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 Union Local #18.

Thus far it has been difficult to pinpoint the exact year in which the Union was built; the earliest found city record dates to 1920, and refers to the theatre as an already existing structure, placing it within the mid- to late- Nineteen-teens. With the other building and remodel records on file, we have been able to piece together small fragments of the Union's history. and are on a continuing mission to uncover the history of the great neighborhood theatre. We do know the theatre has 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.

For a time in the 1970's, while serving as the headquarters for the Tile Layers, a student from nearby USC operated an after hours weekly film series, showing cult and underground films and Saturday cartoon matinees for the neighborhood children.

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.