Uploaded October 2011 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Baby Boomers Tribute "Moonlight Serenade" The Hollywood Bowl 2011
Glen Miller.
The Iconic Hollywood Bowl thru the years.
Hollywood was a small town of only about 5,000 people in 1910. By 1920 the growth of the movie industry had turned the community into a boom town, with a population close to 50,000 and an identity all its own. Theatregoers, music and art lovers, nature buffs, politicians, real estate developers and civic boosters all agreed that an open-air theatre would be a great asset to the community.
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History of the Hollywood Bowl Shell
The Hoillywood Bowl, 1923The Hoillywood Bowl, 1923
The Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural amphitheater in the United States. Seating nearly 18,000 patrons, the venue has had four shells since its beginnings in 1922; the new shell becomes the venue's fifth.
In 1922, the Bowl's first stage was constructed and consisted of a simple wooden platform with a canvas top. Patrons sat on moveable benches. In 1926, a cooperative society of 33 local Los Angeles architects, known as Allied Architects, built the Bowl's first arched proscenium. The curved wooden frame consisted of two different shapes: a low elliptical arch in the background with a circular arch inside, framing the musicians. The acoustic problems found in the design caused the shell to be torn down at the end of the season. The well-known Pasadena architect Myron Hunt created a blueprint for the amphitheater based on concepts from his earlier design for the Rose Bowl athletic stadium. Hunt's balloon-shaped seating area rose up from the stage, outlined by graceful curving stairways all around. Construction was completed in 1926.
Lloyd Wright, the eldest son of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed two shells for the Hollywood Bowl. He was commissioned to design a shell for the 1927 symphony season after having designed several sets for theatrical productions at the Hollywood Bowl. He used wood from the dismantled Robin Hood set and built a pyramid-shaped structure intended to both enhance the Bowl's acoustics and complement the rustic setting. The initial Lloyd Wright design was intended only as a temporary structure and was used for one season.
In 1928, Lloyd Wright's second commission included the specific instruction that he was to design a circular music shell. Again, the architect tackled the dual issues of acoustics and aesthetics. The 1928 shell consisted of nine concentric, segmental arches, which could be "tuned" panel by panel. Stylistically the shell was in the forefront of the 1920s Modern movement with its unornamented, curvilinear lines. For reasons that remain unclear, the shell was left standing through the winter of 1928 and began to deteriorate. The shell was declared unsafe and was demolished in 1929.
he engineering firm of Elliott, Bowen and Walz designed the fourth shell in 1929. Allied Architects constructed the shell, which preserved the visual essence of Lloyd Wright's 1928 design, but substituted a semicircle for Wright's elliptical form. Made of transite panels covering a steel frame, the massive, 55-ton shell was designed on a track system. The shell could be moved off the stage area to allow for theatrical staging to be built for a specific performance. From the beginning, the curved shape of the shell caused serious acoustic problems, including focused sound randomly returning to the stage. The acoustical problems instigated an ongoing commitment by Bowl directors to achieve the best possible sound inside the amphitheater.
Numerous attempts to improve the 1929 shell's acoustics were undertaken over the years. In 1970, architect Frank Gehry and acoustician Christopher Jaffe devised an inexpensive, temporary solution by creating "sonotubes," manufactured cardboard forms that looked like concrete columns. Their arrangement of tubes inside the shell and extending along the outer wings enhanced the sound but altered the look of the shell, disguising the Bowl's famous curved shape. The sonotubes remained in place until 1980.
The development of the area continued to disturb the natural amphitheater's acoustics. The addition of the Hollywood freeway in 1952, the grading of hillsides, development of homes, and other factors began to surround the once tranquil grounds with ambient noise.
In 1980, the sonotubes were removed and Gehry designed hollow fiberglass spheres which were hung within the Bowl shell in a carefully-calculated arrangement. While helpful, the spheres did not solve acoustical issues that continued to be problematic for the venue. In addition, the 1929 shell was unable to accommodate a full orchestra; nearly 1/3 of the musicians sat outside of the shell affecting the quality of sound produced.
