The amazing Mayan Theatre opened in August of 1927, replete with carved stone serpent heads, seven warrior figures in full head-dress (each representing the god of war, each used to light up after dark!) and celestial symbols and hieroglyphics and they were designed by artist Francisco Cornejo to ornament the theatre structure designed by architects Morgan, Walls and Clements who designed some other famous Los Angeles movie Palaces such as the El Capitan & Wiltern theaters

The interior is an amazing display of Mayan Revival, the entry lobby is a hall of Inscriptions and is coated with hieroglyphics. The foyer is the Hall of Feathered Serpents, in the auditorium the huge central, polychromed plaster and metal chandelier is a replica of an Aztec calendar stone.
In the 1940's, the theatre was a burlesque house and it is rumored that in 1948 a young Marilyn Monroe appeared here. By the end of the decade it tried art-house films and then ran as a Mexican film venue. The theatre became an adult porn theatre in the early 1970's and around 1977 it was converted into a triple-screen theatre still screening adult movies. The auditorium has now been de-tripled and re-opened in 1990 as a weekly dance nightclub and live theatre venue for special events like “Lucha Va Voom”
One of the truly great and unique theatre’s in Los Angeles the Mayan is now designated a Historic Cultural Monument.