Originally excavated for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, it underwent a significant redesign after the fair in order to be repurposed as a venue for public gatherings centered on music performances.

It was severely damaged in the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes, has repeatedly undergone extensive renovation, and has served as a stage for numerous performers over the years ranging from Luciano Pavarotti to the Grateful Dead.

In the 2000s an extensive renovation of the Music Concourse and construction of new buildings for the two museums was performed, together with the installation of an 800-car underground parking garage, which opened in 2005.

Numerous statuary dot the area, including representations of Leonidas, the King of Sparta who defeated the Persians in the Battle Thermopylie, Ulysses S. Grant, Ludwig van Beethoven, Giuseppe Verdi, and Junípero Serra.

At the opposite end of the Music Concourse from the Bandshell is a monument dedicated to Francis Scott Key, though this was not its original location, having been moved to this spot in 1967.