Bill Graham Civic Auditorium was designed by American architect John Galen Howard.
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium . It was designed by renowned Bay Area architect John Galen Howard and built in 1915 as part of the Panama -- Pacific International Exposition . John Galen Howard ( May 8 , 1864 in Chelmsford , Massachusetts -- July 18 , 1931 in San Francisco , California ) was an American architect who began his career in New York before moving to San Francisco , California .