The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 and is best known for being the home for the Emmy Awards from 1977 until 1997. It was designed by architects George Edwin Bergstrom, Cyril Bennett, and Fitch Haskell. Today, the Auditorium is home to the People's Choice Awards and the former home of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. It has also been used for some episodes of American Idol. It was used as the show's venue for "Hollywood Week" in season 10. The 3,029-seat theater hosts musicals, operas and concerts, among other events, on its stage. The venue's theatre organ was acquired in 1979, having been commissioned in 1938 as a touring organ by Reginald Foort, who attended its inauguration on April 23, 1980. It was used by the BBC during and after World War II. In addition to the main auditorium, the Civic Auditorium building originally contained two lecture rooms and an exhibition hall of. The auditorium was famously the site of some of the earliest live performances of Van Halen before being discovered. The special was taped here on March 25, 1983; and aired on NBC in May. The show is best remembered for Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" in which he debuted his signature dance move the "Moonwalk". Louis Armstrong's 1951 album Satchmo at Pasadena was also recorded here. The auditorium has also been used for the Miss Teen USA 2007 pageant. The preliminary and final competitions were broadcast live on NBC. The Pasadena Civic Auditorium hosted the 44th, 45th, and 46th Daytime Emmy Awards alongside their related Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The auditorium has hosted the America's Got Talent audition rounds since season 11 and has hosted the NAACP Image Awards numerous times. The auditorium hosts the annual Pasadena Unified School Districtgraduation ceremonies for Blair High School, John Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, John Muir High School and Pasadena High School, which takes place after the Memorial Day holiday, since 2011.
The Exhibition Building features of exhibit space and can seat up to 4,400 for various events. Adjacent to the Exhibition Building is a annex seating up to 600 patrons.
Conference Building
The Conference Building has 20 meeting rooms totaling.
