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<br /> With poor acoustics and cramped space , . .. j
<br /> Hollywood ' s band shell may bow out . . ?.
<br /> By Kerri Westenberg �y
<br /> LOS ANGELES—In this city where last down the Eiffel Tower. "
<br /> weeks film releases have already turned Anyone who opposes I ri _. °.: . f: ..
<br /> :; :., s - .
<br /> -?:3- 1 12! , IZ .
<br /> stale, the venerable Hollywood Bowl is a the new plan has never _
<br /> model of stability. Since the turn of the played there , " counters '- ~_ tj r: , : "� "" a f ,
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<br /> last century, the natural amphitheater in Jay Rosen, a violinist with
<br /> the Hollywood Hills has hosted such the Hollywood Bowl
<br /> world- renowned musicians as Benny
<br /> _ : � Y Orchestra, which shares
<br /> Goodman , the Beatles , and Luciano the bowl with the phil- A performance at the Hollywood Bowl , c .' 1965
<br /> ti ;,ez Pavarotti; appeared in films, including harmonic.
<br /> s. _ . :e.
<br /> Star Is Born and Double Indemnity; and Musicians and preservationists agree The philharmonic has tried for decades
<br /> become an enduring symbol of the city on one thing: The shell presents serious to improve the bowls acoustics . In zgyo,
<br /> of stars . Now the bowl's graceful half- acoustical problems . "You can barely it lined the shell with columns , called
<br /> : . moon band shell , built in 1929 , itself hear the person next to you, let alone sonotubes , which slightly improved the
<br /> - stands center stage in a drama dividing other sections, " says Rosen. Often, the sound quality but almost entirely
<br /> the cultural community here . conductor and some members of the blocked the audience's view of the
<br /> Los Angeles County, which owns the orchestra need speakers just to hear all famous semicircle. In 1980 , hollow fiber-
<br /> i shell, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the sections of the ensemble. The shell is glass spheres were hung from the ceiling,
<br /> which leases it for its summer home, say too small to house a modern full-size replacing the columns .
<br /> the site is no longer a world-class music orchestra, so some musicians are forced " When you talk about saving the
<br /> venue . The five- member Los Angeles out from under the structure's arches by shell, you have to ask which one, " says
<br /> FL ` 3 County Board of Supervi- as much as 15 feet. Musi- Patricia Mitchell, chief operating officer
<br /> sors voted unanimously ` '`fie philharmonic cians also fear asbestos of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. "The
<br /> 1 :1 : I last September to replace and lead contamination place has been in constant change . "
<br /> says the shed is as from old construction In 1 22, the bowl consisted of a wood
<br /> the TNo year- old structure 9
<br /> with a larger version ro- materials and paint . In platform with a canvas top . The first
<br /> g P rec® Azable P
<br /> f posed by the philhar- z996, Los Angeles County proscenium, a wood ellipse, appeared in
<br /> g g worldwide as the
<br /> monic. The re ions largest voters acknowledged the 1926. That was followed in igz7 by a wood
<br /> preservation organization, Eiffel Tower." shell's shortcomings when pyramid built by Lloyd Wright, son of
<br /> . =- the � , 000 -member Los they approved an $ 18 mil- Frank Lloyd Wright. When the philhar-
<br /> Angeles Conservancy, had actively lion bond for improvement of the bowl; monic asked the younger Wright the fol-
<br /> opposed the shell's demolition . But after so far, $3 million from that appropriation lowing year to create a semicircular music
<br /> i
<br /> the supervisors' vote, it saw little hope for has been spent on upgrading the mar- shell, he devised an art moderne structure
<br /> INN
<br /> the shell's future and reluctantly decided quee, sound system, and escalators . of sleek concentric arches. That inspired
<br /> - _ to abide by their decision . Hollywood The disagreements arise when dis - the design of the shell we see today.
<br /> Heritage , a group with 350 members , cussing whether to improve the existing The proposed new shell, which the
<br /> countered by filing a lawsuit with Cali- shell or tear it down and start from philharmonic plans to construct offsite
<br /> _ fornias superior court. scratch. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and put in place before the 2002 summer
<br /> " In their own souvenir book about Association , which has been holding season, resembles the1928 design . "If you
<br /> ' the Hollywood Bowl the philharmonic " Symphony Under the Stars" concerts asked people to drew what they see [of the
<br /> says the shell is as recognizable worldwide since 19z2 and launched the Hollywood shell] in their mind's eye, they would draw
<br /> A B da
<br /> _ as the Eiffel Tower, " says Robert Nudel- Bowl Orchestra in z99z , claims that what we are building," says Mitchell .
<br /> man, president of Hollywood Heritage. scrapping the old structure is the only One difference, however, is size . Thf
<br /> "Fortunately, Paris has no plans to tear way to create a state- of-- the-art venue . new shell would be 30 percent larger than
<br /> 20 PRESERVATION
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