History
Built in 1924 at 18th Street and Grand Avenue, the Olympic Auditorium opened in August 1925 with a star-studded gala. It was leased to the 1932 Olympic organizers, who staged boxing, wrestling and weightlifting there.
Through the middle decades of the century it was Los Angeles's main fight house, running regular boxing and professional wrestling cards and serving as home of the Los Angeles T-Birds roller derby team. It later became a punk and rave venue and a film location.
Regular wrestling ended in the 1980s, and after a 1993 reopening the hall hosted concerts and fights until 2005, when its owner sold it to the Glory Church of Jesus Christ. The building survives as a church, repainted in 2007 to its original color.
Why it matters: A surviving 1932 Olympic venue and one of the last major early-20th-century boxing and wrestling arenas still standing in the US.
Timeline
- 1924
The auditorium was built in 1924.
- August 5, 1925
The grand opening drew celebrities including Jack Dempsey and Rudolph Valentino.
- August 1, 1932
Olympic wrestling was held here August 1-7, 1932; the venue also hosted Olympic boxing and weightlifting.
- 1982Weekly pro wrestling winds down[1]
Wikipedia variously dates the end of the LeBell family's regular wrestling cards to 1982 or the mid-1980s.
- 1993Reopening[1]
The venue reopened with reduced capacity and hosted concerts, boxing and wrestling.
- 2005
Anjac Fashion Properties sold the building to Glory Church of Jesus Christ, ending its use as an event venue.
The site today
| Physical status | Standing, repurposed[1,3] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Worship space of Glory Church of Jesus Christ, a Korean-American church[1,3] |
| Mapped location | Approximate historic location |
Teams & events
| Los Angeles T-Birds | Roller Games |
|---|
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Official name | Olympic Auditorium |
|---|---|
| Other names | Olympic Auditorium |
| Location | 1801 South Grand Avenue (18th Street and Grand Avenue), Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California[1,3,4,5] |
| Venue type | Arena |
| Sports | Boxing & wrestling, Olympic venues, Other sports |
| Level | Pro Boxing, Olympic |
| Opened | August 5, 1925[1,3,4] |
| Last used for sports | 2005[1,5] |
| Physical status | Standing, repurposed[1,3] |
| Original capacity | 10,400[1,5] |
| Final capacity | 7,030[1,5] |
| Capacity notes | About 10,400 in the 1920s-30s; just over 7,300 after the 1993 reopening; 7,030 for boxing/wrestling in the 2000s. |
| Owner / operator | Anjac Fashion Properties (seller, 2005); Glory Church of Jesus Christ (2005-)[1,5] |
| Closure | Sold in 2005 to a church, which converted it to a house of worship. |
Documented details
Sources
- Grand Olympic Auditorium (Wikipedia), Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, capacity, closed, current land use, events, opened, owner operator, physical status
- Wrestling at the 1932 Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: events
- Grand Olympic Auditorium (May 12, 2015), LAist. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, current land use, opened, physical status
- Grand Olympic Auditorium (place record), museum-digital. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, coordinates, opened
- Anjac Sells Olympic Auditorium (2005), California Apparel News. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, capacity, closed, owner operator
Research confidence
Some facts on this page rely on a single source or are still being corroborated. Treat specific dates and figures with care. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (2)
- End of regular sports use: Wikipedia gives 1982 in one passage and the mid-1980s in another.
- Opening: LAist gives only 'built in 1924'; the August 5, 1925 grand opening date comes from Wikipedia (and museum-digital, which mirrors Wikipedia text).
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.