The William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, known locally as simply the Greek Theatre, is an 8,500-seat amphitheater owned and operated by the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The Greek Theatre hosts

The Berkeley Jazz Festival The Berkeley Jazz Festival is held once a year at the outdoors Hearst Greek Theatre on the University of California, Berkeley campus. The theatre overlooks the San Francisco Bay at Hearst & Gayley Road. The festival was started in 1967 by Darlene ...

, pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and world music concerts, UC Berkeley graduation ceremonies, occasional addresses by noted speakers, and other events. Past speakers include President Theodore Roosevelt,

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

History

The Hearst Greek Theater was built in 1903 on the site of a rough outdoor bowl already in use as an amphitheater since 1894 known as "Ben Weed's Amphitheater". The project was championed by

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

president

Benjamin Ide Wheeler Benjamin Ide Wheeler (July 15, 1854– May 2, 1927) was a professor of Greek and comparative philology at Cornell University, writer, and President of the University of California from 1899 to 1919. Life and career Early years Benjamin ...

and was the first university building designed by

John Galen Howard John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts – July 18, 1931 in San Francisco, California) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at in ...

. Its construction was financed by newspaper magnate

, after whom it was named. The design of the theater is based directly on the ancient Greek theater of Epidaurus. It officially opened on September 24, 1903, with a student production of '' The Birds'' by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

. However, while still under construction in May 1903, the theatre hosted a graduation ceremony with an address by President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a friend of Wheeler's from New York. In 1957, a basement backstage area was added, which was designed by Ernest Born. It includes a large plaza flanked by two stage-level constructions. In 1967

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

played the Greek for the first time, and went on to play 29 total concerts by 1989. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982. Over the years, the Greek Theatre has seen performances from hundreds of musical and theatrical artists. The Greek has also long been the venue for a number of annual events including departmental graduation ceremonies, the commencement convocation for graduating seniors, and the Bonfire Rally before the Big Game each year with Stanford. Charter Day ceremonies and inaugurations of University of California presidents and Berkeley chancellors have been held at the Greek Theatre with certain exceptions, such as the 1962 Charter Day ceremony at which

President John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until assassination of Joh ...

spoke -- held at

California Memorial Stadium California Memorial Stadium also known simply and commonly as Memorial Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. It ...

for its larger capacity. Another Planet Entertainment became the exclusive concert promoter at the Greek in 2004. In May 2012, a

seismic retrofit Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent exp ...

and expansion was designed by Palo Alto architecture firm, CAW Architects and constructed by Overaa Construction. Four new reinforced concrete columns were added and concealed in the original structure.

Gallery

File:Hearst Greek Theatre (Berkeley, CA).JPG, The Hearst Greek Theatre File:Hearst Greek Theater graduation.jpg, During graduation in 2002 File:MooreGreekTheaterUCBerkeley.JPG, Michael Moore giving a speech in October 2003. File:Cal_Bonfire_2006_Hearst_Greek_Theatre.jpg, Cal Bonfire on December 1, 2006

References

* * * {{Authority control 1903 establishments in California Amphitheaters in California Buildings and structures in Berkeley, California Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley, California University of California, Berkeley John Galen Howard buildings Greek Revival architecture in California Tourist attractions in Berkeley, California Event venues established in 1903 Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in California Amphitheaters on the National Register of Historic Places

History

Gallery

See also

References