Historical Marker · No. 960
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County · California
Erected by California State Parks, with American Institute of Architects, the Coliseum Commission, and USC, 1984
It opened in 1923 as a memorial to the dead of the First World War and has been collecting history since. John and Donald Parkinson designed it, then enlarged it for the 1932 Olympics; the games returned in 1984 and made it the only stadium to have held them twice. It has also held a World Series, Kennedy's 1960 acceptance speech, Dr. King in 1963, and two NFL franchises. The Olympics come back in 2028, and no other venue will have hosted three.
What the plaque says
This stadium was originally completed in 1923. It was partially redesigned and enlarged for the 1932 Olympic Games. Both designs were by architects John & Donald B. Parkinson. The Coliseum has witnessed many important sports, political, and historical events. When the games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad began here on July 28, 1984, the Coliseum became the first stadium in the world to host the Olympic Games twice.
Where it stands
34.01359, -118.28632 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Chavez Ravine — 4.9 miThree Mexican American neighborhoods cleared for public housing that was never built, then traded to a ballclub.
- Campo de Cahuenga — 9.7 miThe treaty that ended the fighting in California was signed on this ground, and the building it was signed in is now under the boulevard.
- Domínguez Rancho Adobe — 11 miThe first Spanish land grant in California contained the whole harbor, and in 1846 fifty Californio lancers turned back three hundred Marines on it.
- Bruce's Beach — 11 miWilla and Charles Bruce ran a seaside resort here for Black families until the city took the land in 1924. It came back in 2022.