Citius, altius, fortius: filling a void in the identification and designation of historic venues from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics

For the thousands of people who reside in and around Los Angeles, or those who visit the Southland as tourists, it is unlikely that many - if any - are aware of the legacy of the 1932 Olympic Games. After a formidable bidding and planning process lasting nearly a decade, the development and execution of the Games of the Xth Olympiad were ultimately successful and provided the general framework for Olympic successors. Through the direct and indirect legacy of these Games, many symbols representing the Angeleno way of life were born. This thesis will not focus on the planning and development processes of the 1932 Olympics, nor will it revolve around the Games' athletic achievements or micro-politics; those chapters have already been written. The following pages will explore the role of the venues used in the Games, their stories, and their significance. This thesis will review the architectural legacy of the 1932 Olympics, ranging from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park, to the boxing Mecca-turned-Korean-church on Grand Avenue, to the vanishing traces of the very first Olympic Village in Baldwin Hills. This study will identify the sites and structures used during the Xth Olympiad, both extant and lost. To this day, of the sites associated with the 1932 Games - the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena - are designated as a local, state or national landmark. Through extensive research and site visits, this thesis will attempt to help to fill the evident void in the awareness of temporal, yet historical places and spaces, and help towards their designation and commemoration.

对于居住在洛杉矶市内及周边区域，或是以游客身份造访南加州都会区的万千民众而言，鲜有人——即便不是完全没有——知晓1932年奥林匹克运动会的历史遗产。在历经近十年的艰苦申办与筹备工作后，第十届奥林匹克运动会的筹办与举办最终大获成功，并为后世奥林匹克赛事确立了通用的举办框架。借由本届奥运会留下的直接与间接遗产，诸多彰显洛杉矶市民生活方式的标志性符号就此诞生。本论文不会聚焦1932年奥运会的申办与筹备流程，亦不会围绕本届赛事的竞技成就或微观政治议题展开——相关研究内容已有前人完成。后续章节将深入探讨本届赛事所用场馆的角色、背后的故事及其历史意义。本论文将梳理1932年奥运会留下的建筑遗产，涵盖博览公园内的洛杉矶纪念体育场（Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum）、格兰大道上曾为拳击圣地后改建为韩国教会的场馆，以及位于鲍德温山的全球首座奥运村如今几近消失的遗迹。本研究将甄别第十届奥运会所用的各类场馆与场地，包括现存与已湮灭的两类。时至今日，与1932年奥运会相关的场馆中，洛杉矶纪念体育场与帕萨迪纳的玫瑰碗体育场（Rose Bowl）已被列入地方、州级乃至国家级历史地标名录。本论文将通过大量文献研究与实地考察，助力填补大众对这些虽历经时光洗礼却极具历史意义的场地与空间的认知空白，并推动相关场地的历史地标认定与纪念保护工作。