Mayan Theater

Mayan Theater

Mayan Theater in Los Angeles
Mayan Theater Location within Los Angeles
Address	1038 South Hill Street Los Angeles, California United States
Coordinates
Construction
Opened	August 15, 1927 (1927-08-15)
Architect	Stiles O. Clements
Website
www.clubmayan.com
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Reference no.	460

The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California, is a landmark former movie palace.

History

Designed by Stiles O. Clements of Morgan, Walls & Clements and opened in August 1927, the façade of the Mayan Theater includes stylized pre-Columbian patterns and figures designed by sculptor Francisco Cornejo. This is his major work.

Originally a legitimate theater, the Mayan Theater is a prototypical example of the many excessively ornate exotic revival-style theaters of the late 1920s, Mayan Revival 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, and the original fire curtain included images of Mayan jungles and temples.

The theater has been a location in many films including Save the Tiger, Rock 'n' Roll High School and A Night at the Roxbury.

In 1990, the Mayan Theater, with most of its lavish ornament intact, became a nightclub. It is designated as a Historic Cultural Monument.

Photo gallery

• Facade, Mayan Theater, Los Angeles.jpg

  Detail of façade, 2012.

• Alison's House by Susan Glaspell 1938.jpg

  Theater poster, 1938.

• 

  Theater poster, ca. 1940.

• Cobra Skulls 2011-03-17 01.jpg

  Mayan stage, 2011.

See also

• List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Downtown Los Angeles
• Mayan Revival architecture-related topics