#147: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is one of several L.A. landmarks hitting the century mark this year, and we thought it’d be fun to take a look back on them as we celebrate our one-year anniversary of How To LA this September.

We explored The Biltmore Hotel downtown (if you haven’t listened to that episode already) and we’ll be featuring the story behind the Hollywood sign pretty soon.

When it comes to the L.A. Coliseum (the "memorial" in the full name refers to the fact that the stadium is a memorial to the Americans who served in WWI) there’s no denying that it has a rich history. For example, it played a role in the desegregation of the NFL, and it will soon be the first location to ever host three Olympic Games. But the stadium's history goes way beyond sports.

Guests:

• Frank Guridy, Professor of History and African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University, and author of the forthcoming book, "The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play"
• William Deverell, Historian at USC and Director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West
• Marina Fote, Assistant to the General Manager, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The performances from Wattstax in this episode are Carla Thomas singing "Pick Up the Pieces" and The Bar-Kays performing "Son of Shaft/Feel It";

Correction: A previous version of this episode stated that the Rams first came to L.A. in 1945. It was in 1946.