The beautiful Union Theatre has had many incarnations over the years; in addition to being a movie and playhouse, it has hosted church meetings as well as serving, appropriately enough, as a meeting hall for the Tile Layers Local #18.

The Union was built as a silent picture house in 1921, one of the first in the city solely dedicated to film programs; and had many different proprietors and names during the years it served as an entertainment venue, including being a part of the Fairyland chain of Southern California theatres.

In 1935, former screen vamp Louise Glaum opened an acting school and playhouse here, calling it Louise Glaum’s Little Theater at Union Square. Then in 1939, it was re-reconfigured back into a film venue, the Union, which operated into the fifties.

In the 1970's, during the time it served as the headquarters for the Tile Layers, a student from nearby USC operated an after hours weekly film series, showing cult and underground films.

The Velaslavasay Panorama and Gardens hopes to preserve and prolong the magic of this historic place, and provide the public with a quality entertainment as well as a handsome period-appropriate refurbishment of our grand new home.