Venues of the 1932 Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, hosted by Los Angeles, California, a total of 15 sports venues were used. The swim stadium was constructed as a temporary venue. In an effort to control cost in the wake of the Great Depression in the United States
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
, existing venues were used. They included using two golf courses, two city park
City Park
City Park can refer to:Australia*Launceston City ParkCanada* City Park, Saskatoon, a neighbourhoodHungary* City Park Kenya* City Park, NairobiLuxembourg* City Park , a park in central Luxembourg CityUnited Kingdom...
s, three public highways, and a city road. The Swimming Stadium was the only new venue constructed for these games.
Venues
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160th Regiment State Armory 160th Infantry Regiment (United States) The 160th Infantry Regiment is a light infantry regiment of the United States Army. The first Battalion, 160th Infantry, is a component of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team .-History:... |
Fencing Fencing at the 1932 Summer Olympics At the 1932 Summer Olympics, seven fencing events were contested, six for men and one for women.-Medal Summary:-Medal table:-Participating nations:A total of 109 fencers from 16 nations competed at the Los Angeles Games:... , Modern pentathlon Modern pentathlon at the 1932 Summer Olympics The modern pentathlon at the 1932 Summer Olympics-Individual competition:... (fencing) |
1,800 | |
| Los Angeles Harbor Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown... |
Sailing Sailing at the 1932 Summer Olympics Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program.... |
Not listed. | |
| Los Angeles Police Pistol Range | Modern pentathlon (shooting) Shooting Shooting at the 1932 Summer Olympics When shooting was reintroduced at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the extent of the competitions was far from those in the previous Games: it consisted of only two events, one rifle event and one pistol event, and no team events at all . The competitions were held on August 12, 1932 and... |
Not listed. | |
| Long Beach Marine Stadium Long Beach Marine Stadium The Long Beach Marine Stadium is a marine venue located in Long Beach, California. It hosted the rowing events for the 1932 Summer Olympics in neighboring Los Angeles... |
Rowing Rowing at the 1932 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1932 Summer Olympics featured 7 events, for men only. The competitions were held from August 9, 1932 to August 13, 1932 at the Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:... |
17,000 | |
| Los Angeles Avenue California State Route 118 State Route 118 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that begins running west to east through Ventura and Los Angeles counties in southern California. It travels from Saticoy in Ventura County east to Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles... |
Cycling Cycling at the 1932 Summer Olympics The cycling competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles consisted of two road cycling events and four track cycling events, all for men only. The program of events was unchanged from the previous Games.-Medal summary:-Medal table:... (road) |
Not listed. | |
| Olympic Auditorium Grand Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is the former name of a sports venue in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located at 1801 S. Grand Avenue, the venue was built in 1924 specifically for the 1932 Summer Olympics, which saw the boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling events held there. At the time it... |
Boxing Boxing at the 1932 Summer Olympics These are the results of the boxing competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Medals were awarded in 8 weight classes. The competitions were held from August 9, 1932 to August 13, 1932.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:... , Weightlifting Weightlifting at the 1932 Summer Olympics The weightlifting events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles consisted of five weight classes, all for men only. The competitions were held on Saturday, July 30, 1932 and on Sunday, July 31, 1932.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:... , Wrestling Wrestling at the 1932 Summer Olympics At the 1932 Summer Olympics, 14 wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were seven weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and seven classes in freestyle wrestling... |
10,000. | |
| Olympic Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team... |
Athletics Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 29 athletics events were contested, 23 for men and 6 for women. It was the first time the 50 kilometre walk appeared in the men's athletics at the Games. This was only the second time women's events in athletics were included in the Olympic Games program... , Equestrian Equestrian at the 1932 Summer Olympics The Equestrian Events at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games included Dressage , Eventing , and Show Jumping . The competitions were held from August 10, 1932 to August 14, 1932.... (eventing, jumping), Field hockey Field hockey at the 1932 Summer Olympics -Medal summary:Only a men's competition occurred that year.-Round Robin Results:Each team played against the other two teams once.Match One4 August 1932Match Two8 August 1932Match Three11 August 1932-References:***... , Gymnastics Gymnastics at the 1932 Summer Olympics At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, eleven events in gymnastics were contested, all for men only. The competitions were held from Monday, August 8, 1932 to Friday, August 12, 1932.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:... |
