Venues of the 1932 Summer Olympics

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The Rose Bowl in 2008. It hosted the track cycling events for the 1932 Summer Olympics.

For the 1932 Summer Olympics, hosted by Los Angeles, California, a total of 15 sports venues were used. In an effort to control cost in the wake of the Great Depression in the United States, existing venues were used. They included using two golf courses, two city parks, three public highways, and a city road. The Swimming Stadium was the only new venue constructed for these games; it was built with temporary wooden bleachers.

Venues

Venue Sports Capacity Ref.
160th Regiment State Armory Fencing, Modern pentathlon (fencing) 1,800 [1]
Los Angeles Harbor Sailing Not listed. [2]
Los Angeles Police Pistol Range Modern pentathlon (shooting) Shooting Not listed. [3]
Long Beach Marine Stadium Rowing 17,000 [4]
Los Angeles Avenue Cycling (road) Not listed. [5]
Olympic Auditorium Boxing, Weightlifting, Wrestling 10,000. [6]
Olympic Stadium Athletics, Equestrian (eventing, jumping), Field hockey, Gymnastics 105,000 [7]
Pacific Coast Highway Cycling (road) Not listed. [5]
Riverside Drive at Griffith Park Athletics (50 km walk) Not listed. [8]
Riviera Country Club Equestrian (dressage, eventing), Modern pentathlon (riding) 9,500 [9]
Rose Bowl in Pasadena Cycling (track) 85,000 [3]
Sunset Fields Golf Club Modern pentathlon (running) Not listed. [10]
Swimming Stadium Diving, Modern pentathlon (swimming), Swimming, Water polo 10,000 [11]
Vineyard Avenue Cycling (road) Not listed. [5]
Westchester Equestrian (cross-country riding) Not listed. [12]

Before the Olympics

The Rose Bowl itself was constructed in 1921.[13] Two years later, the Olympic Stadium was constructed as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with completion in June of that year (It is referred as Olympic Stadium in the official report.[7]).[14] It would host their first football game on 6 October 1923 between the University of Southern California and Pomona College before a crowd of 12836.[14] The Olympic Auditorium was constructed in 1924 in preparation for Los Angeles' awarding of the Summer Olympics.[6] Long Beach Marine Stadium was created in 1925 when Alamitos Bay was dredged, then further dredged seven years later in time for the 1932 Games.[15] Elysian Park, the oldest city park in Los Angeles, was founded in 1886, and has been part of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) training academy since 1925.[16][17] Los Angeles Harbor started after the Mexican-American War in 1850 as a private enterprise and became part of the city of Los Angeles in 1907.[18] Its business boomed upon the completion of the Panama Canal seven years later along with the oil boom of the 1920s.[18] The Riviera Country Club opened in 1926 as the Los Angeles Athletic Club and was renamed Riviera by the time of the 1932 Games.[19] The swim stadium was planned initially to be a temporary structure, but an agreement with the Board of Playground and Recreation Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles (now known as the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks) and was constructed adjacent to the Coliseum with completion in 1932.[11] Riverside Drive, Los Angeles Avenue, Vineyard Avenue, and the Pacific Coast Highway were common driving routes in California at the time of the 1932 Games.[5][8]

During the Olympics

The Rose Bowl was made into a temporary velodrome for track cycling events.[3] With the help of a French engineer under the auspices of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), a track was completed according to this plans in agreement with the Tournament of Roses Association.[3] The Auditorium was modified to meet the specifications of the boxing, weightlifiting, and wrestling federations for their respective sporting events.[6] Both golf courses and all of the road courses were cordoned off to meet the event needs.[5][8][9][10]

After the Olympics

The Coliseum was the first home for the Dodgers Major League Baseball (MLB) team when it moved from Brooklyn, New York in the 1958 season.[20] The following year, it hosted the MLB All-Star Game and the World Series.[21][22] Once Dodger Stadium was completed in 1962, the Dodgers moved there where they have been as of 2010.[23] The Los Angeles Rams National Football League (NFL) team used the Coliseum as its host stadium from 1946 to 1980 when it moved to Anaheim, located southeast of Los Angeles.[24][25] It also hosted what would become known as Super Bowl I in 1967.[26] Even the American Football League's Chargers used the Coliseum as a venue in 1960 until their move to San Diego the following year.[27] The Coliseum continues to host USC Trojans football games to this day, and also hosted UCLA Bruins football for a number of years.

