855 S. Grand Ave. | map | Los Angeles, CA 90017 Opened: 1914 Architects: Thornton Fitzhugh, Frank Krucker and Harry Deckbar designed this 9 story Beaux Arts style mixed use hotel, office building and auditorium. The building featured a roof garden, various social halls, a ladies parlor and a library. It was owned and operated by the Los Angeles Investment Co. Seating: 1,600. Some estimates go as high as 2,500. The auditorium features balconies on three sides and a stained glass ceiling. When it was the Trinity Auditorium Building and being used as a church, three stories of the building were church offices and the hotel portion (325 rooms) was a hotel for men. The auditorium had a huge pipe organ. It was church on Sundays and the auditorium was rented to meetings, conventions, etc. during the week. The L.A. Philharmonic played their first season here before moving to the Temple Theatre, which they re-christened the Philharmonic Auditorium. When the hotel became the Embassy Hotel, the auditorium was known as the Embassy Auditorium. In the 80s, the building was purchased by USC and used as a dorm and residential college for several years. Status: Current New York based owner Chetrit Group has let the building lie dormant for the last decade while various plans have been proposed and speculations swirl around. It's still projected to be a boutique hotel. More Information: Downtown Los Angeles News did a story on the current owners, the Chetrit Group: "To Have and to Hold... " by Anna Scott. Curbed LA did a 2009 article: "Quick Tour of Downtown's Trinity Auditorium" by Dakota. Also on Curbed see: "... A Planned Palace." In 2007 Curbed had the story on the planned and then canceled makeover for the property "No Gansevoort for Downtown LA" by jwilliams. The USC Geography Tour has a page on the Embasy / Trinity. Brent Dickerson's Grand Avenue tour also has another early view of the facade.
See the post by Ethereal Reality on SkyscraperPage's noirish Los Angeles for several Trinity Auditorium photos. L.A. Curbed reported in a November 2011 story that there was mysterious construction on the roof.  A view of the entrance to the auditorium. photo: Bill Counter - 2010 [
click the photo to enlarge ] Brigham Yenbrighamyen.com We're on stage looking at the back of the house. full size view Brigham Yen had a nice story including these photos in December 2011: "Trinity Auditorium May Become Second King & Grove Hotel in Downtown L.A." The story discusses the possibility of the long delayed hotel conversion getting closer.  Looking toward the stage. full size view  A look at the art glass in the dome. full size view  The dome on the exterior. full size view  The auditorium's lobby fronting on Grand Ave. full size view  A view of the lobby's windows onto Grand. full size view  A look at the art glass in the lobby. full size view The photos are credited to Historic Consultants, Inc. and Ratszh Architects. Many thanks to Jason Burns for sending the story our way! Sterling Davis Photowww.flickr.com/photos/sterlingdavisphoto A lovely view of the Trinity Auditorium in 2010 from Sterling Davis Photo. On Flickr: full size view Skyscraper Page
www.skyscraperpage.com A detail from a 1948 aerial view showing the Trinity Auditorium building from the south. It's on the first page of the Noirish Los Angeles forum on this interesting site. We assume the photo is from the USC Archives. full size view |  A view of the Trinity Auditorium Building looking south on Grand. photo: Bill Counter - 2010 [ click either of these to enlarge ]  A view looking west on 9th toward Grand. photo: Bill Counter - 2012 about photos from other We've tried to give appropriate credit. Please
contact us if there are incorrect attributions, links that no longer work or other issues. A link near each image will direct you to a full size version on the website hosting it. Assume that all the images are subject to copyright restrictions. Contact the webmaster of the site in question concerning reproduction or other use. California State Library
A 1980 William Reagh photo in the
California Library collection. full size view L.A. Public
Library Collection
www.lapl.org  A view of the stage and pipe organ. full size view Also: | closer stage view |  Looking toward the rear of the auditorium in an undated Ralph Morris photo. full size view More exterior views in the Library's collection: | from Broadway - 1914 | | 9th & Olive 1927 - Trinity in background | | 1931 entrance view -looking south | | from across the street - 1980- William Reagh | | north side of the building - undated | | facade view - undated - Herald Examiner | | from Olive and Olympic - 1984 | | entrance 1987 - "Embassy Hotel Theatre" | | entrance - 80s - Anne Knudsen | pdodog
 A 2008 view of the auditorium by pdodog. This set was on Flickr but has, alas, vanished.  Looking across the auditorium toward the stage and house right. That's a lighting grid in front of the stage at left.  A view toward the rear of the house which is that section on the right side of the photo. That's the house right side balcony at the left of the photo.  A nice proscenium detail. USC Archivesdigitallibrary.usc.edu A lovely c. 1914-1920 view of the Trinity Auditorium Building from the USC Archives. The photo is from the Califonia Historical Society. full size view Also in the USC Archives: | another facade view - from slightly north | |
Trinity Auditorium |
