A Short History of Winterland
Winterland Ballroom (also known as Winterland Arena) began as an ice skating rink in San Francisco that opened in 1928 at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. In 1966, rock promoter Bill Graham took over the arena when his shows began to outgrow nearby Filmore West. Winterland would go on to host some of the most legendary shows over the next 12 years.
The most influential artists of their generation played at Winterland such as the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Queen, KISS, Boston, Cream, Yes, Steppenwolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Band, Big Brother & The Holding Company With Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Rush, Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, Styx, Grand Funk Railroad, Humble Pie, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Deep Purple, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Elvis Costello and many more. Led Zeppelin first performed their song “Whole Lotta Love” there.
Bill Graham just before closing Winterland in 1978 photo: Michael Zagaris.