105,000 | |
| Pacific Coast Highway California State Route 1 State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run... |
Cycling (road) | Not listed. | |
| Riverside Drive at Griffith Park Riverside Drive (Los Angeles, California) Riverside Drive is a northeast-southwest road connecting the San Fernando Valley and Downtown Los Angeles, California. It follows the course of the Los Angeles River.-Overview:... |
Athletics (50 km walk) | Not listed. | |
| Riviera Country Club Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a country club with a championship golf course. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, a community within the city limits of Los Angeles. The country club opened in 1926, with George C. Thomas, Jr. as the course architect. The course has been the primary host... |
Equestrian (dressage, eventing), Modern pentathlon (riding) | 9,500 | |
| Rose Bowl in Pasadena Rose Bowl (stadium) The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12... |
Cycling (track) | 85,000 | |
| Sunset Fields Golf Club | Modern pentathlon (running) | Not listed. | |
| Swimming Stadium LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium The LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium, called originally the Los Angeles Swimming Stadium is an aquatics venue that was originally constructed for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California... |
Diving Diving at the 1932 Summer Olympics At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, four diving events were organized, two for men, and two for women. The United States swept the medals in all four events... , Modern pentathlon (swimming), Swimming Swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Saturday August 6, 1932 to Saturday August 13, 1932. There was a total of 128 participants from 20 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's... , Water polo Water polo at the 1932 Summer Olympics -Medal summary:-Round-Robin:All of the five teams played each team once.Germany vs. Brazil4 August 1932USA vs. Brazil6 August 1932Hungary vs. Germany6 August 1932USA vs. Japan7 August 1932Hungary vs. Japan... |
10,000 | |
| Vineyard Avenue California State Route 232 State Route 232 is a state highway in Ventura County, California. It serves as a connector between SR 1, US 101, and SR 118.-Route description:... |
Cycling (road) | Not listed. | |
| Westchester | Equestrian (cross-country riding) | Not listed. |
Before the Olympics
The Rose Bowl itself was constructed in 1921. Two years later, the Olympic Stadium was constructed as the Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
with completion in June of that year (It is referred as Olympic Stadium in the official report.). It would host their first football game on 6 October 1923 between the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
before a crowd of 12836. The Olympic Auditorium was constructed in 1924 in preparation for Los Angeles' awarding of the Summer Olympics. Long Beach Marine Stadium was created in 1925 when Alamitos Bay
Alamitos Bay
Alamitos Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States, between the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach, at the outlet of the San Gabriel River.The bay is named for the Spanish word for 'little poplars'.-Geography:...
was dredged, then further dredged seven years later in time for the 1932 Games. Elysian Park, the oldest city park in Los Angeles, was founded in 1886, and has been part of the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
(LAPD) training academy since 1925. 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. Its business boomed upon the completion of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
seven years later along with the oil boom of the 1920s. The Riviera Country Club opened in 1926 as the Los Angeles Athletic Club and was renamed Riviera by the time of the 1932 Games. 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. Riverside Drive, Los Angeles Avenue, Vineyard Avenue, and the Pacific Coast Highway were common driving routes in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at the time of the 1932 Games.
During the Olympics
The Rose Bowl was made into a temporary velodromeVelodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
for track cycling
Track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
events. With the help of a French engineer under the auspices of the International Cycling Union (UCI), a track was completed according to this plans in agreement with the Tournament of Roses Association
Pasadena Tournament of Roses
Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, created by the efforts of Charles Frederick Holder and Francis F. Rowland, is the non-profit organization that has annually produced the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade since 1895 and the Rose Bowl Game, since 1902...