Baby Boomers Tribute "Moonlight Serenade" The Hollywood Bowl 2011
Glen Miller.
The Iconic Hollywood Bowl thru the years.
Hollywood was a small town of only about 5,000 people in 1910. By 1920 the growth of the movie industry had turned the community into a boom town, with a population close to 50,000 and an identity all its own. Theatregoers, music and art lovers, nature buffs, politicians, real estate developers and civic boosters all agreed that an open-air theatre would be a great asset to the community.
Share
History of the Hollywood Bowl Shell
The Hoillywood Bowl, 1923The Hoillywood Bowl, 1923
The Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural amphitheater in the United States. Seating nearly 18,000 patrons, the venue has had four shells since its beginnings in 1922; the new shell becomes the venue's fifth.
In 1922, the Bowl's first stage was constructed and consisted of a simple wooden platform with a canvas top. Patrons sat on moveable benches. In 1926, a cooperative society of 33 local Los Angeles architects, known as Allied Architects, built the Bowl's first arched proscenium. The curved wooden frame consisted of two different shapes: a low elliptical arch in the background with a circular arch inside, framing the musicians. The acoustic problems found in the design caused the shell to be torn down at the end of the season. The well-known Pasadena architect Myron Hunt created a blueprint for the amphitheater based on concepts from his earlier design for the Rose Bowl athletic stadium. Hunt's balloon-shaped seating area rose up from the stage, outlined by graceful curving stairways all around. Construction was completed in 1926.
Lloyd Wright, the eldest son of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed two shells for the Hollywood Bowl. He was commissioned to design a shell for the 1927 symphony season after having designed several sets for theatrical productions at the Hollywood Bowl. He used wood from the dismantled Robin Hood set and built a pyramid-shaped structure intended to both enhance the Bowl's acoustics and complement the rustic setting. The initial Lloyd Wright design was intended only as a temporary structure and was used for one season.
In 1928, Lloyd Wright's second commission included the specific instruction that he was to design a circular music shell. Again, the architect tackled the dual issues of acoustics and aesthetics. The 1928 shell consisted of nine concentric, segmental arches, which could be "tuned" panel by panel. Stylistically the shell was in the forefront of the 1920s Modern movement with its unornamented, curvilinear lines. For reasons that remain unclear, the shell was left standing through the winter of 1928 and began to deteriorate. The shell was declared unsafe and was demolished in 1929.
he engineering firm of Elliott, Bowen and Walz designed the fourth shell in 1929. Allied Architects constructed the shell, which preserved the visual essence of Lloyd Wright's 1928 design, but substituted a semicircle for Wright's elliptical form. Made of transite panels covering a steel frame, the massive, 55-ton shell was designed on a track system. The shell could be moved off the stage area to allow for theatrical staging to be built for a specific performance. From the beginning, the curved shape of the shell caused serious acoustic problems, including focused sound randomly returning to the stage. The acoustical problems instigated an ongoing commitment by Bowl directors to achieve the best possible sound inside the amphitheater.
Numerous attempts to improve the 1929 shell's acoustics were undertaken over the years. In 1970, architect Frank Gehry and acoustician Christopher Jaffe devised an inexpensive, temporary solution by creating "sonotubes," manufactured cardboard forms that looked like concrete columns. Their arrangement of tubes inside the shell and extending along the outer wings enhanced the sound but altered the look of the shell, disguising the Bowl's famous curved shape. The sonotubes remained in place until 1980.
The development of the area continued to disturb the natural amphitheater's acoustics. The addition of the Hollywood freeway in 1952, the grading of hillsides, development of homes, and other factors began to surround the once tranquil grounds with ambient noise.
In 1980, the sonotubes were removed and Gehry designed hollow fiberglass spheres which were hung within the Bowl shell in a carefully-calculated arrangement. While helpful, the spheres did not solve acoustical issues that continued to be problematic for the venue. In addition, the 1929 shell was unable to accommodate a full orchestra; nearly 1/3 of the musicians sat outside of the shell affecting the quality of sound produced.
