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Downtown |
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Most tourists who visit LA tend to overlook the downtown area,
understandably since most of the studios and other attractions are
located near Hollywood and the west side of town. For many years,
and still today to some degree, downtown Los Angeles played host to
the major award show ceremonies. Barbra, in winning countless
numbers of such awards, crossed the threshold of many a downtown
venue.
And of course, who could forget her magnificent series of
concerts in 2000 and 2006 at one of downtown's newer landmarks, The
Staples Center.
And there's a new attraction if you head downtown. The
Grammy Hall of Fame, across the street from the Staples Center,
is
where Barbra is enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame. |
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Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion
135 North Grand St.
At the Chandler Pavilion
Barbra
has made numerous appearances at the awards ceremonies ever since she
won her first Oscar as Best Actress for "Funny Girl" in 1969. All of
her Oscar triumphs happened at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of
the Music Center complex in downtown Los Angeles. Barbra also
performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 1978, at The Stars
Salute Israel at 30 benefit and TV special. More recently, Barbra
attended a dinner at the Chandler, prior to her benefit performance
for John Kerry.
LA Forum
3900 W. Manchester Blvd.
 In
April 15, 1972, Barbra Streisand participated in a landmark political
event. She was one of several pop artists who headlined at "4 for
McGovern," a political benefit for democrat presidential hopeful
George McGovern. The concert was staged at The Forum in Los Angeles,
now known as The Great Western Forum. Ticket prices ranged from $5.50
to a then unheard of $100.00. The first half of the concert was
performed by Carole King and James Taylor. The second half of the
performance featured Quincy Jones and Clydie King, one of Barbra's
backup singers from the "Barbra Joan Streisand" album. But it was
Barbra who closed the show with her set. She sang several of her
signature songs, but it was her new rendition of "Sweet
Inspiration/Where You Lead" that made this a special event.
Barbra's
portion of the concert was recorded and eventually released as her
"Barbra Streisand Live Concert at the Forum" album. Her rendition of
"Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead" would earn Barbra yet another
position in the top-10 singles charts nationwide. As Mort Goode wrote
in the album's liner notes, "It was an evening of purpose and
entertainment. The people had come out that night. The stars of the
entertainment world had come out that night. On that night of
entertainment, 'the star' was Barbra." Today, you can still visit the
Great Western Forum for an occasional concert, but you can no longer
see a Lakers Game. They moved to a much more modern sports facility
known as the LA Staples Center. Oh yeah. Barbra performed there, too.
Staples Center
1111 S. Figueroa
In
2000, Barbra stunned fans by announcing a farewell concert tour.
Barbra made it clear that she was not retiring from show business, but
that these finals concerts would be the last paid shows of her career.
In deference to the two places Barbra has called home, she chose New
York and Los Angeles as the two cities where she would perform
"Timeless." In Los Angeles, the newly built Staples Center was
selected as Barbra's concert venue. Her two shows occurred on
September 20 and 21, 2000 and were the hottest tickets Hollywood had
seen in years.
 
The Staples Center:
2006 and 2000
Barbra
had previously attended a Lakers games and the Democratic convention,
one month prior. As she mentioned during her first show at Staples,
Barbra was using the Lakers' dressing room. Of course, the Staples
Center is open for business as the permanent home of the LA Lakers. If
you attend, be sure to look courtside and you will probably find
Barbra-pal Jack Nicholson in his usual seats. And who knows? On any
given night, Barbra might be right next to Jack...rooting for Shaq.
Her
engagement at Staples in 2000 was not to be her last, as it turned
out. Barbra returned to the Staples Center again in the fall of
2006. This time, she gave a rousing performance in what was to be the
closing night of her record breaking North American tour.
Exposition Rose Garden
Exposition Blvd.
Exposition Park's Rose
Garden is located across the street from the USC campus in downtown
Los Angeles and was the site chosen for the opening and closing
sequences of Barbra's 1970 musical film, "On A Clear Day You Can See
Forever."
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At the Rose Garden with
Vincente Minnelli |
The Rose Garden: then and
now |
The film begins with Barbra, as Daisy Gamble, strolling
through the lush gardens. While singing the Lerner and Lane number
"Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here!", Barbra quickly establishes that her
character Daisy Gamble has some quite extraordinary powers. Fast
forwarding to the end of the film finds Barbra back among the roses
(the gardens were part of the fictitious Stuyvesant College campus in
the film) for her thrilling delivery of the title song. The Rose
Garden was a visually stunning addition to the film.
The Rose Garden was created in 1928 and is open to the public seven
days a week during the spring, summer and fall. There is no admission fee.
Union Station
Downtown, L.A.
The Fred Harvey Restaurant at Union Station: then and now
Barbra filmed one of
her most dramatic scenes in downtown Los Angeles at Union Station. In
1973, she and Robert Redford took over the station, then abandoned, to
film scenes for "The Way We Were." Katie is met by Hubbell at the
station as she returned to LA from a Washington, DC protest. In the
scene, Katie utters the words, "people are their principals," the
underlying theme of the film, in the Fred Harvey restaurant, right off
the station's main hall.
The scene begins in the station's great hall. As the characters are
barraged by reporters, they are hustled to the exterior of the
building where a fight between Redford's character and a protester
ensues. Katie and Hubbell are then ushered back inside to the
station's restaurant for safe harbor.
Today, Union Station
is a hub of urban commutation for the residents of Southern
California. It is the home of Amtrak and the downtown terminal of LA's
new light rail subway system. The restaurant at Union Station where
Katie and Hubbell sparred in philosophical disagreement can be rented
for private parties.
Shrine Auditorium
665 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles
The 2004 Emmys at The Shrine Auditorium
Located in downtown
Los Angeles across from the USC campus, The Shrine Auditorium has been
host to the Academy Awards ceremonies off and on since 1947. It was
built as a concert hall in 1925 and remains one
of LA's most recognized architectural landmarks. On August 17, 2000,
Barbra performed for democratic presidential candidate Al Gore in a
political fundraiser held at The Shrine. More recently, Barbra
attended the 2004 Emmy Awards at the Shrine, lending support to her
husband who was nominated that year. |
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