxer," said Latino boxing historian Gene Aguilera, who co-curated the exhibit. Cigarette smoke, cigar smoke, gamblers, beer drinkers — Aguilera emphasizes just how memorable an event at the Olympic could be.
Support for LAist comes from
Popcorn, cigar smoke, and a night out at The Olympic
At the center of the exhibit is the documentary 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story from writer and director Steve DeBro, who co-curated the exhibit with Aguilera. DeBro, along with LA Plaza senior curator Karen Crews Hendon and Aguilera joined Larry Mantle on LAist's daily news program AirTalk to discuss the documentary, the new exhibit and the indelible impact of the Olympic.
Ruben Navarro (left) and Ray Adigun (right) trade punches during a boxing match at the Olympic Auditorium on July 25, 1968
(
Courtesy of Theo Ehret Estate
)
Allan Armstrong, Honey Sanchez and the T-Birds in a roller derby event at the Olympic in 1971.
(
Courtesy Kevin Haupt
)
Mil Máscaras and Ernie Ladd wrestle at the Olympic Auditorium in 1970.
(
Courtesy Theo Ehret Estate
)
Big Jay McNeely and his band perform on stage at the Olympic Auditorium in 1951.
(
Courtesy of Bob Willoughby Estate
)
Patrons gather outside the Olympic Auditorium in 1974.
(
Courtesy Theo Ehret Estate
)
"The Olympic was pretty unavoidable back in the day," DeBro says. With only a handful of TV channels to choose from, the nationally televised weekly match at the Olympic helped cement the venue as a cultural juggernaut. It was also a training ground and coming-out venue for many Mexican and Mexican American fighters to make their name and be featured in headline events. "Whether it was wrestling, roller derby or boxing, it was part of daily life in Southern California," DeBro said.
It wasn't all bright lights and sold out events for the venue. Within a year of opening, the venue had essentially gone bust, and aside from a stint in the spotlight as a venue in the 1932 Olympics, it had not lived up to its grandiose expectations. That changed in the early 1940s when the L.A. Athletic Club, which owned the Olympic, sent Aileen Eaton to find out why it was failing. Eaton not only turned the venue into one of the most iconic boxing venues in the country, but also made herself the most powerful boxing promoter in the country in the process.
The exhibit
Boxing robes on display at the “18th and Grand: The Olympic Auditorium,” exhibit installed on the first floor of LA Plaza in July 2023, including boxing shorts and a robe worn by Alberto Dávila.
(
Courtesy LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
)
Support for LAist comes from
Hendon remembers the Olympic Auditorium story as one we all share. "It's our cultural history. We're telling cross border stories where people of color were made into local and cultural heroes in and out of the ring, which really created a legacy of hope, identity [and] representation that really has forever remained in our memories," she said.
Photography, hand-stitched robes, punk rock fliers, roller derby ephemera — Hendon describes the experience of the exhibit as being "thrown into the environment" that captivated so many hearts and minds. "It's a slow look of the fast visual details one can see in the documentary," she said.
Roller skates on display at the “18th and Grand: The Olympic Auditorium,” exhibition installed on the first floor of LA Plaza in July 2023.
(
Courtesy LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
)
The exhibit is equipped with a boxing ring that is aimed at creating an immersive experience for patrons. A timeline of photos introduces you to local wrestlers and the famed luchadores of Mexico. For those who never made it to the Olympic for a live event, there is a living room set up with a TV to honor those who were captivated from home.
Photos and roller derby jerseys on display at the “18th and Grand: The Olympic Auditorium” exhibit installed on the first floor of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in July 2023.
(
Courtesy LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
)
The exhibit will also open a recording studio where people can record Olympic members in a way that DeBro said "has never been done before."
The exhibit is open now at LA Plaza, and runs through May 2024.
Support for LAist comes from
Listen to the conversation
Listen
• 32:24
Olympic Auditorium’s Storied History Venue On Display At New La Plaza De Cultura Y Artes Exhibit
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist