The Velaslavasay Panorama began in 2001 at the Tswuun-Tswuun Rotunda, in Hollywood. The main feature of the exhibit was the 360-degree Panorama of the Valley of the Smokes, which, along with the magnificent garden area and Avian Alcove, proved a singular attraction amidst the unique cultural surroundings of Southern California.
Sadly, the Tswuun-Tswuun Rotunda is no longer extant, with all the surrounding greenery and century-old palms gone with it. Our former home still lives vibrantly in our memories, and in the remembrances of our devoted friends and fond, dutiful members.
Tswuun-Tswuun Rotunda, Home of The Velaslavasay Panorama in Hollywood 2001-2004
Built in 1968 in the courtyard of a long-since-destroyed 1913 brick Tenement House, the Tswuun-Tswuun Rotunda bears curious resemblance to the Great Panorama Rotundas of the 19th Century. Initially created to house a Chinese-Polynesian Restaurant {The Chu-Chu Chinese - Mr. David Chu, proprietor}, throughout the years the Tswuun-Tswuun Rotunda had housed everything from a Korean BBQ, an Ice Cream Parlor, a Pizza Restaurant, a travel agency and an Armenian Bakery until finding its eventual use as a panoramic venue.
Former Location on Hollywood Boulevard
On that grand Boulevard known for landmark venues such as the extravagant and historic Egyptian and Chinese Theatres and nearby Cinerama Dome, the Velaslavasay Panorama was indeed proud to exist and participate in a neighborhood known the world over for great spectacle and showmanship.
The lush gardens of our Hollywood location were the site of numerous events, sociables, and festive soirees, and the well-appointed grounds provided a calming effect upon all who entered there. Flora featured in the garden included a variety of aged palms, snow-white rose bushes, banana trees and collection of fine succulents, many of which have been transplanted to our current location at the Union Theatre.
Panorama Gardens and Avian Alcove, a living diorama
featuring the feral tropical parrots of Greater Los Angeles.
Making its premiere in 2002 as Hollywood's first ever Living Diorama, The Avian Alcove was a garden extravaganza displaying the sights and sounds of a lush tropical world inhabited by exotic flora and flying feathered fauna. Both animate and inanimate, two- and three-dimensional, these plants and birds transported the visitor to the subtropical regions via visual, tactile, aural and olfactory means.
The picturesque aviary doubled as a whimsical photography studio, where visitors could have their portraits taken as they stood beside an elaborately painted backdrop with hand-crafted avian models and cultivated plants, while taking in the auditory callings of avian wildlife. In effect, visitors to The Avian Alcove became part of the exhibit themselves, while learning a bit of local ornithological history.
The exhibit highlighted the local parrot inhabitants, including Amazona Orchrocephala Oratix, who reside in the Canary Island Date Palm - Phoenix canariensis - which is widely spread throughout the Los Angeles area, including, until its recent destruction, the rotunda's own erstwhile grounds. The diorama also painted a nostalgic portrait of North America's only native parrot species - Psitacus carolinenssis - the Carolina Parakeet, who sadly met its extinction in 1918. A seamless blend of horticulture, handicraft and habitation re-creation, The Avian Alcove presented a truly landscopic experience, and is fondly remembered.
Panorama of the Valley of the Smokes
The main attraction at our Hollywood Boulevard location was the magnificent Panorama of the Valley of the Smokes, a rendering of what California's Southland might have looked like 200 years ago. Upon entering the rotunda, visitors proceeded down a dimly lit hallway lined with amber glass sconces. Entering through a dark doorway, they would suddenly be surrounded by the painting, illustrating sparse hillsides and plains in muted yellow tones with a dramatic sense of otherworldly atmosphere. Emphasizing the beauty of the setting which drew people to the city long ago, the Panorama of the Valley of the Smokes suggests to viewers that this mysterious sensation still can be found in the landscape of Los Angeles.
