[CORRECTION] City Unveils Renovations for Greek Theatre

CORRECTION: IN OUR PRINT EDITION OF THIS STORY, WE INDICATE THE COST FOR THE RENOVATIONS WILL BE $15 MILLION. IN FACT, THE COST IS $1.5 MILLION. WE REGRET THE ERROR.

GRIFFITH PARK—City officials announced in November plans for renovations to the Greek Theatre, which are expected to start immediately in advance of the upcoming 2016 season.

The $1.5 million makeover, which includes everything from strengthening some of the structure’s seating to painting and refreshing the venue both inside and out, will be paid for by the city’s Recreation and Parks Dept., which as of November 1st took control of the venue from long-time manager Nederlander.

Renovations announced by the city include: stabilizing the structure underneath some seating areas of the 5,900-seat venue, creating a new entrance with ground level lit signage in front of the facility, creating an open plaza for pre-performance picnicking and for public use when the theatre is dark, modernizing the theatre’s dressing rooms, offices and other work areas and adding drought resistant landscaping. Other renovations include new way-finding signage, cosmetic paint jobs and removal of some electronic signage, which city officials said interfere with the structure’s historic look and architecture.

At a tour of the facility in November, city officials and architects also announced the venue’s original Greek columns, which framed the edge of the stage as it was built in 1930, will return—not as brick and mortar, but instead as photographs projected on new curtains surrounding the stage. The columns were covered decades ago to lengthen the stage.

The issue of the lack of upkeep of the Greek became an often-repeated concern in many public hearings as the city weighed whether to keep Nederlander, who has managed the theatre since 1975, or to go in a new direction with Beverly Hills based Live Nation.

Ultimately, after months of jam packed public hearings, Live Nation was selected by the city’s five-panel Recreation and Parks Commissioners board to take over management of the Greek, but ultimately, that recommendation was rejected by the Los Angeles City Council, due to concerns that community input from the residential neighborhood near the Greek was not weighed heavily enough in the decision making.

Ultimately, a third proposal was accepted by the city: that its own Dept. of Recreation and Parks should manage the theatre, at least on a temporary basis.