Los Angeles Theatres: Mazatlan Theatre

3355 N. Eastern Ave. El Sereno (Los Angeles), CA 90032 | map |

Opened: November 20, 1940 as the El Sereno Theatre. It's on the west side of the street a block south of Huntington Dr. The theatre is on the far left in this 1941 shot on Huntington from the Blackstock Negative Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. Admission was 15 cents at the time.

An ad that appeared on November 19, 1940. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. There had been an earlier theatre on Huntington Dr. using the El Sereno Theatre name that had opened in the 1920s.

Seating: 754 at one time. 830 was the capacity announced before construction.

Architect: The March 29, 1940 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor announced that L.W. Cowper was building the theatre "for himself" and that W.M. Bostock was the structural engineer. It's unknown if Cowper was also the designer.

The theatre was renamed the Mazatlan in its Spanish language film days. In 1951 it was a church called the Film Pulpit. In the 1960s it was an American Legion hall.

The De Anda family bought the building in 1982. It housed their construction business and was also used as a music venue until 2002. It was later used for banquets and other rentals. By 2012 the family was in financial trouble and, despite several fundraising attempts, the building was headed toward foreclosure. The family was calling the building Mazatlan Hall. A 2012 story in The Eastsider noted that Iris De Anda envisioned the building as a community center for art and shows but needed neighborhood support.

Beginning in June 2016 it was called the Eava Theater. The new owners were Alla Kalaydijian and her husband Edward. The theatre's name stood for Edward, Alla, Victoria and Arthur. The latter two being the couple's offspring. They remodeled the theatre and were operating the space as an events center and banquet hall. They closed the operation in 2018.

Status: It's now called Emily's Banquet Hall. 562-374-7918 | www.losangelescateringhall.com

Interior views:

Looking toward the stage of the remodeled space. Photo: Eava Theater on Yelp - 2018

The back of the house. There are several private rooms upstairs. Photo: Eava Theater on Yelp - 2018

More exterior views:

2007 - A view from Eric Lynxwiler on Flickr. Thanks, Eric!

2008 - Thanks to Debra Jane Seltzer for this view, one appearing on page three in the California Theatres section of her immense and delightful site Roadside Architecture.

2010 - A view taken by Don Solosan that was part of a survey by the now-dormant Historic Theatre Committee of the L.A. Conservancy to determine the condition of surviving vintage theatre buildings in L.A. Thanks to Hillsman Wright of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation for making Don's photos available.

2010 - Checking out the south side of the marquee. Photo: Don Solosan

2010 - A letter detail. Photo: Don Solosan. Thanks for these, Don!

2011 - Thanks to Escott O. Norton for this view appearing on the Old Sign Art page on Facebook.

2012 - Looking south on Eastern from Huntington.The De Anda family was doing a fundaising campaign at the time in an attempt to hold onto the building. Photo: Google Maps

2016 - A look at the newly renamed and repainted theatre. It's a photo by Debra Jane Seltzer appearing on page three of the California Theatres section of her site Roadside Architecture. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it in the collection to add as a comment to a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.