Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

==About the venue==
[[File:1920 DNC (1).jpg|thumb|400px|[[1920 Democratic National Convention]]]]

The auditorium was designed by renowned Bay Area architects [[John Galen Howard]], [[Frederick Herman Meyer]] and [[John W. Reid Jr.]] and built in 1915 as part of the [[Panama–Pacific International Exposition]]. The auditorium hosted the [[1920 Democratic National Convention]], the [[San Francisco Opera]] from 1923 to 1932 and again for the 1996 season,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/PAGE-ONE-Civic-Auditorium-Comes-Up-in-the-2967604.php |title=Civic Auditorium Comes Up in the World / S.F. Opera opening moves to 'the Bill' |work=Opera Reference |date=September 7, 1996 |access-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref> and the National AAU boxing trials in 1948. It was the home of the [[San Francisco Warriors]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] from 1964 to 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SFW/1965_games.html |title=1964-65 San Francisco Warriors Schedule and Results |work=Basketball Reference |access-date=March 1, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SFW/1966_games.html |title=1965-66 San Francisco Warriors Schedule and Results |work=Basketball Reference |access-date=March 1, 2013}}</ref> An underground expansion, named [[Brooks Hall]], was completed in 1958 under the Civic Center Plaza, immediately north of the Civic Auditorium. The famous [[Mother of All Demos]] was presented here during the 1968 Fall Joint Computer Conference,<ref>[http://www.dougengelbart.org/firsts/dougs-1968-demo.html About the  Mother of All Demos]</ref> and the [[World Cyber Games 2004]] were also held here.

In 1992, the [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors]] voted to rename the auditorium after the rock concert impresario Bill Graham, who had died the previous year in a helicopter crash.<ref>{{cite web |work=United Press International |date=October 13, 2002 |title=Today in Music: a look back at pop music |url=http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2002/10/11/Today_in_Music_a_look_back_at_pop_music/UPI-35331034318700/ |access-date=March 1, 2013}}</ref>

Long before Bill Graham came along, James T. Graham (no relation) managed the Civic Auditorium from 1954 to 1970 and booked some of the biggest names in show business there. During Jim Graham's tenure, the Civic Auditorium hosted Elvis Presley (October 26, 1957), Judy Garland (September 13, 1961), Ray Charles, the Tijuana Brass, Donovan, the Jefferson Airplane (June 4, 1966), the Mamas and the Papas (October 10, 1966), The Temptations and [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]] (January 26, 1968), Jose Feliciano, Bobby Darin and more, which prompted San Francisco Chronicle columnist [[Herb Caen]] to opine that the Board of Supervisors had named the Civic Auditorium after the wrong Graham (January 12, 1993).

Jim Graham signed the Warriors to a contract at the Civic in 1962 when they first moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Warriors would play their first few seasons at the Civic before they moved to the [[Cow Palace]], a larger venue. Jim Graham was manager of the Auditorium when Brooks Hall was built as an adjacent, underground convention center. He also managed Brooks Hall after its dedication on April 11, 1958, and booked American Medical Association conventions, the Harvest Festival, the San Francisco Gift Show and more.

Under Jim Graham's management, the Civic Auditorium also hosted Barnum & Bailey circuses, the San Francisco Roller Derby, Golden Gloves Boxing matches, professional wrestling, Holiday on Ice, the Ice Capades, car shows, the International Dog Show, the Black and White Ball and the Folderol. In addition,  President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] spoke there on August 23, 1956, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republican Party, and a fundraising gala was held there on June 1, 1968, for Democratic presidential hopeful Senator [[Robert F. Kennedy]], four days before he was assassinated in [[Los Angeles]]. At the time, the Civic Auditorium was ground zero in San Francisco for conventions and entertainment events. There were no other major venues for large gatherings outside of the Cow Palace, which was considered ill-equipped for such events (despite the fact that it was larger).

Later, the Civic Auditorium arena would continue to host concerts by many other famous artists, spanning many different genres. It is owned by the City and County of San Francisco and since 2010 has been operated by Another Planet Entertainment.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Safety-meet-tries-to-take-death-out-of-nightlife-3182908.php |title=Let's make a deal |first=John |last=Wildermuth |date=July 1, 2010 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |access-date=July 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Heavy-secrecy-surrounding-upcoming-even-at-Civic-6465369.php |title=Heavy secrecy surrounds upcoming event at Civic Auditorium |last=Knight |first=Heather |date=August 25, 2015 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |quote=John Gavin, project manager for the city administrator's office, said the city makes roughly $100,000 from Another Planet Entertainment annually on the deal.}}</ref>