Mayan

1040 S. Hill Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90015

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Showing 1 - 25 of 119 comments

rivest266
rivest266 on October 29, 2019 at 12:00 am

This reopened as a 3-screen adult cinema complex with the world’s biggest adult bookstore on March 14th, 1969. Grand opening ad posted.

rivest266
rivest266 on August 8, 2016 at 9:41 am

August 15th, 1927 grand opening ad in photo section.

haiderodes
haiderodes on January 7, 2016 at 11:05 pm

Was just at The Mayan for Masterbeat’s big NYE party on 12/31/15. Very well kept interior even though it gets a lot use as a nightclub. Wish they had some lighting in the auditorium ceiling like The Belasco does next door.

Matthew Prigge
Matthew Prigge on August 25, 2012 at 12:20 am

If anyone has any stories about going to/ working at this threatre, I would love to hear them. I am chronicling the histories of adult theatres in the US. Please contact me at Thanks!

rivest266
rivest266 on August 9, 2012 at 9:18 pm

3-plex opening ad on March 14th, 1969

monika
monika on April 12, 2011 at 5:28 pm

A photograph my husband took recently of the blade sign (daytime) can be seen here:
View link

socal09
socal09 on December 31, 2010 at 11:27 pm

As a nightclub Dec 31, 2009. Amazing that the plaster decor hasn’t fallen off the walls. Still in good condition inside with most of the decor intact. The seats have been removed on lower level, the floor leveled, a bar added under the balcony and DJ booth in the balcony area. Virtually the same thing that was done to The Palace in Hollywooed on Vine (now Avalon nightclub)
View link

Senorsock
Senorsock on October 11, 2009 at 4:36 am

I finally got to tour the inside of the Mayan Theater last Thursday night and am thrilled to say it looks as great inside as it does outside. Although converted to a nightclub, the Mayan is in great shape and still looks like a theater inside (okay, minus 1,400 seats or so). The auditorium and chandelier in particular are definitely something to see. I was surprised at the small restrooms located on the mezzanine level. They seemed way too tiny to service 1,400+ audience members. The nightclub has more restrooms backstage and under the stage, but those would have been inaccessible when this operated as a theater. Are there some “lost” restrooms located behind a false wall somewhere in or underneath the Mayan lobby?

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 15, 2009 at 1:49 pm

Here is a January 1940 ad from the LAT:
http://tinyurl.com/ooqeml

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 5, 2009 at 6:10 am

Here is a July 1943 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/lldyot

DonSolosan
DonSolosan on June 11, 2009 at 8:19 am

“Contrary to the description, the Mayan hasn’t been used for the Last Remaining Seats series, at least not since I started attending in the late ‘80s or early '90s.”

I asked Connie Humberger about this tonight; she was there from the beginning. And yes, the Mayan was used for the LRS series, back when it was a porn house. They had to go in and clean the place up.

Also, the description as it appears now, refers to the book “Last Remaining Seats,” not the film program.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 9, 2009 at 11:26 pm

I posted this photo on the Belasco page a while ago, but it also shows the Mayan circa 1930s. Photo is from the USC archive:
http://tinyurl.com/ccg4xv

DonSolosan
DonSolosan on June 7, 2009 at 6:50 pm

There’s something interesting in the basement of the Mayan that I haven’t seen mentioned here: in one of the mechanical spaces, someone kept a running tally of the shows in pencil on the wall. The top entry is “Grand Opening August 15, 1927.” Then:

1 – O-Kay – Elsie Janis – 8 weeks – musical – Aug 15, 1927
2 – Twinkle Twinkle – Joe E. Brown Nancy Welford – 6 “ – musical – Oct 10, 1927

and so on into the early 1930s. There’s a sheet of Plexiglas protecting it.

DonSolosan
DonSolosan on May 15, 2009 at 12:33 am

LAHTF’s “All About…” series returns this Saturday, May 16th, 10:30 (doors open at 10) to The Mayan. Also included will be the Belasco Theatre next door. See you there.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on May 11, 2009 at 4:41 am

Here is a March 1969 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/quyrue

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on April 12, 2009 at 12:34 am

Here is a January 1944 ad from the LA Times. Dorothy Dandridge was one of the stars.
http://tinyurl.com/c29u3d

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on April 11, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Some touchup work in 1965. Already showing adult films:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015389.jpg

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on March 23, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Due to popular demand, the Belasco Theatre now has its own dedicated page on Cinema Treasures.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 23, 2009 at 6:06 am

Ah, I didn’t see that. Well, even if they were just 1950s soft core porn movies, I think that should qualify the Belasco for a page. Lots of little store front porn houses from the 1970s are listed, and the Belasco is certainly more interesting as a theater than they are.

DonSolosan
DonSolosan on March 23, 2009 at 5:47 am

cnichols posted some info about films shown in 1950 back on Nov 18, 2008, with ad links.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 22, 2009 at 10:52 pm

LawMann, do you know the general period in which the Belasco ran movies? They surely would have been advertised in the L.A. Times, and somebody who has access to the Times archives at the L.A. Library could probably find some of those ads if they knew where to look.

If the place did run movies for a couple of years, or even a few months, then it certainly deserves a page here. Somehow, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium got a page, and all they ever did was four-wall an occasional surf or ski movie, and a few of the Hollywood beach movies of the 1960s, long after they’d had their theatrical runs. (By those standards, practically every civic auditorium in the country should qualify.)

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez on March 22, 2009 at 8:46 pm

My understanding is that the theater is supposed to have shown movies for a “significant time”. For me 2 years is significant, but perhaps not for others. The reason I personally would allow it is that a good number of the theaters listed on CT are non descript multiplexes and post war theaters that, while they may have a lot of “cinema” in their past, there is certainly no “treasure”. Yet, truly spectacular theaters that happened to be devoted to live performances instead of the silver screen are excluded.

I believe a good number of New York’s Broadway theaters (which are landmarked) are included in Cinema Treasures because they showed movies for some periods in their history. So while they were built for live theater, true treasures like Radio City and The New Amsterdam are included in Cinema Treasures today.

To be fair, films did play these two theaters for significant parts of their history, but there are other examples where the percentage was less. In my opinion, if a theater is an architectural wonder and it showed movies for even 6 months, then it was a cinema treasure for someone at that time and should be allowed for inclusion. If it’s a non-descript box, then no. Good Luck!