Shoreline Park

The story of Shoreline Park

Shoreline Park is a sylvan theater and amphitheatre in Mountain View, and its best-known feature is the large outdoor performance venue built as part of the Shoreline Park project. The amphitheater was built in 1985–1986 by the city of Mountain View, working with local promoter Bill Graham, and it opened to the public in the summer of 1986.

It was built on part of a landfill owned by the city of Mountain View. Graham designed it to resemble The Grateful Dead’s "steal your face" logo when seen from overhead, a detail that gives the place a very specific identity even before a show begins. The 85,000 square foot (7,900 m2) tent covering the amphitheater was the largest of its kind in the United States when it was built.

The venue can hold 22,500 people, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn. When the parking lot is used for festival stages, the total capacity can reach 30,000. Over the years, it has hosted music festivals such as Lollapalooza and Ozzfest, along with developer conferences such as the Google I/O.

In its first season, there were complaints about garbage odor from the adjoining landfill, and methane gas from decomposing garbage under the amphitheater caused several small fires in the lawn seating area, with minor injuries to some attendees. Today, the park is most closely associated with that open-air amphitheater and the scale of events it can stage.