Last weekend I took a tour of the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles. Why I’ve never done this before is beyond me, because it was FREE and it was so much more than I every expected. First of all, there are several tours you can take, but I recommend you do the Symphonian Tour. These are free and cover all four venues: The Walk Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Ahmanson Theater and the Mark Taper Forum. This is the tour I took and will give you the history behind the complex, information on the architecture, the people involved, and the types of performances. I want to give a big shout out to Robert, our docent, who was not only knowledgeable, but was also witty and sarcastic, and a total doll. If you can, ask for him as your tour guide.
As an interior design major and someone who studied architecture for many years, I happen to really adore doing inside tours like this. I also spent four years in college going to tons of art films and new plays in Philadelphia, not to mention I grew up outside of NYC and went to more Broadway Shows than I can even count. I LOVE this stuff!
So, let me tell you a little about The Music Center and the incredible venues it encompasses.
The Walt Disney Concert Hall
Incredible design aside, the Walt Disney Concert Hall is historic for the fact that it is the FIRST venue built exclusively as a concert hall. During the design process, only one thing was on everyone’s mind: acoustics. Historically, most large performance venues were built with theater performances in mind and the acoustics were not always optimal for orchestras. When Lillian Disney (the wife of Walk Disney) pledged $50 million towards the construction of the Hall, she was emphatic that Frank Geary be hired as the architect. Geary was not a well-known architect up until then and certainly wasn’t anyone else’s first choice. Lillian wouldn’t budge and Geary ended up designing a structure that literally put him on the list of America’s top architects.
Opened in 2003 after many delays, the Walt Disney Concert Hall is not only beautiful, but it is incredibly functional as a concert hall. The auditorium was actually built separately from the remaining building and is completely surrounded by air. Much like a lung works by allowing a person to breath, the air surrounding the auditorium allows for the acoustics to be perfect. Usually sound gets absorbed by different materials and can alter what you actually hear. Not so with this venue. A full orchestra playing in the auditorium will sound exactly the same whether every seat is filled or none of them are.
The entire interior structure of the Walt Disney Concert Hall is built of wood and stone. The idea Geary had was to have this act more as a “living room” for the people of Los Angeles. He wanted everyone to feel comfortable coming here, whether they were the poor or wealthy. The building it open to anyone who wants to come take a look… and take a free tour. All the wood is Douglas Fir, the type of wood that many instruments are made out of. Geary designed many wooden trees that hold up the interior structure and are representative of the natural feel he wanted. As you can see in the top photos, the outside of the Hall is smooth and wave-like, while all the structural aspects are on the interior facing side. The staircase is called the “Moon River Staircase” after the composer Henry Mancini (who wrote the song, Moon River), whose family donated the money to build the staircase.
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Dorothy Chandler was the wife of Norman Chandler, the owner of the Los Angeles Times. Back in the 60′s when Lincoln Center was being built in New York City, Dorothy decided that Los Angeles needed a music hall of it’s own. Dorothy was no shrinking violet, and she was on a mission to get this built. She convinced the City to hand over 7 acres right in downtown Los Angeles for free. She also hired Welton Beckett, one of the premier architects of the time, to design the building. She then went on to raise $20 million from private donors and had the County chip in an additional $15 million in bonds. The 3,200 seat opera house opened in 1964. Originally the home for the L.A. Philharmonic, the acoustics were quite awful. A copper ceiling was constructed to help with the sound, but the L.A. Phil now resides at the Walt Disney Concert Hall across the street.
The Pavilion is actually quite spectacular if you haven’t been there. There is continental seating in the orchestra section, different from many American venues in that there are no aisles separating the seats. The rows are extra wide to allow for traffic walking back and forth. The feel is definitely glamour from the enormous chandeliers to the gold tone colors. Many weddings and other formal events take place here, and as we were taking our tour, an event was setting up for the evening.
The Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is one of those special theaters that most people really don’t know about in Los Angeles. With only 739 seats, the theater was built in the classic Greek round design. It is known as the “thinking man’s theater” since it primarily showcases new plays that are being tested prior to heading to Broadway in New York City. The plays shown here tend to represent the ethnic diversity of Los Angeles and aren’t always as advertised as heavily as shows at the larger Ahmanson Theater next door. The Mark Taper wasn’t originally intended to be a theater. It was built for lectures and chamber music. After it was renovated 3 years ago, it became known as a major play theater in LA. The theater is quite amazing and is totally equipped backstage for handicapped performers. One of every show run is signed for the handicapped and the theater often does matinees for school groups. Set designers love this theater for it’s flexibility in stage and background design.
The interior of the theater is small and intimate. There is not a bad seat in the house. Upon entering the lobby, you will find a curved wall covered with 60,500 Abalone shells, the creation of Tony Duquette, an interior designer famous for his flamboyant (yet very innovative) design. It’s really quite beautiful. Personally, I’ve never seen a production at the Mark Taper Forum, but it is high on my list for 2014.
Ahmanson Theatre
I just love the Ahmanson. This is our Los Angeles version of Broadway. Most successful Broadway shows have played here at one time or another and we get many shows before they head on over to Broadway. The greatest feature of the Ahmanson is that it is incredibly flexible as far as theaters go. It can have anywhere from 1,600 – 2,200 seats depending on which formation is needed for the smaller plays to the larger musicals. Large wall partitions can separate rows of seats so you don’t even notice they were there in the first place. It is the only theater that is always amplified because it is so large. When it was originally built in 1967, it was more of a shoebox construction, The stage was at one end and the seating formed more of a rectangle. It wasn’t very conducive to watching performances. In 1995, the theater went through a huge renovation. The sides of the theater were expanded out and rounded and continental seating (like that at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion) was added.
Despite the rain, I had a fabulous time on the tour and would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat. I really want my husband to experience this as well since his loves anything having to do with the history of Los Angeles. I’m also planning on taking the kids to some of the FREE concerts they have over at the Disney Concert Hall. Yes… I said FREE. Check the website for all the performances.
So tell me, have you been to the Music Center and seen any performances? What was your favorite?
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