A panoramic send-off

Panoramas were the Imax movies of the 19th century -- a way for people to get a sense of epic battles (think Gettysburg) or far-off landscapes (think Egypt).

In 2000, Sara Velas, who researched panoramas while a college student, painted her own. Called “The Valley of the Smokes,” it was her idea of how the Los Angeles Basin might have looked in 1850. The 70-foot canvas filled the interior of the Tswuun-Tswuun Pavilion in Hollywood. The round, pagoda-ish building, which was once a Polynesian-themed ice cream parlor, is not long for this world, however. The land has been sold to developers, and there are rumors of a Whole Foods.

So Velas and her supporters are holding a public wake of sorts Sunday afternoon, complete with New Orleans jazz. Old-fashioned mourning attire is requested.

“We wanted to give a final goodbye to that building,” Velas said, “so having a funeral-style thing seemed fitting. And it connects with the Victorian culture. But at the same time we wanted it to be a celebration. It’s not the end of our organization, just the end of that site.”

Velas has found a new spot -- though it’s not round -- in an old movie theater in the historic West Adams district. She hopes to open it in about a year with a brand-new panorama.

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Velaslavasay Panorama, 5553 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Open Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Funeral, Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m. Free. (323) 464-4108.