The $16 million arena was designed by Los Angeles architect Charles Luckman and engineered to be structurally innovative — its cable-suspended roof spans 407 feet in diameter with minimal internal support pillars, a design that was genuinely unusual for an indoor arena of its scale in 1967. The resulting sightlines are exceptional: no seat sits more than 170 feet from the playing surface, and more than 70 percent of the seats are between the goals.

Cooke built it on the site of a former golf course in Inglewood. He modeled the exterior on Roman coliseums — a circular building with a colonnade that gave it an unmistakable profile from the surrounding streets and, eventually, from the air. Luckman's vision was realized by engineers Carl Johnson and Svend Nielsen. The arena seats 17,505 for basketball, 16,005 for hockey, and up to 18,000 for concerts.

In its first six years the Forum hosted five NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics celebrated championships there; the Lakers won the 1972 title at home, ending a drought. The New York Knicks clinched their second — and most recent — NBA championship in a Game 5 at the Forum in 1973.

But the Forum's greatest era came later. The 1980s Lakers — Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Pat Riley on the sideline — played what became known as "Showtime" basketball in front of crowds that included some of Hollywood's biggest names. Jack Nicholson's courtside seat became as famous as any player. The Forum during this era was as much a cultural event as a sporting one, and it won five NBA championships between 1980 and 1988.

The Kings played there simultaneously, and the building also hosted the 1972 and 1983 NBA All-Star Games, the 1981 NHL All-Star Game, and the 1984 Olympic basketball competition.

What makes the Forum's history unusual is how equally it divides between sports and music. Cream played its farewell shows there in October 1968. The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed there in April 1969. Between 1970 and 1977, Led Zeppelin played the Forum 16 times, including a run of six sold-out nights in 1977; part of their live album How the West Was Won was recorded on this stage.

Elvis Presley sold out two shows in one day in November 1970 with 18,700 and 18,698 paid admissions respectively. The Jackson 5 played there repeatedly from 1970 to 1981. Queen performed 12 concerts between 1977 and 1982, ending with their final U.S. show with Freddie Mercury on September 15, 1982. The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, the Grateful Dead — the list of major acts who made the Forum a regular stop reads like a survey of popular music's golden age.

The building's acoustics and intimacy, combined with its location in the entertainment industry's backyard, made it the preferred Los Angeles venue for artists who could sell it out.

When the Lakers and Kings moved to the new Staples Center in 1999, the Forum went through an uncertain period. The Faithful Central Bible Church purchased it in 2000 and used it for services while leasing it for events. In 2012, the Madison Square Garden Company bought it for $23.5 million and undertook a major renovation to restore it as a premier concert venue.

On September 24, 2014, the Forum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places — recognition that a building associated primarily with entertainment and sports could be significant enough to preserve. In 2020, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer purchased the arena from MSG for $400 million, a striking price for a building whose primary tenant, the Clippers, was about to move to their new Intuit Dome next door. The Forum continues operating as a concert venue — older than its neighbors, carrying more history than any of them.