Gift Idea: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

EVK's cafeteria can't hold over 90,000.

Doheney Library doesn't draw millions of TV viewers.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum? It's been doing both of those things for decades.

No one place is a greater part of the shared USC experience than this majestic facility. Chris Epting has compiled a photo-book consisting of a couple hundred Coliseum images that can take your breath away. It's part of the Images of America series by Arcadia Publishing.

Remember that this is not just about USC. You'll see Olympic images, baseball configurations, Pete Rozelle handing Pete Lombardi the first Super Bowl trophy (another photo from that days shows partially empty stands!), and even an artificial ski-jump ramp coming out of the peristyle. Lots of famous faces are included.

Of course, there are a bunch of USC pictures inside the 128 pages.

Epting has additional features on his website, including more photos and a 360°view from mid-field. There's also a short video that poses a random question -- who is Dr. John Paul Ryan? Apparently there's a plaque honoring him in tunnel 19, but Epting's research didn't turn up a reason why. The plaque references halftime of the Cal game in 1996.

This gift is good for: Angelinos. Sports fans. Architecture aficionados. Nostalgics. People who appreciate black and white photography.

This gift is bad for: Somebody looking for reading material or a detailed written account of the facility's history.

Price: $19.99.

Where to find it: Major booksellers, including online retailers like Amazon, or direct from Arcadia Publishing.

Comments

[Bobak]

Interesting point about Super Bowl I: I believe I read it on SI or ESPN.com as "one of the lost/holy grails of sports" (or something like that), but they can't find the original broadcast tapes, so all we have are pictures. Part of the suspected reason was the fact that the game didn't sell out (as you noted) --and the NFL was not happy with that image: the supposed "Super Bowl" with empty seats.