Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Ave., Daly City, CA

Capacity 12,953

Completed in 1941. The new arena boasted a concrete and steel roof that covered nearly six acres. The first event to be held in the new arena was the Western Classic Holstein Show in April, 1941. In November of that year, the first Grand National Rodeo was held, featuring a tribute to the late Will Rogers. The show was declared a smash hit.
Two short weeks after the close of the first show, Pearl Harbor was attacked. Rented by the Federal Government for $1.00 per year, for the next five years the huge structure was filled with troops embarking for the war zone. As the war progressed, the pavilion was turned over to the Ordinance Department and converted into a huge repair garage.
The only indoor Stadium with a Cantilever roof.

One story for how the current name came about tells of a newspaper editorial that wondered aloud "Why, when people are starving, should money be spent on a "palace for cows?" Thus, the Cow Palace was born.
During World War II, though, the arena was used for processing soldiers bound for the Pacific Theater.

The Cow Palace (originally known as the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena in Daly City, California, situated on the border of Daly City and neighboring San Francisco. The State of California is currently considering negotiations with Daly City. If successful, the site will be razed to make way for condos and a supermarket.

During a 1973 concert by The Who, their drummer Keith Moon, passed out from an overdose of horse tranquilizers and a fan of the band, Scot Halpin, completed the group's set that evening.

In February 1979, Neil Diamond fell onstage and couldn't get up. Less than two days later, he underwent 14 hours of delicate surgery, to remove a nonmalignant tumor, located dangerously close to his spine.

Other Cow Palace highlights include appearances by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Liberace, the Billy Graham Crusade (with attendance of 696,525), John F. Kennedy, Evil Knievel, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley.



Jerry performed here on
12/31/73 Allman Brothers
3/23/74 Grateful Dead
The March 23, 1974 Grateful Dead concert was not just a landmark in the career of the Grateful Dead but in the history of concert production. This was the show that unveiled arguably the greatest P. A. system of all time, the Dead's fabled "Wall of Sound." 

12/31/76 Grateful Dead




1.)^http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/rock.html
2.)^Arnold, Corry, 2012-12-20, http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/