Grand Olympic Auditorium

The Grand Olympic Auditorium is the old name of a sports arena in Los Angeles, California, United States, located at 1801 S. Grand Avenue. It was built in 1924 for the 1932 Summer Olympics. The boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling events were held there. At the time it was the largest indoor venue in the U.S with seats for around 10,500. It opened on August 5, 1925, and famous people like boxer Jack Dempsey and silent film actor Rudolph Valentino were there.

In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s it was home to some of the biggest boxing, wrestling and roller derby events.

The 1960s and 1970s were a major boom period for the Olympic Auditorium, as major wrestling events were held at the arena every other Friday night. It was the home of the T-Birds, who played a game called "Roller Derby". In the late 1980s it was changed and 3,000 seats were taken out, leaving space for about 7,500.

Some scenes from the movie Rocky were filmed there.

In June 2005, the Glory Church of Jesus Christ, a Korean-American Christian church, bought the entire property and changed the name. In 2007, the arena was painted brown like it used to be.

Grand Olympic Auditorium Media

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  Exterior view of the Grand Olympic Auditorium (ca. 1930).

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  Jules Strongbow is knocked out of the ring during a wrestling match at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on May 16, 1937.