Music at The Mayan

Downtown Los Angeles is home to several historic move palaces. Most of them congregate on Broadway but there are a few off that main drag. One of these is The Mayan.

Located on Hill Street, The Mayan opened in 1927 as a traditional movie house. But as things go it eventually fell out of favor.  Most theaters facing this fate fell in disrepair and eventually shut down. The Mayan somehow escaped the trend and turned into a nightclub in 1990. It remains one to this day but has also has a side gig as a concert venue.

This is what brought me to The Mayan one Autumn night. I came with my sister to hear the sweet sweet tunes of Nick Waterhouse.

With surprisingly little traffic en route we arrived earlier than we planned. This gave me ample time to check out the building’s details. As the name suggests the theater has a Pre-Columbian motif. Since it was built in the 1920’s the designers went hog wild and it’s just dripping with personality. I managed to grab a couple of close-ups of the tile work.

The theme extends to the interior and it’s just as stylish.

Since the theater now acts as a nightclub the interior seating has long been removed. Thank goodness for that because Nick Waterhouse makes music that is prime for dancing.

Combining two of my loves – historic theaters and live music – it made for a fabulous night out!