LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes presents 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium, an exhibition recounting the 80-year history (1925-2005) of the Olympic Auditorium, the home for visceral entertainment in Los Angeles and a historic venue that shaped Los Angeles’ past and influenced its future. From the dangerous combat of boxing to the dramatic theatricality of wrestling, roller derby, and music, the gritty punch palace at the corner of 18th Street and Grand Avenue distilled the beauty and brutality of a divided city.

18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium is an immersive exhibition that encompasses both floors of the museum and cultural center and remembers characters from a disappearing world, from heroes to villains, connecting the venue to seminal events and cultural movements throughout L.A. history. Gathered from multiple collections the exhibit features distinctive objects, relics, and images, such as embroidered boxing robes, hand-stitched lucha masks, race-worn roller skates, illustrations, photography, film, oral histories, boxing posters, wrestling programs, punk rock flyers, art and more. 

Gathered from multiple collections, including the Theo Ehret Estate, The Bob Willoughby Photo Archive, Jaime Hernández, Frank Aragon, Gary Powers, Glenn Bray, and others, the exhibit will feature distinctive objects and relics, including embroidered boxing robes, hand-stitched lucha masks, race-worn roller skates, art, illustration, photography, film, oral histories, boxing posters, wrestling programs, punk rock flyers and much more.