Santa Monica Civic Auditorium

This Civic Auditorium is getting 5 stars because I am SO thankful that it now offers a shuttle service to LAX!
The Fly Away Shuttle is the easiest and cheapest way to get to the airport. For only $ 8 (card only) you get picked up and Main and Pico and it goes on Lincoln Blvd. straight to LAX. It leaves every hour close to the end of the hour (5:45, 6:45, 7:45, etc.) It is not 24 hours yet, so plan your flight if you can so you can get from Santa Monica and back with ease.
Thanks Santa Monica!

visited this venue from the Bay Area of dec 2011 for Golden Voice 30. Classic venue from the 80’s from what I read and I’m glad I got to experience a gig there. Mammoth gig with the DESCENDENTS, BAD RELIGION, FLAG & TSOL for starters. The venue itself was great! Good views of the stage. Easy access from the stands to the floor. Nice outdoor patios for that smoke break or breather from the large crowds and it was just a short walk to the Santa Monica Pier and also a short walk from the Delfina hotel where I was staying at (which was fabulous too!)
Disappointed to find out years later that the locals are trying to keep this venue open. Would be bummed to see this place close it’s doors.

I like this place. Been to the alto car show the last few years. Wanted to go to the cat show there but never get a chance to. It’s in need of a renovation. Wish the city can renovate it and make it like the old days when big names used to perform there. But still a good place.

Parking is a real issue for this place. It could also have a friendly TLC, but it’s a great space and having classical music is a plus.

Had an amazing time here for Avicii concert. When you go in you pretty much get felt up and they don’t serve alcohol. That is the only reason why i gave it a 4 star and not 5. Over all it is a great venue and have great music.

The Civic will have some great concerts in September. The Silversun Pickups and then AVICII in the same week!

The ambiance is decent — although I think a renovation would do it some good.

A less than stellar vibe at «The Civic» prompted me to investigate. Why would a wealthy city let an icon go south? So, I sent a Santa Monica pal-​in-​the-​know my review. She sent me this.

Hallelujah, renovation is on the horizon for «The Civic» and that’s A-​OK by me!

Parking is expensive!!! the place is hot like their AC does not work, but there’s not two glories in one, prices at the fairs are great

The vintage fashion expo was real fun. Most defff be there again next year

It’s very rare that I have an experience this poor. I haven’t been to this venue in AGES, and I’m going to be super honest and say that I have no idea whether the horrible things we experienced was the fault of the event, or the venue. But since the event itself (California Fight Syndicate) was pretty good, with a great selection of fights (8 fights and 1 main event) and that flow was organized-​feeling, I’m going to assume that the following negatives fell on the venue:
*Ticketing: The will call line was HUGE. Like, down the length of the venue huge. We were situated towards the front half because we got there early, and it took us 50 minutes to get to one of the two windows. The two other windows that were open (cash and credit cards) had NOBODY in them. LAME!
Apparently, the ticketing agents were limited in speed because they were using the Santa Monica City wireless access on their MAC laptops, to access a website to assign seating to all of us Groupon holders. So each person’s ticketing experience took about 10 minutes. No apologies for waiting were given to anyone within our earshot, even though there were MANY clearly frustrated event goers.
*Seating: Usually it’s straightforward at a public venue — there’s a letter and a number, and since we all know our alphabet, it’s not difficult to find. Well, whomever set up the floor seating decided to break it into multiple sections of very strange and illogical numbering. SO even though our tickets said H3 and H4, those numbers were nowhere. Our actual seats were open and in some row that they pointed us to, in section PFS3A. What the HELL does that mean?
Plus, the seat number on the ticket was in such a tiny font that the ushers could barely read it. The ushers were not vision-​challenged seniors, mind you — they were young and able-​bodied. This meant every single person needed to be personally escorted to their seats, not just pointed in the right direction. The number of ushers did not suffice for this level of attention.
As a result of both ticketing and seating issues, every single person probably needed a good hour and a half to just get to their seats.
*Lighting: During key parts of fights, the above lights flickered OFF multiple times. Not for dramatic effect, but clearly due to technical difficulty.
*Acoustics: As each fighter was brought out into the cage, they played a video clip of them on two screens. We sat right under those screens, and couldn’t understand more than two words of the narration. Calling the fights was totally audible, thankfully.
*Concessions: I could have set up a concessions selection that’s more sophisticated than this. We’re talking $ 3 bottled water, $ 3 fountain sodas, juice, hot dogs and popcorn. Blah. Cash only.
If this is any reflection of how events here are usually run, I feel truly blessed that I haven’t had to come here in years.

