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Universal Amphitheatre

Indoor amphitheatre, formerly located at Universal Studios Hollywood

Field	Value
name	Universal Amphitheatre
image	Gibson amphitheatre pano.jpg
image_size	260px
image_caption	Universal Amphitheatre in 2007
address	100 Universal City Plaza, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
location	Universal City, Universal Studios Hollywood
coordinates
type	Amphitheatre
built	1969–1972
opened
renovated	1982
closed	September 6, 2013
demolished	September 25, 2013
owner	Universal Destinations & Experiences
former_names	Universal Amphitheatre (1972–2005)
Gibson Amphitheatre (2005–2013)
seating_capacity	6,251

Gibson Amphitheatre (2005–2013) Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California, within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. It was remodeled and converted into an indoor theatre in 1982 to improve acoustics. The amphitheater closed on September 6, 2013, and was demolished for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Early history

The amphitheatre was built as a daytime arena where patrons of the Universal Studios Studio Tour could watch stuntmen perform a western-themed stunt show and shootout. Construction began in 1969. By 1970, the stage was completed and three old west facades were constructed for the show. The arena was completed in 1971.

Because it was empty at night, a young studio tour guide suggested that the arena be used to hold rock concerts. On June 28, 1972, the venue hosted its first concert, a production of the Broadway rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar. The show was a hit and was extended until cold weather forced its closure.

During its early years, the stunt show was performed during the day while at night the venue hosted concerts. The theatre proved to be so popular that it regularly filled to 98% capacity. After one year, the studio was expanded to seat 5,200 patrons.

The venue was the site of various live albums recordings beginning with Joni Mitchell's Miles of Aisles from August 14 to 17, 1974 and John Denver's An Evening with John Denver from August 26 to September 1, 1974.

On September 9, 1978, The Blues Brothers band performed LIVE and recorded their album, "Briefcase Full of Blues".

In 1980, the venue closed for two years for a major renovation. A roof was constructed to enable year-round entertainment. Acoustics were improved and seating was expanded again to 6,251 seats.

On September 15, 1987, singer Tony Melendez sang Never be the Same while playing the guitar with his feet in a special performance for Pope John Paul II as part of the pope's two-day visit to Los Angeles.

The Universal Amphitheatre hosted the Late Night with David Letterman 8th Anniversary special in 1990.

From 1991 to 2002, it served as the ceremony venue for the Academy of Country Music Awards.

In May 1993, Universal added the Universal CityWalk shopping and dining district around the entrance to the theatre, allowing patrons to seek refreshments before and after concerts.

On July 29 and 30, 1999, pop/R&B singer Whitney Houston gave her last two North American concerts at the theatre on her My Love Is Your Love World Tour. Houston would go on to have one more world tour in 2010, but did not tour North America again.North America Boxscore data:

Name change

The theatre was known as the Universal Amphitheatre from its inception until early 2005, when naming rights were acquired by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of a partnership among Gibson, Universal and House of Blues.

Closure

On December 6, 2011, it was announced that Universal Amphitheatre would close and would be demolished to make way for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park area at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Although the venue had events scheduled until October 2013, it officially closed in September of that year.

The last "rock 'n roll" concert performed at the Gibson Amphitheatre was Glenn Danzig on August 30, 2013. Concert shirts sold that evening proclaim "Farewell Universal!" printed on the back as well as a list of his prior performance dates at the beloved venue.

The final performance held at the Gibson Amphitheatre was Pepe Aguilar on September 6, 2013.

At the time of its closure, it was the third largest mid-sized venue in California, behind the Nokia Theatre and the Shrine Auditorium - two other Los Angeles venues. The amphitheatre was demolished on September 25, 2013.

References

(September 25, 2013). "Gibson Amphitheater demolished for Wizarding World of Harry Potter". [[United Press International]].
"Photos: Goodbye Gibson, Universal City's entertainment venue closes - LA Daily News Media Center".
"Universal Studios Hollywood - Amphitheater".
(1991). "Universal City-North Hollywood: A Centennial Portrait". Windsor Publications.
"the studiotour.com - Universal Studios Hollywood - History".
spinsandneedles. (August 8, 2011). "Universal Studios California 1971 Tour Backlot War Wagon Super 8".
Nakashima, Ryan. (December 6, 2011). "Poof! Harry Potter park to appear in Hollywood". USA Today.
"Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk Upcoming Shows in Universal City, California".
[http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-gibson-amphitheatre-harry-potter-attractions-20130424,0,243268.story Gibson Amphitheatre to close, make room for Harry Potter attraction] {{webarchive. link. (June 16, 2013 Retrieved April 24, 2013)

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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