The Bowl

Spent a perfectly wonderful afternoon in the hillside shade at The Hollywood Bowl listening to jazz.  Our section was active with bouncing beach balls, bubbles, and a generous concert-goer tossing jello shots into the crowd. 

Most nights in the summer I hear the applauding crowd at the bowl.  Melodies waft info the night, often distorted, but sometimes clear enough to distinguish a particular tune.  Built into the side of the mountain in Daisey Dell, The Bowl is the largest natural amphitheater in the United States, seating 18,000 visitors.  The seating area, which remains virtually the same today, was designed in 1922 by the well-known Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, based on concepts from his earlier design of another Southern California landmark, the Rose Bowl athletic stadium.

In 1943, Frank Sinatra's Hollywood Bowl debut on August 14 was the first appearance by a pop singer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  The Beatles performed twice to sold out audiences of screaming teen age girls in August 1964 and 1965.  In 1968 Jimi Hendrix graced the stage, as did Jim Morrison and The Doors.