Inglewood iconic 20th century architectural landmark is The Forum. Architect Charles Luckman’s circular building seats 17,000 without internal support pillars. Inspired by the Roman Coliseum, the Forum’s sixty-foot tall arches are framed by an interior red wall and brilliant lights. The Los Angeles Lakers called the Forum home from 1967 to 1999, giving Inglewood the City of Champions nickname.

Madison Square Garden revived the Forum as a premiere concert venue in 2014. Renovating the seating, sound equipment, lighting, public art and landscaping, they preserved the exterior façade. The Forum, on the National Register of Historic Places, remains an Inglewood landmark.

Charles Luckman, born in 1909 in Missouri, studied architecture at the University of Illinois. Graduating in the Depression he went into sales, and rapidly rose to become president of Lever Brothers. After his involvement in commissioning Lever House, the first glass skyscraper on New York City’s Park Avenue, Luckman decided to return to architecture. He joined William Pereira’s firm, then established his own Los Angeles practice. Luckman designed Inglewood’s Forum, the Los Angeles Convention Center and New York’s Madison Square Garden. In 1946 President Harry Truman appointed Luckman to serve on the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. Luckman died in 1999.

Renovated 2014 by BBB (Brisbin Brook Beynon) Architects, Selbert Perkins Design Collaborative, and Mia Lehrer

Date: 1965
Collection: Architecture

Location
3900 Manchester Boulevard
Inglewood, California 90305

Anne Cheek LaRose, The Forum

Charles Luckman, The Forum