REDUX: Why the LA Coliseum is more than a stadium

How To LA

Editor's Note:
We mistakenly said in the version of this podcast that the Paris Olympics started at the end of June. It kicks off at the end of July and THAT will start the countdown until the games come to Los Angeles in 2028. During the 2028 games, the L.A. Memorial Coliseum will again host the track and field and Para Athletics events, making it the only stadium in history to host these competitions for three different Olympic Games. To celebrate this milestone, we want to revisit the Coliseum’s history and replay this episode from 2023…during the stadium's centennial year!
#147: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is one of several L.A. landmarks hitting the century mark this year, and we thought it’d be fun to take a look back on them as we celebrate our one-year anniversary of How To LA this September.

We explored The Biltmore Hotel downtown (if you haven’t listened to that episode already) and we’ll be featuring the story behind the Hollywood sign pretty soon.

When it comes to the L.A. Coliseum (the "memorial" in the full name refers to the fact that the stadium is a memorial to the Americans who served in WWI) there’s no denying that it has a rich history. For example, it played a role in the desegregation of the NFL, and it will soon be the first location to ever host three Olympic Games. But the stadium's history goes way beyond sports.

Guests:

• Frank Guridy, Professor of History and African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University, and author of the forthcoming book, "The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play"
• William Deverell, Historian at USC and Director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West
• Marina Fote, Assistant to the General Manager, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The performances from Wattstax in this episode are Carla Thomas singing "Pick Up the Pieces" and The Bar-Kays performing "Son of Shaft/Feel It"