Pauley Pavilion - The House Wooden Filled
Photo: Alton, CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
A stop on UCLA Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.
The big arena at the west end of Bruin Walk is Pauley Pavilion, home of UCLA basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. Before it opened in 1965, John Wooden's teams played in a cramped campus gym and often had to borrow arenas around Los Angeles. UC Regent Edwin W. Pauley helped change that, matching alumni gifts and giving nearly a fifth of the more than $5 million cost.
The first game here, on November 27, 1965, was a stunner: the freshman team, led by Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, beat the varsity, the reigning national champions, 75 to 60. Wooden's teams went on to win 10 NCAA titles in 12 seasons, and banners for every national championship hang from the rafters above what is now the Nell and John Wooden Court.
Pauley also hosted gymnastics at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where Mary Lou Retton won the all-around gold, and a 1988 presidential debate. Look for the eight-foot bronze statue of Coach Wooden, dedicated in 2012.
Getting here: Follow Bruin Walk west from the bear for about two minutes to the arena.
Did you know?: The very first NCAA women's volleyball championship was played here in 1981.
Photo op: Step back across Bruin Walk to fit the whole arena front in your frame, or pose beside the John Wooden statue.
More on Wikipedia: Pauley Pavilion · John Wooden · Kareem Abdul-Jabbar · Mary Lou Retton
Stops on this tour
- Royce Hall - Two Towers, Not Twins
- Powell Library - Where Fahrenheit 451 Was Typed
- Inverted Fountain - Where the Water Falls In
- Kerckhoff Hall - A Widow's Gothic Gift
- Ackerman Union - The Campus Living Room
- Bruin Bear - Two Tons of Bronze Mascot
- Pauley Pavilion - The House Wooden Filled
- Wilson Plaza - UCLA's Front Porch
- Janss Steps - 87 Steps and a Legend
- Fowler Museum - World Art Behind Brick Arches
- Murphy Sculpture Garden - Masterpieces Under Jacarandas