The 5,900 seat outdoor music venue was built 90 years ago into the base of a canyon within Griffith Park. Page & Turnbull began the project in 2015, and although the pandemic has forced its closure through the 2020 season, the Greek Theatre, which opened its doors in 1930, is safe to revisit and appreciate the meticulously restored decorative entrance doors, gorgeous plaza, and glazed terra cotta tile roof.
Since “The Greek,” as it’s known affectionately to Angelinos, is usually an active music venue, the restoration work and updates were performed in phases during the offseason in Winter over several years. Phases One and Two included the removal of alterations to the site that obscured the historic character, and complete restorations of the iconic entry gates, which were badly corroded.
According to Lesak, it was the final phase that focused on the roof and skylights that required the most labour. Only able to salvage about 10% of the original terracotta roof tile, the team undertook a major effort to custom fabricate new ones using slip casting and glazing, a painstaking process that provides subtle variations in the texture and colour for an authentic look.
To ensure a lasting future for the Greek Theatre, the architects added carbon fibre wrap to the concrete roof deck for seismic strengthening and restored the existing skylights while updating them with high-performance glass.