Mayan

1040 S. Hill Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90015

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Showing 76 - 100 of 119 comments

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on November 24, 2007 at 3:21 am

Don S: The Hill Street Belasco isn’t listed at Cinema Treasures because nobody’s presented any evidence that it was ever used as a movie theatre. In short, it’s a theatrical treasure but not a cinema treasure. In fact I’m not sure it even has a projection room.

However, the Main Street Belasco is listed here under its final name, the Follies.

chspringer
chspringer on November 24, 2007 at 3:16 am

I tried to list the Belasco, however it did not list as Cinema Treasures lists only theaters that have shown movies and the Balasco was a legit house for live theater and never ran any movies. It was home of the Metropolitan Community Church at one time.

DonSolosan
DonSolosan on November 23, 2007 at 11:04 pm

Chas, I was looking for your entry on the Belasco and couldn’t find it. Is it under another name? I also looked under Morgan, Walls & Clements and couldn’t find it that way. Strange…

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 12, 2007 at 4:07 am

Here is an early 70s ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2kdkrk

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 8, 2007 at 10:06 pm

Then why the church sign?

William
William on August 8, 2007 at 9:45 pm

ken mc, that 1950’s shot is the Mayan and that other vertical sign is on the theatre next door, the Belasco Theatre (Legit, no movies).

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 8, 2007 at 9:30 pm

Was the Mayan ever used for a church? There’s a sign on the theater in this 1950 photo that says “Immanuel”:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics07/00013103.jpg

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on July 31, 2007 at 9:01 pm

You can see a different type of marquee on the left in this 1928 USC photo:
http://tinyurl.com/36snmk

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on July 10, 2007 at 11:10 pm

Here is a photo from the Library of Congress:
http://tinyurl.com/2vskfq

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 23, 2007 at 5:27 pm

On 11/28/47, the Mayan was already showing adult-oriented films, which surprised me. The features that day were “Daughter of Ra – Life Among the Nudists (Adults Only)” and “The Strange Story of Man’s Way with Woman (Swedish Film)”. For anybody whose knowledge of Egyptian mythology is rusty, Ra was a sun god. He was a big deal in those days.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 13, 2007 at 6:49 pm

On 9/15/72, the Mayan was advertising “The Vice Girls” plus “Secret Infidelity”, both rated X. The ad also promises free popcorn, which I thought was a nice touch. Other theaters showing the same program (but without the free popcorn, I guess) were the Fine Arts in San Bernardino, the Ritz in Ontario, Savoy in San Diego, Roxy in Long Beach and Wilshire in Fullerton.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 8, 2007 at 10:35 pm

The Mayan was showing Spanish films in January 1958.

64lesabre
64lesabre on April 26, 2007 at 7:14 pm

Just a note that this film/DVD is actually titled REFINEMENTS IN LOVE (not Reflections…). Besides the historical footage – also including behind-the-scenes shotsof Tobalina shooting a sex movie — be aware this is a very entertaining film —– darn near wacky.

scottfavareille
scottfavareille on April 20, 2007 at 9:28 am

A just released DVD called Reflections in Love (a film by Carlos Tobalina made in 1971, he operated the Mayan then) has lovely pictures of this theater’s exterior at night (including neon sign & marquee)—This would be when the Mayan was offering X-rated fare. There are also shots of the Las Palmas theater (another Tobalina house, marquee was showing “I Am Curious Tahiti”) with a crowd in front and some fire dancers performing in front of the theater. There is also filmed footage of the X 1 & 2 (exterior & lobby areas) showing a “filmed obscenity bust” which I suspect was a re-enactment. Tobalina himself does appear in the film being interviewed. The film is a cross of a “mondo” film with XXX marterial & some “educational” stuff.

chspringer
chspringer on January 24, 2007 at 2:54 pm

I have just added the Belasco to Cinema Treaure. Strange that it had not been listed before. Some photos can be see at this web address: View link

jerry4dos
jerry4dos on December 23, 2006 at 10:23 pm

Next door to the Mayan is the “Belasco Theater” (1050 S. Hill). It doesn’t show up in the Cinema Treasures listing for Los Angeles under that name. Is it documented under another name? Real Estate signs indicate it’s available for rent as a nightclub.

sinclair
sinclair on February 19, 2006 at 12:25 pm

Having an interest in all things porn, a trip to the Mayan was something that had to happen.
Ech! A huge auditorium, and anti-masturbation trailers in both English and Spanish. Thrilling.
The toilets had streams of liquid coming out from them into the mezzanine area. Classy place.
This is from a visit in 1988. It was way beyond sleazy.