Vintage Photo Friday

Jack Kent Cooke with Architect, Charles Luckman during construction of The Forum, Inglewood. 1967.  Photo, LAPL Archives, Herald Examiner Collection

I love seeing photos of buildings under construction.  Above is The Forum in Inglewood.  The description on the LAPL listing reads: "Jack Kent Cooke (right), with architect Charles Luckman, during construction of the Forum in Inglewood. A former door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, the Canadian-born Cooke bought the Lakers in 1965 for $5.2 million. After acquiring the rights to an NHL expansion team, Cooke couldn't reach a deal with the Sports Arena (where the Lakers played). He then built the 17,000-seat, $16 million Forum across the street from Hollywood Park; the Kings debuted there on December 30, 1967. In 1979, Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, the Forum (and his California ranch) to Jerry Buss for a reported $67.5 million." 

The Forum, 1970s

Architect, Charles Luckman had quite an illustrious career.  You can read about him here. 

The Forum was built as a sports and entertainment venue.  I've been to a few games and many concerts there over the years.  From 2000 to 2012, the Faithful Central Bible Church owned the building, leasing it out for performances occasionally as well as using it for church services.  In 2012 the Madison Square Garden Company bought The Forum and has renovated it into a world-class concert venue.  They gave this beautiful building a snazzy orange and white paint job.  Thank you for rescuing this mid-20th Century structure!

The magnificent Forum, 2014

Have a wonderful weekend!