Permanent Outdoor Stage Approved for the Old Zoo
Los Angeles, CA · October 4, 2026
Catch the morning breeze while you can today—triple-digit heat will have most of the basin hunting for shade before lunchtime.
The Lead
Performers and picnic crowds at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park are finally getting a permanent home. The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners has approved a $5.13 million funding package to construct Phase II of the Griffith Park Performing Arts Center, formalizing an open-air gathering space that has hosted grassroots theater and summer concerts for decades.
The project replaces the makeshift risers and portable generators long used on the lawn with a permanent 45-foot covered outdoor stage, low-profile lighting, and ADA-compliant modular pathways and viewing pads. Critically for neighbors and preservationists, utility lines will be buried underground, the surrounding hillside canopy will remain untouched, and the city opted against fixed stadium benches in favor of keeping the grassy picnic slope intact. Contracting now moves through the city’s pre-qualified builder program to schedule the ground preparation.
Local Pulse
City Launches Broad Accessibility Review Across Services City Hall Angelenos with disabilities can shape municipal facility upgrades and digital services by taking the city's open survey through October.
Fire-Damaged Altadena Park Begins Full Rebuild Parks Crews started a ten-million-dollar restoration Saturday to bring a new recreation center and inclusive playground to west Altadena.
River Cleanup Mobilizes Thousands Across Multiple Basins Community Volunteers cleared riverbanks from Long Beach to Glendale this weekend, with another wave tackling the Sepulveda Basin next Saturday.
Today's Outlook
- High 101°F · Low 75°F — Clear
- Hydrate early and keep any outdoor errands confined to the cooler morning hours.
What's On Around Town
Today
53rd Annual Los Angeles Korean Festival Seoul International Park (3250 San Marino St), 10:00 AM–10:00 PM · Free Street food stalls, artisan booths, and evening performances in Koreatown.
Tito's Fiesta Mexicana Tito's Tacos (11222 Washington Pl), Culver City, 3:00–8:00 PM · $20–$35 Live mariachi sets, folklórico dancers, and tacos supporting local arts education.
Ever Present: No Wave Women The Getty Center (1200 Getty Center Dr), 3:00–9:00 PM · Free Experimental music sets and spoken word celebrating post-punk pioneers on the hill.
An Evening with Menahan Street Band The Ford (2580 Cahuenga Blvd E), 7:30 PM · Paid Heavy instrumental soul and funk under the open Hollywood Hills sky.
Beyond Fest: Mulholland Drive in 35mm Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd), 8:30 PM · $37 Lynch’s dreamlike classic on celluloid followed by a filmmaking crew discussion.
Tomorrow
- Mumford & Sons Prizefighter Pop-Up The Backlot at Pacific Electric (1729 Naud St), 2:00–7:00 PM · Free
- Carved at Descanso Descanso Gardens (1418 Descanso Dr), La Cañada Flintridge, 6:00–10:00 PM · $12–$52
- Beyond Fest: The Devils in 35mm Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd), 7:30 PM · Paid
Tuesday
- Open Screen Los Angeles The Lyric Hyperion (2106 Hyperion Ave), 6:30 PM · Paid
- Florida Panthers vs. Los Angeles Kings Crypto.com Arena (1111 S Figueroa St), 7:00 PM · Paid
- The Outsiders Hollywood Pantages Theatre (6233 Hollywood Blvd), 7:30 PM · Paid
Spotlight & Story
- Silver Lake
- Despite popular belief, the neighborhood took its name from a person, not glistening water. When William Mulholland dammed Ivanhoe Canyon in 1907, the city named the new reservoir after Herman Silver, the first president of the municipal Water Commission.
Los Angeles Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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