On January 12, 1965, the San Diego Symphony played the first night at the Civic Theatre, with soloists Dorothy Kirsten and Brian Sullivan. With 2,967 seats, it is the region's largest performing arts venue, according to Broadway San Diego.
Six levels
San Diego Theatres gives these seat counts, from the stage up.
- Orchestra, up to 1,218 seats closest to the stage
- Dress Circle, 421 seats at the back of the main floor
- Lower Loge, 96 seats split between the two sides
- Mezzanine, 422 seats above the Dress Circle
- Upper Loge, 100 seats
- Balcony, 710 seats at the top
Seat numbers start in the center of each row and climb toward the walls, with even numbers on house right and odd numbers on house left. So 101 and 103 sit side by side, and so do 102 and 104.
Sixty years on the plaza
The Civic came out of a 1960s downtown plan, pushed by Mayor Charles Dail, that also built a new City Hall and a convention hall now called the Concourse. It is home to San Diego Opera and Broadway San Diego, and La Jolla Music Society and Live Nation both present shows here. San Diego Theatres, the nonprofit that runs the Balboa Theatre, runs the Civic too, and it refreshed the outside, the lobby and the plaza for the theatre's 60th anniversary in 2025.
Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Tony Bennett, Carole King, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen have all played this stage. Concert nights lean toward seated tours. Latin pop stars and film scores played live by an orchestra turn up often, so check our pop, Latin and classical pages.
Trolley and parking
- Trolley. Civic Center station, on the Blue and Orange lines, is at Third Avenue and C Street, next to Civic Center Plaza.
- Parking. The Evan V. Jones Parkade at First Avenue and A Street has about 1,150 spaces. Take the elevator down to street level for the plaza.
- Arrive early. Broadway San Diego suggests getting there at least an hour before the show, since downtown parking on event nights can be slow.
- Padres. Home games add traffic all over downtown, even this far north of Petco Park.
Jacobs Music Center is four blocks east on B Street, and House of Blues is a short walk away. The full downtown list has the rest.