Excerpt from 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story

 

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Today we salute three U.S. military veterans born in Mexico who battled for titles at the Olympic and fought for their adopted homeland. Baby Arizmendi, Armando Muniz and Carlos Palomino--three phenomenal athletes who sacrificed and contributed to th
GO DODGERS! WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!! Benny Georgino, Alberto Davila, Tommy Lasorda. Photo: Theo Ehret
Before baseball came to town, boxing was the top sport in Los Angeles, and in the decades leading up to the Dodgers arrival from Brooklyn in 1958 there were two fighters who fought for local supremacy. Enrique Bolaños was born in Durango Mexic
One of the fascinating things about wrestler The Destroyer was his iconic status in Japan. As you may recall, The Destroyer was Dick Beyer, who was handed a mask and turned from babyface to heel at the Olympic at the suggestion of Freddie Blassie. He
When making our documentary 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story, we struggled to find great roller derby images from the Olympic. So when we began the search for the 18th & Grand exhibition at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes we were determ
If you loved the music in 18th and Grand, you'll want to check out our Spotify playlist including songs from and inspired by the film and exhibition, put together by Director Steve DeBro. From Shuggie Otis to War, Big Jay McNeely to Tierra, Herb Alpe
Our documentary film was the sold-out closing film for Slamdance 2021, nominated for an Emmy in 2023, and inspired an award winning exhibition in 2024. Based on fifty long-form interviews with boxers, wrestlers, skaters, musicians and insiders, 18th
Big Frank Harrison, production manager for the often violent Goldenvoice punk shows at the Olympic, appeared intimidating on the outside but like many things in life, looks were deceptive. When we interviewed him for 18th & Grand: The Olympic Aud
This is a rare photo of twenty-nine year old Olympic Auditorium regular Frank Sinatra in the catacomb-like dressing room in 1945, with manager Al Silvani and other men of the L.A. boxing business. Sinatra loved boxing. He managed Compton's Cisco Andr
In an arena full of characters, Gene LeBell and Carlos Palomino stood out--for completely different reasons. Carlos was born in Mexico, shined shoes as a boy in Tijuana, emigrated to Westminster, served in the U.S. Army and became a world champion bo
On September 13th, 1984--forty years ago today--Julio César Chávez defeated Mario "Azabache" Martinez to win the World Boxing Council Super Featherweight title at the Olympic Auditorium, his first world championship. Martinez
 
 
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