Grand Olympic Auditorium

The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium was on August 5, 1925, and was a major media event, attended by such celebrities as Jack Dempsey and Rudolph Valentino.

The Auditorium was leased by the 1932 Summer Olympics Organizing Committee for a very nominal sum sufficient to cover expenses, for the purpose of conducting the training and competitions of the boxing, wrestling and weightlifting events of the Games.

This was when the wrestling scene shifted from Los Angeles to Dallas' World Class, Minneapolis' AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions Mid-Atlantic/NWA, and Stamford's WWF, now known as the WWE.

[4] Throughout the early and mid 1990s, the venue was often the host of many large, all-night rave parties, often held outdoors in the back parking lot, as well as inside the auditorium.

The event which had already gathered over 10,000 ravers was shut down by the LAPD before midnight, sending much of the crowd into the street, where a melee broke out between upset revelers and riot police.

On February 23, 2002, XPW held its Freefall event at the Grand Olympic Auditorium where New Jack tossed Vic Grimes off a 40-foot scaffold.

Wrestling legends such as Jim Londos, Joe Stecher, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Gus Sonnenberg, Ray Steele, Frank Sexton, Man Mountain Dean, Everett Marshall, Ed Don George, Enrique Torres, Baron Michele Leone, Freddie Blassie, John Tolos, Buddy Roberts, The Sheik, Fritz Von Erich, Gorgeous George, The Great Goliath, Black Gordman, Bobo Brazil, Buddy Rogers, Roddy Piper and Chris Adams competed in the arena at one point in their careers, along with the legendary Lou Thesz, Mil Mascaras and André the Giant.

[5] In 1969-70, The Grand Olympic Auditorium hosted concerts by hard rock acts such as Mountain, Jack Bruce, and Ten Years After.

This period in music performances began with a concert by the band Public Image Ltd. which was produced by Punk Rock impresario David Ferguson and his independent CD Presents production company.

Thereafter legendary promoter Gary Tovar and Goldenvoice Productions started booking shows at the venue, with monthly concerts by the likes of GBH, The Exploited, T.S.O.L., SIN 34, Suicidal Tendencies, UK Subs, New Regime, Circle Jerks, Angelic Upstarts, The Dickies, Wasted Youth, Dead Kennedys, The Vandals, D.O.A., Love Canal, Bad Religion, FEAR, M.I.A.