The Mayan Theater in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
is a landmark former
movie palace
A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...
and current nightclub and music venue.
History
The Mayan Theater opened in August 1927 as a performance arts theater.
Leon Hefflin Sr.
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
rented out the Mayan Theater downtown Los Angeles to produce the Sweet N' Hot, "Greatest Negro All Star Musical to Hit Coast." His business partner was Curtis Mosby, and the featured performer was
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...
. The show had a run of eleven weeks and was reported as going to New York. It closed to rave reviews and was covered by 20 different newspapers all over the country.
From 1971 to 1989, the theater was owned by
pornographic
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of Human sexual activity, sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, filmmaker
Carlos Tobalina. In the 1980s, the theater showed pornographic films.
The theater has been a location in many films, including ''
Sally of the Scandals
''Sally of the Scandals'' is a 1928 American silent crime drama film produced and released by Film Booking Offices of America. It was directed by Lynn Shores and starred Bessie Love.
The film is preserved in the Archives françaises du film du ...
'', ''
The Bodyguard'', ''
Save the Tiger
Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to:
Places
*Save (Garonne), a river in southern France
*Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique
*Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save
*Savè, Benin, a commune and city
* Save, Govuro ...
'', ''
Unlawful Entry
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding ...
'', ''
Rock 'n' Roll High School
''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard, and Dey Young. The film featured the punk rock group Ramone ...
'', and ''
A Night at the Roxbury
''A Night at the Roxbury'' is a 1998 American comedy film based on a recurring sketch on television's long-running ''Saturday Night Live'' called "The Roxbury Guys". ''Saturday Night Live'' regulars Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, Mark ...
''. It also featured in the eighth episode of the first season of ''
GLOW''.
In 1990, the Mayan Theater, with most of its lavish ornament intact, became a nightclub and music venue. It is designated as a Historic Cultural Monument.
In 2022,
Daft Punk
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
also streamed a video recording of a show at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles from their 1997
Daftendirektour.
Architecture and design
Designed by Stiles O. Clements of
Morgan, Walls & Clements
Morgan, Walls & Clements was an architectural firm based in Los Angeles, California and responsible for many of the city's landmarks, dating back to the late 19th century. Originally Morgan and Walls, with principals Octavius Morgan and John A. ...
, the façade of the Mayan Theater includes stylized pre-Columbian patterns and figures designed by sculptor
Francisco Cornejo. This was his major work.
The Mayan Theater is a prototypical example of the many ornate exotic revival-style theaters of the late 1920s,
Mayan Revival
Mayan Revival is a modern architectural style popular in the Americas during the 1920s and 1930s that drew inspiration from the architecture and iconography of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures.
History
Origins
Though the name of the s ...
in this case. The well-preserved lobby is called "The Hall of Feathered Serpents," the auditorium includes a chandelier based on the
Aztec calendar stone
The Aztec sun stone ( es, Piedra del Sol) is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Mexica sculpture. It measures in diameter and thick, and weig ...
, and the original
fire curtain included images of Mayan jungles and temples.
Gallery
File:Facade, Mayan Theater, Los Angeles.jpg, Detail of façade, 2012
File:Alison's House by Susan Glaspell 1938.jpg, Theater poster, 1938
File:The Weavers by Gerhart Hauptmann.jpg, Theater poster, 1937
File:Cobra Skulls 2011-03-17 01.jpg, Mayan stage, 2011
File:Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles - Balcony Left.jpg, Auditorium from Balcony Left, 2020
File:Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles (Historic Theatre Photography).webm, Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles (Historic Theatre Photography)
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Movie palaces
Adult movie theaters
Cinemas and movie theaters in Los Angeles
Music venues in Los Angeles
Theatres in Los Angeles
Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
Theatres completed in 1927
1927 establishments in California
Morgan, Walls & Clements buildings
Mayan Revival architecture