Los Angeles County-Arts & Recreation-Performing Arts and Theaters

Arts & Recreation

Beaches & Harbors Community Programs Events Calendar Golf Courses Libraries Museums Parks and Recreation

Visitors Bureaus

Performing Arts and Theaters

World-famous icons Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl are among the performing arts facilities owned by Los Angeles County. Disney Concert Hall is one of four facilities that make up the Music Center. The others are the Ahmanson Theatre, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Mark Taper Forum. Resident companies that perform at the Music Center venues are the LA Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Center Theatre Group and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. The John Anson Ford Theatres, nestled in the Hollywood Hills near the entrance of the Hollywood Bowl, are also owned and operated by the County. The Ford Amphitheatre, built in 1920, is one of the oldest performing arts venues in Los Angeles still in use.

Highlights

Walt Disney Concert Hall Tours
Tours of the Walt Disney Concert Hall are available to visitors daily as performance schedules permit. Several types of guided and self-guided tours are available.

Panoramas of Music Center Online
360 degree panoramas of the Music Center -- including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum -- may be viewed on this website.

LAPhil on iTunes
Recordings by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall are now available for download on iTunes, in partnership with DG Concerts.

Performing Arts and Theaters Links

	Ford Theatres Ford Theaters hosts a variety of programs. Check out upcoming events at the theatres and buy tickets online.
	Hollywood Bowl Check out this season series, learn about the history and plan for your visit.
	Music Center Find out what is at the center, venues, calendar of events, resident companies and more. Ahmanson Theatre \| Dorothy Chandler Pavilion \| Mark Taper Forum \| Walt Disney Concert Hall
	Music Center Resident Companies There are four residents companies at the Music Center. Center Theatre Group \| LA Opera \| Los Angeles Master Chorale \| Los Angeles Philharmonic

Related Departments, Commissions, and Agencies

Did You Know?

Walt Disney Concert Hall's exterior is 22 million pounds of primary steel joined out of 12,500 individual pieces, none of which is identical.

The steel pieces of Walt Disney Concert Hall, placed end to end, would stretch 49 miles.

The organ in Walt Disney Concert Hall has 6,125 pipes.

The fountain statues at the Highland entrance of the Hollywood Bowl are the Muses of Music, Drama, and Dance.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall resembles a ship because architect Frank Gehry wanted to create the feeling of traveling along a ceremonial barge to music.

The Music Center includes the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theatre.

The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre is one of the oldest performing arts venues in Los Angeles still in use.

The Ford Amphitheatre was built in 1920 as the site of the Pilgrimage Play. A 1964 lawsuit forced the closure of the play due to its religious nature.

The Arts Commission, in conjunction with the Getty Trust, funds the largest arts internship program in the world.

The 1,241-seat outdoor Ford Amphitheatre is set against a backdrop of cypresses and chaparral. No patron is more than 96 feet away from the stage.

Only a handful of concerts during Hollywood Bowl's history have had to be postponed due to rain.

Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural outdoor amphitheater in the U.S.

At the first concert at Hollywood Bowl on July 11, 1922, the audience sat on simple wooden benches placed on the natural hillsides of Bolton Canyon.