Los Angeles' Failed 1976 Summer Olympics Bid

[ejaycat]

Funny what you can find on the internet nowadays, as opposed to years ago when I was very curious to learn about Los Angeles' failed 1976 bid for the Summer Olympics.  The candidate cities were Los Angeles, Montreal, and Moscow.  The IOC voted on May 12, 1970, and this is how the tally went:

Round 1:  Montreal 25, Moscow 28, Los Angeles 17

Round 2:  Montreal 41, Moscow 28

Montreal was generally seen as the "neutral" choice between world powers USA and the Soviet Union.  Los Angeles bid again for 1980, with Moscow being the only other bidder.  Speculation ranges as to why LA lost again for '80, from the IOC "punishing" the US for Denver withdrawing from hosting the '76 Winter Games (they withdrew in 1972), to the "interest" in having for the first time, a communist nation hosting an Olympics.

Anyway, I was always curious to know what LA's 1976 bid (and 1980 bid, for that matter) consisted of.  It looks like it was mix of already existing facilities old (like the Coliseum) and new (like the "recently completed" Pauley Pavilion at UCLA), and some brand new ones to be specifically built for the Games.

I was very surprised to learn that there was a plan to build an Olympic Village just northwest of downtown.  From what I can glean from the candidature file, based on the maps, it looks like it would have been in the area where Beverly Blvd. and 2nd and 1st Streets all intersect, where Vista Hermosa Park is now.  I'm very sure it would have required the complete demolition of that old neighborhood in the area, to build what would have looked like this:

 

Interestingly, there would have been events in the San Fernando Valley.  A new swim stadium would have been built there:

 

 

The Encino Velodrome in the SFV would have been, well, the velodrome.  The Encino Velodrome still exists, and it's right in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area.  Here's what it looked like in 1960:

 

A new equestrian center would have been built in Griffith Park, "just minutes" from the athletes' village:

Griffith Park currently has an equestrian center, but I don't know if it's the same one that was planned for the 1976 Summer Olympics.

 

And, a Points of Interest map:

 

Edited August 9, 2024 by ejaycat

[venuedesignlover]

@ejaycat New York City bid for the 1984 games in the national bid race but lost out to LA. If anyone else has any more research or information, that would be great.

 

New York Steps Up Games Bid

 

The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com › 1977/09/25 › archives › ne...

New York City 1984 Summer Olympics Bid Book | RR Auction

[ejaycat]

17 minutes ago, venuedesignlover said:

@ejaycat New York City bid for the 1984 games in the national bid race but lost out to LA. If anyone else has any more research or information, that would be great.

 

New York Steps Up Games Bid

 

The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com › 1977/09/25 › archives › ne...

New York City 1984 Summer Olympics Bid Book | RR Auction

I've always wanted to see NYC's bid book for 1984.  

From what I've gleaned off the internet, it would have been a Queens-centric bid, with a remodeled or new Shea Stadium as the main Olympic stadium.  The bid was seen as being too expensive, so that's why the USOC chose Los Angeles.  The athlete's village would have been built on Roosevelt Island.  NYC also lacked other venues that would have had to be built from scratch, like a rowing stadium, and practice facilities.  

Edited August 9, 2024 by ejaycat

[antiperspirant]

6 hours ago, ejaycat said:

I was very surprised to learn that there was a plan to build an Olympic Village just northwest of downtown.  From what I can glean from the candidature file, based on the maps, it looks like it would have been in the area where Beverly Blvd. and 2nd and 1st Streets all intersect, where Vista Hermosa Park is now.  I'm very sure it would have required the complete demolition of that old neighborhood in the area, to build what would have looked like this:

This site would've been huge! It's also right between Filipinotown and Chinatown. I'd imagine the development would've kickstarted insane redevelopment and gentrification in the area.

I do kind of dig the architecture though. It is very Southern California-esque and reminds me of the beachside hotels of Coronado Island, just without the ocean which feels a little wrong. And also it wouldn't decimated the area to be entirely residential--very fitting for its time with the suburban boom and all that. Really awesome finds!

[FYI]

5 hours ago, ejaycat said:

I've always wanted to see NYC's bid book for 1984.  

The bid was seen as being too expensive, so that's why the USOC chose Los Angeles. 

I remember reading somewhere that the New York '84 bid mainly came out of the blue by the then NY governor, so there probably wasn't much of a bid book to begin with. Especially when so many things had to be built. Plus, NYC's many social issues at the time, like dangerous, high crime rate (there was an infamous serial killer also on the loose in the city back then), & the big blackout of '77 (just months before the USOC decision), didn't do New York any favors to convince the USOC to select them. So the too expensive bid part was probably just adding to an already unattractive proposal. Plus, L.A. already had to two recent tries ('76 & '80) under their belt, so it made even more sense just to go with L.A. again.

[ejaycat]

10 hours ago, antiperspirant said:

This site would've been huge! It's also right between Filipinotown and Chinatown. I'd imagine the development would've kickstarted insane redevelopment and gentrification in the area.

I do kind of dig the architecture though. It is very Southern California-esque and reminds me of the beachside hotels of Coronado Island, just without the ocean which feels a little wrong. And also it wouldn't decimated the area to be entirely residential--very fitting for its time with the suburban boom and all that. Really awesome finds!

In the 1980s and for most of the 1990s, that area had a lot of vacant lots; in fact, I think Vista Hermosa Park was built on land that was originally earmarked for a new high school, to replace Belmont High School.  But the plans fell through.  Belmont High School still exists, but instead, part of the site became the park, and the other part became the Edward Roybal Learning Center.  

I'm not a big fan of the architecture of the proposed Olympic Village; it reminds me too much of those "townhouses-in-the-park"-type of developments you saw in a lot of master-planned communities in the 1970s, like in Irvine or something.  I don't know if it would have spurred any gentrification back then; I'm thinking it would have been more like a gated community with little to no interaction with its surroundings.  I'm not an urban planner, but I guess it would have lined up more with the philosophies of the time, when everything seemed so suburban-oriented/car-oriented.  That OV would have displaced a lot of people, too.  If anything, I would have preferred a much denser development, with definitely more than 2 or 3 stories.  

 

Edited August 9, 2024 by ejaycat

[baron-pierreIV]

Great find, ejay!  Another well-documneted US bid was Detroit's for 1972.  But like all of these bids, they only exist in artists' renderings, etc. -- and at least for the US, more practical solutions emerge in the end.  I dislike all those outdoor venues.  

[ejaycat]

^^^^

Ah yes, Detroit, the Glenn Close of Olympic bid cities.  

According to this, it had bid 9 times!  https://www.detroitolympichistory.com/

Even Glenn Close has "only" been nominated 8 times for an Oscar and has never won!

Edited August 9, 2024 by ejaycat

[baron-pierreIV]

On 8/9/2024 at 11:32 AM, ejaycat said:

^^^^

Ah yes, Detroit, the Glenn Close of Olympic bid cities.  

According to this, it had bid 9 times!  https://www.detroitolympichistory.com/

Even Glenn Close has "only" been nominated 8 times for an Oscar and has never won!

I thought Detroit was the Susan Lucci of Olympic bid cities??  (ALtho LA I think has tried 16x but succeeded in 8 of those.  Too lazy at the moment to recount that.)  

[ejaycat]

7 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

I thought Detroit was the Susan Lucci of Olympic bid cities??  (ALtho LA I think has tried 16x but succeeded in 8 of those.  Too lazy at the moment to recount that.)  

I believe Susan Lucci finally won her Emmy, many years ago now.