#248: Episcopal Church of the Ascension (Monrovia)
February 1, 2025
The Episcopal Church of the Ascension is Sierra Madre's oldest religious building. Its bells have welcomed the locals to prayer since 1888.
Religion
#240: E.A.K. Hackett House (Pico-Union)
November 19, 2024
The E.A.K. Hackett House is an intact example of a "transitional craftsman" home, bridging the Victorian and craftsman eras of LA architecture. It once housed a prominent figure in LA's religious life. AND: there's a mysterious research conundrum about its provenance...
#162: Second Church of Christ, Scientist (University Park)
July 10, 2023
This grand neoclassical edifice was designed by Alfred Rosenheim for the second Christian Science congregation in LA. Built in 1910, it was sold to the Art of Living Foundation in 2009.
#148: Christian Science Society (Avalon)
April 15, 2023
Built in 1929 by the fabulously wealthy Wrigley family, owners of Catalina Island, the Christian Science Society was the first building in Avalon designed in the Spanish colonial revival style, an aesthetic that would dominate Avalon's look and f for the next half century.
#128: Prince Hall Masonic Temple (South LA)
November 30, 2022
Much of the early history of this brick-faced building in South LA is a mystery. What we do know is that since 1926, this Masonic temple has been a regular meeting place for Black fraternal societies in LA, primarily the Masons of the Prince Hall order - America’s oldest and largest Black fraternal organization.
#118: Wayfarers Chapel by Lloyd Wright (Palos Verdes)
September 25, 2022
Lloyd Wright's shimmering cliffside masterpiece of redwood, glass and stone gets more impressive with each passing year, as nature swallows it up. But Wright almost didn't build it! The story of how the Wayfarers Chapel came to be is almost as amazing as the building itself. Almost.
#73: McCarty Memorial Christian Church (West Adams) | Black History Month
February 17, 2022
A fine example of gothic church architecture, McCarty Memorial also tells us a lot about how West Adams became a majority-Black neighborhood
#69: Second Baptist Church (South LA) | Black History Month
February 2, 2022
A center of Black community life since 1926, Second Baptist Church has hosted MLK, Malcolm X & James Baldwin, and is an early work of noted LA architect Paul R. Williams
#43: Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (San Gabriel)
November 20, 2021
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is the grandaddy of LA historic sites. Legend has it that the 44 “pobladores” set out from here the day they founded Los Angeles in 1781. For three years, it was closed to visitors due to the pandemic and a devastating arson. On July 1, 2023, the Mission finally reopened, with a reimagined museum that tells the Mission's complex story of deracination and development.
#17: Mission San Fernando Rey de España (Mission Hills)
October 25, 2021
The birthplace of the San Fernando Valley. A place of light and darkness. Mission entrance, complete with anti-abortion signReredos at the Mission San Fernando Rey de EspañaConstructivist art commemorating[…]