If you are going to the court house DO NOT USE THIS PARKING.
Seriously. get street parking. and I will tell you WHY.
I was there back in June trying to fight a traffic citation and they said there was a special event going on & that parking was $ 9. I was running a bit late & really didn’t have time to go searching for street meter parking, but I decided to try to any way. So the guy let’s me in to turn around. then never lets me back out. So at this point, I’m like. EFF it. And decide to just park & pay on the way out.
Well, on the way out I go to hand the guy my credit card. He snaps at me saying, we don’t take card. I was just like, really? I was here 2 weeks ago & you did… what happened? So he continues on about how he has worked here for 5 years & I’m calling him a liar. Then he barks for my ID.
He never once told me that I could write a check, or they would mail me a bill. He simply demands for my ID. Having been the victim of identity fraud before. I simply ask, ‘what for?’ He starts raising his voice, ‘I’m done dealing with you.’ and calls for his supervisor.
This obese lady walks over. I mean waddles in front of my car & starts leaning up against it. I lean my head out of the car, & ask, ‘what are you doing?’ And in her thick, Hispanic accent she replies, ‘I’m writing down your information so we can report you.‘
I’m just thinking, ‘lol wth?‘
So the next 3 things happen at the same time. I put my car in park, turn it off and step out of my car. I tell the guy at the window, ‘listen dude, let me re-​park my car & I’ll walk to chase. ill go get the cash, no big deal?’ Well, when I stood up my car rocked back & forth a couple times because of the slight incline & not using an e-​brake. The lady leaning on my car starts shrieking like a banshee. ‘Aye, you threatening’ to hit me? Aye look shes trying to hit me! She’s trying to hit me. CALL THE COPS.’ The day before I had previously undergone an intense medical procedure & I started gushing blood from the wound, from a combination of the stress of the situation & the force at which I stood up.‘
So I sat back down in my car, and told her. shut up, I’ll call the cops myself. So I dialed 911 & called the paramedics. My body was going into shock. I was freaking out. The paramedics finally show up, and in LA, it is almost standard procedure for cops to show up with the paramedics. The cop who shows up… guess who she is? I’m pretty damn sure she was a relative cause she kept asking how the lady’s nephew was doing or something.
Regardless, I digress. Paramedics then took me to the ER. Cops followed me. Then they arrested me & charged me with ‘Assault with a deadly weapon that’s NOT A FIREARM — on a Felony level.’ WTF, REALLY???
So to sum up the story short. the female parking attendant lied to the cops saying I threatened to hit her, and changed it to i DID hit her when none of that happened. And I spent a week in COUNTY JAIL just to have the entire case dismissed as a giant. OOPS, OUR BAD.
Needless to say. DON’T PARK HERE. FOR ANY REASON.

OMG! I have not seen a show at this venue in 20 years. I went for the GV30 Descendents show! The venue is the same, I remember seeing the Exploited there. I even saw people I haven’t seen in over 20 years.
I don’t go to shows as often because I find it difficult to bring myself to pay so much, shows used to be 7 dollars, the industry has changed so be it. I had to see the Descendents, they have been my favorite of all time forever. I never got to see them live. I was so glad they played there, it was a treat! One of the best times of a few I have had at that venue!

Great location to see a show. I’ve seen the Sounds perform here and the sound quality and ambience was ok. It had a high school auditorium feel but really, how could you go wrong next to Santa Monica Beach?

So I lived on the westside back in the early 90’s and remember going here a few times for concerts back then. My recent visit for the GV30 concert reminded me what a great little venue this is for concerts!
It’s very old school charming but clean, well organized, spacious and a no drama venue. Also, the place has some great acoustics and I appreciate that you can sit or stand and the seating is basically first come, first serve. The parking is also easy to get in and out and I love that the freeway is literally around the corner.
If you get the chance to see someone cool play here, do it w/​o hesitation!

Small venue for a concert, which is nice. The sound equipment, acoustics, and general look/​feel of the place made me think we were in a high school auditorium. I don’t know if it was the venue or the organizer, but there was good beer for the show — your normal cheap beers, sierra nevada, stella, and PBR for you hipsters or people who drank it before it was cool.
There seemed to be plenty of parking, and a small venue means you’re not a mile away. $ 10 is steep though for a civic center.

I was actually never here for an event that the auditorium was design for. Most of the time I’m here is because they are holding an exhibition. I always felt that the place was dirty and had a weird smell in the room.
Restroom was also disgusting. POOR

My first visit here was this weekend for and orchestra concert. This was a great experience and classical music in person was an enlightening experience. The location was very nice and the people who attended were very friendly. My only complaint would be the nine dollars I had to pay for parking.

I saw Rilo Kiley play the last show of the Under the Blacklight tour at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium a couple years ago. It was a world class show (obviously), but the venue wasn’t particularly special, nor were the acoustics especially good; if anything, the best thing to be said about the Santa Monica Civic Center is that it is really, really big, and I am not saying that just because I am a size queen. It’s gigantic, made bigger by its emptiness and the fact that the limited seating is arranged quite steeply, visually enlarging the Auditorium’s design.
Three stars.

I once had the pleasure of attending a benefit screening of Big Wednesday here as a fundraiser for the the Surfrider Foundation’s Malibu Chapter. It was the first time I’d been inside, and while I don’t remember much, it’s the structural design outside that made an impression on me.
This is a multi-​purpose venue that’s hosted everything from Beach Boys concerts and surf films, to the Oscars, hosted by Bob Hope from 1961 to 1968. Events seem to grow out of the space, now home to recurring conventions featuring travel, arts & crafts, design, and the occasional concert. Didn’t Beck play here a while ago?
Near City Hall in Santa Monica, the unmistakable Googie structure sits like a crown, adorning the Civic campus with a burst of form and energy. If you look just behind it, you’ll see other signs of the past surviving in the Bay Shore Lanes, up near the freeway in the Penguin Restaurant (now home to a dentist chain), and Rae’s Diner which lies just up Pico. It used to be the Fifties in Santa Monica. Some still is.
Too bad this venue is skipped over by most concert bookings. I don’t know if it’s too pricey, too old, or too impractical, but for some reason, it’s not the place you’ll see me rushing to experience a convention. Hence, a reduced rating. But it’s free to admire, even if you don’t go in.
So go feed your eyes and your sense of structural design.
Despite constant change in the architecture and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, it’s good to know that some things worth keeping stay kept. Now if we can only get a surf film festival in there…
[Architect: Welton Becket, 1958]