In the early 1960s, RCA Victor chose to record several Southern Gospel group “live performance” recordings in the huge Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in California. In that Alicia and I have a daughter who lives in Long Beach … a curiosity as to its whereabouts developed in my mind, and I needed to know: Does this building still stand? If not, where was it located and when was it torn down?
Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, courtesy of Historical Society of Long Beach
Back in November, when we were preparing to visit Long Beach, I decided it was time to get answers. After gaining a minimal amount of information from an Internet search, I visited the Historical Society of Long Beach. What I’ve learned is that the Auditorium seated 8,000 – whether it was filled on these nights when the Gospel groups were recorded, we cannot say. However, from the recordings it sounds like a pretty good crowd was in attendance. It was built in 1932 and was situated in what, at the time, was the waterfront area of the city. And, what a majestic structure it was. As you can see from the exterior picture, it was surrounded on three sides by a lagoon … which was encircled by the Rainbow Pier. Adjacent to it sat an amusement area called The Pike, considered the West Coast’s version of Coney Island.
Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, courtesy of Historical Society of Long Beach
Included among the groups recorded in the Auditorium were the Blackwood Brothers Quartet and the Statesmen album which is being aired in two parts on the enLighten Weekend Jubilee on these weekends of May 9th and 16th. As a side note . . . Gospel music promoter Polly Grimes, who was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame this past Fall, began her career producing concerts … including this one featuring the Statesmen and the Blackwoods … in this facility, the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium.
We understand that RCA Victor released about eight different albums that were recorded in this historic building. We’ve been promised digital copies of some of the remaining six … beyond these two recordings by the Blackwoods and this one by the Statesmen, which we believe was recorded on the same 1963 evening.
Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center
Demolition of the Municipal Auditorium began in 1975 to make way for a new Convention and Entertainment Center. The Terrace Theater pictured here now sits almost exactly where the Municipal Auditorium was formerly located.
Another side note … not long after these performances were recorded in the early 1960s, the City of Long Beach acquired the famous British luxury liner, the Queen Mary … which became a floating tourist attraction and hotel. It sits just across a body of water from where the Municipal Auditorium formerly sat and where the Terrace Theater is today. The only difference is that, the Auditorium faced directly out to the Pacific Ocean, whereas today the Queen Mary is tied up to a large body of landfill … occupied mostly by the container ship Port of Long Beach.
End of Southern Gospel history lesson #486!
Marlin