. The Auditorium was modified to meet the specifications of the boxing, weightlifiting, and wrestling federations for their respective sporting events. Both golf courses and all of the road courses were cordoned off to meet the event needs.
After the Olympics
The Coliseum was the first home for the DodgersLos Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
(MLB) team when it moved from Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
in the 1958 season
1958 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves ; Bob Turley, MVP*All-Star Game, July 8 at Memorial Stadium: American League, 4-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: USC...
. The following year, it hosted the MLB All-Star Game
1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (second game)
The 1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 27th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on August 3, 1959 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles,...
and the World Series
1959 World Series
The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...
. Once Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
was completed in 1963
1963 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers were led by pitcher Sandy Koufax, who won both the Cy Young Award and the Most Valuable Player Award. The team went 99–63 to win the National League title by six games over the runner-up St...
, the Dodgers moved there where they have been as of 2010. The Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) team used the Coliseum as its host stadium from 1946
1946 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1946 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's ninth year with the National Football League and the first season in Los Angeles.-NFL Draft:-Transactions:...
to 1980
1980 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League, the 35th season in Los Angeles, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The 1980 Los Angeles Rams ended thir season with a record of 11 wins and 5 losses.-NFL Draft:...
when it moved to Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, located southeast of Los Angeles. It also hosted what would become known as Super Bowl I
Super Bowl I
The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
in 1967. Even the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
used the Coliseum as a venue in 1960 until their move to San Diego the following year.
The track constructed in the Rose Bowl was given to the Tournament of Roses Association upon completion of the 1932 Games. The Bowl was expanded between 1932 and the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
three times, increasing its capacity from 83,000 in 1931 to 104,594 in 1972. It would host Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...
in 1977 where the Oakland Raiders
1976 Oakland Raiders season
-Season:The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day as they faced the reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. In their home opener, Oakland trailed 28–14 with just over five minutes to play, yet orchestrated what many to this day refer to as their Comeback Classic of 1976...
defeated the Minnesota Vikings
1976 Minnesota Vikings season
1976 was the 16th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of 11 wins, two losses, and one tie. They lost Super Bowl XI to the Oakland Raiders 32-14. As of 2011, this has been the last Super Bowl...
32-14.
Elysian Park's shooting range
Shooting range
A shooting range or firing range is a specialized facility designed for firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "RSO – Range Safety Officer" in the United States or a range conducting officer or "RCO" in the UK...
was left intact for the LAPD to use. Sunset Fields Golf Club was renamed Brentwood Country Club in 1941 and is still in use as of 2010. All of the road courses were returned to public usage after the Olympics. The Olympic Audtorium continues to be of use for boxing and roller derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
events. Los Angeles Harbor continues to be a major sea port in the Western United States, employing 919,000 people and generating USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
39.1 billion in annual wages and tax revenues as of 2007. The Riveria Country Club continues to host golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
events, hosting the 1948 U.S. Open
1948 U.S. Open Golf Championship
The 1948 U.S. Open Championship was the 48th U.S. Open. It was held at Riviera Country Club.Ben Hogan won the championship.-Final leaderboard:-External links:*...
and the PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
in 1983
1983 PGA Championship
The 1983 PGA Championship was the 65th PGA Championship held from August 4-7 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California. Hal Sutton won his first major championship by one stroke over Jack Nicklaus.-Final leaderboard:-External links:*...
and 1995
1995 PGA Championship
The 1995 PGA Championship was the 77th PGA Championship held from August 10-13 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California. Steve Elkington won his first major championship with a birdie in a sudden death playoff over Colin Montgomerie....
. The Swim Stadium was renovated in 2003 and continues to be in use as of 2010.
For the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Coliseum and the Rose Bowl were used as venues.