The Mayan Club: Almost 100 Years Later, History Still Being Made

  The iconic Mayan Club and Theater, located on Hill between 11th and Olympic, is where I and other SPNA representatives had the immense delight of getting a personal tour.

Danny Rodriguez and Tony Valdez shared their love and passion for the building, the venue, and its history. Danny started as a busboy 20 years ago. He worked hard to learn all aspects of the business and is now the General Manager. Many of the employees have been there more than 10 years. Tony joined the team four years ago. He is the Marketing and Events Manager.  The Mayan is privately owned with the same owner since 1990.  

The Mayan was originally designed by the architectural firm of Morgan, Walls & Clement, which was the same firm that designed The Belasco Theater next to The Mayan. The Mayan opened 10 months after The Belasco in 1927. The style is Aztec-Maya Revival.

Because in the early planning stage, there was an awareness of the accomplishments of Mayan civilization, they hired a young Mexican artist, Francisco Cornejo, to design the interior with a Mayan theme.  The venue was originally a legitimate theater. It also was a movie theater and in the 1960s it made porn films in the basement and showed them on the big screen. In the late 1990s it was “the place” for salsa classes, Latin artists, and salsa dancing.

Today the theater is rented out during the week for concerts and a myriad  other events. For the weekend, it transforms itself into a nightclub. Many of the guests are intergenerational. Even though the building can host 1,400 people at an event, it is also designed to soften its openness with sheer curtain dividers, textured walls, warm lighting, couch pillows, and other effects to make it feel very intimate.   

There are 12 different bar areas and the auditorium includes a chandelier with Aztec calendar stone and other original artifacts such as the ornate stage curtain.   

Tony, who recently moved to South Park, encourages the local neighborhood to “go out and explore.” He continued, “There is more community (in South Park) than he thought and so much going on.”  For me personally, I have explored a lot of our incredible neighborhood. I have walked by the Aztec tiled exterior of the Mayan at 1038 South Hill many times. However, I was blown away by how vibrant, how appealing, how high tech, and how historical it looks on the inside. 

The Mayan loves being part of South Park and its community. They have extended a discount to their weekly Saturday night club during May and June. Checkout their Eventbrite page - The Mayan or call 213.746.4674 and tell them you read about the discount in the SPNA newsletter.

By Marty Goldberg