Hazard's Pavilion
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Hazard's Pavilion was a large auditorium in Los Angeles, California, located at the intersection of Fifth and Olive Streets. The venue was built in 1887 at a cost of $25,000, a large amount for the time, and sat up to 4,000 people (some sources say that seating could be up to 8,000; the building was divided into two galleries, and perhaps each accommodated 4,000). The building was constructed of wood with a clap-board exterior, and the front was framed by two towers.
As the largest building of its type in Los Angeles at the time, it was a venue for conventions, political meetings, lectures, fairs, religious meetings, concerts, operas, balls, and sports events. It opened in April, 1887 with a modest civic flower festival, but a month later it hosted the National Opera Company with 300 singers, ballet dancers, and musicians. The Pavilion hosted regular religious meetings, including a series in 1888 where famed preacher Dwight L. Moody spoke. In attendance at one of these meetings was Harry A. Ironside, which led him to becoming a world-famous preacher in his own right. Booker T. Washington, William Jennings Bryan, and Carrie Nation were among the famous people who spoke to crowds gathered at Hazard's Pavilion. The great Italian operatic singer, Enrico Caruso, performed there.
From 1901 to 1904, the first great Los Angeles boxing promoter, Uncle Tom McCarey, staged his first boxing shows at the pavillion. It would be McCarey who put the Los Angeles area on the map as a major boxing venue. Many famous boxers fought at the Pavilion. Future World Heavyweight Champion, Jim Jeffries, had only one fully recorded bout in his hometown when he fought Joe Goddard there in 1898. The man who would go on to be the first World Heavyweight Champion, Jack Johnson, fought in eight main events on cards staged by Tom McCarey at the pavilion during a period from 1902 to 1904. Other famous fighters who had bouts at Hazard's Pavilion include Kid McCoy, Joe Walcott, Dixie Kid, Sam McVey, Solly Smith, Frankie Neil, Denver Ed Martin, Hank Griffin, Frank Childs, Al Neill, Joe Bernstein, and Billy Woods.
In 1892, James J. Corbett fought in an exhibition bout with his sparring partner, Jim Daly at Hazard's Pavilion. Later in the same year, Corbett would go on to win the World Heavyweight Title from the then-champion, John L. Sullivan. Also at the pavilion, Ex-World Heavyweight Bob Fitzsimmons had one exhibition bout while Jim Jeffries had two, one of them as the World Heavyweight Champion.
In late 1904, the Temple Baptist Church leased the pavilion, changing its name to Temple Auditorium, at a time when churches were generally opposed to professional boxing. As a result, Tom McCarey was forced to find another venue for his boxing shows, a tough proposition because the site could not be located near residential areas, but it also had to be located near trolley lines. It would be late 1905 when McCarey staged his first card at a new pavilion located on North Main Street in the Naud Junction area.
In 1906, Hazard's Pavilion was demolished to make way for a new auditorium, where, for a number of years during the 1910s, Billy Clune would show silent films at the auditorium, then called Clune's Auditorium. The landmark film, Birth of a Nation, had its world premiere at Clune's Auditorium on its way to be a massive blockbuster. This venue became the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra when it was established in 1919, and the hall became known as Philharmonic Auditorium. The Orchestra played there for many decades before the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was built in the 1963. Philharmonic Auditorium stood until the 1980s, when was demolished. A parking lot is now on the site.
