Ambassador Auditorium was completed in 1974 as the centerpiece of Ambassador College's Pasadena campus, commissioned by Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God and the college itself. Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall (DMJM) designed the 45,000-square-foot concert hall as the culminating structure of a comprehensive master plan for the 34-acre campus, which Armstrong had assembled from multiple parcels in West Pasadena's historic neighborhoods. The building was conceived to serve dual purposes: hosting church services for the congregation while functioning as a world-class performing arts venue open to the public. The inaugural concert on April 7, 1974, featured the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, launching what would become known as "The Carnegie Hall of the West."
The design exemplifies New Formalist architecture through its reinterpretation of classical temple forms using modern materials and construction techniques. A recessed main volume of steel and dark glass curtain walls sits beneath a flat overhanging roof, supported by tall concrete columns that form a continuous colonnade encircling the entire structure. Exterior walls are clad in emerald green granite from Brazil, while the lobby features rose onyx from Turkey and Iran, African Shedua wood railings, and 24-carat gold-leaf ceilings. The 1,262-seat auditorium interior incorporates Iranian onyx, Burmese teakwood, and wool carpets from India. David Wynne's bronze sculpture of five egrets, each weighing one ton, commands a half-acre recirculating reflecting pool at the entry, approached through palm tree allées.