The track constructed in the Rose Bowl was given to the Tournament of Roses Association upon completion of the 1932 Games.[3] The Bowl was expanded between 1932 and the 1984 Summer Olympics three times, increasing its capacity from 83,000 in 1931 to 104,594 in 1972.[28] It would host Super Bowl XI in 1977 where the Oakland Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.[28] It is the current home of UCLA Bruins football and the Rose Bowl Game, and was the home of the L.A. Galaxy soccer team for a number of years.

Elysian Park's shooting range was left intact for the LAPD to use.[3] Sunset Fields Golf Club was renamed Brentwood Country Club in 1941 and is still in use as of 2010.[29] All of the road courses were returned to public usage after the Olympics.[5][8] The Olympic Auditorium continued to be of use for boxing and roller derby events[30] until June 2005 when it was bought to be used as a megachurch. Los Angeles Harbor continues to be a major sea port in the Western United States, employing 919,000 people and generating USD 39.1 billion in annual wages and tax revenues as of 2007.[31] The Riveria Country Club continues to host golf events, hosting the 1948 U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995.[32][33][34] The Swim Stadium was renovated in 2003 and continues to be in use as of 2010.[35]

For the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Coliseum and the Rose Bowl were used as venues.[36]

References

  1. ↑ 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 67-8, 70, 78, 84.
  2. ↑ 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 76, 78, 585.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 1932 Summer Olympics official report. p. 74.
  4. ↑ 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 70-73.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 1932 Summer Olympics official report. p. 87.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 1932 Summer Olympics official report. p. 70.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 61-8.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 1932 Summer Olympics official report. p. 86.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 73-4, 572.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 1932 Summer Olympics official report. p. 574.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 68, 79, 83.
  12. ↑ 1932 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 77, 86-7.
  13. ↑ History of the Rose Bowl Stadium. Accessed 13 October 2010.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 History of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Accessed 13 October 2010.
  15. ↑ Long Beach Marine Stadium information. Accessed 13 October 2010.
  16. ↑ History of Elysian Park. Accessed 13 October 2010.
  17. ↑ History of the Los Angeles Department Police Academy. Accessed 13 October 2010.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 History of the Port of Los Angeles. Accessed 14 October 2010.
  19. ↑ History of the Riveria Country Club in Pacific Palisades, CA: 1931-8. Accessed 14 October 2010.
  20. ↑ 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball-Reference season page. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  21. ↑ 1959 All-Star Game Baseball Almanac. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  22. ↑ Baseball-reference.com profile of the 1959 World Series. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  23. ↑ MLB.com profile of Dodger Stadium. Accessed 17 October 2010.
  24. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 280.
  25. ↑ Pro-Football Reference.com of the 1980 Los Angeles Rams. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  26. ↑ NFL.com history of Super Bowl I. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  27. ↑ Chronology of the San Diego Chargers: 1959-69. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Facts about the Rose Bowl Stadium. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  29. ↑ Golfcalifornia.com profile of the Brentwood Country Club. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  30. ↑ LASports.org profile of the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  31. ↑ Electronic Press Kit of the Port of Los Angeles. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  32. ↑ United States Golf Association US Open past champions: 1895-2009. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  33. ↑ PGA Media Guide of the 1983 PGA Championship. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  34. ↑ PGA Media Guide of the 1995 PGA Championship. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  35. ↑ LaParks.org profile of the LA84 Foundation/ John C. Argue Swim Stadium. Accessed 15 October 2010.
  36. ↑ 1984 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 72-9, 129-131. Accessed 15 October 2010.
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