Sign of the Times: Coronavirus Caution Hits the Church

As spotted at St. Casimir's church in Los Feliz/Silver Lake: Clorox wipes have replaced the holy water.

Hipster Zombies: Here's Where That "Fear the Walking Dead" Church Is

Photo: Eastsider LA
The zombie apocalypse begins in Silver Lake.

That's the home to the former Bethany Presbyterian Church, which plays a large role in the first episode of AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead." We first see the effects of the zombies in Los Angeles there, and one of the show's main characters witnesses a zombie bloodbath.

In real life, the empty church sits in a fairly pricey and desirable neighborhood, and indeed, there has been talk for some time of turning the Bethany (located at Griffith Park Blvd. and Lucile St.) into a boutique hotel.

Coincidentally, we were just there last night, eating dinner at nearby Pine & Crane restaurant, at Sunset Triangle Plaza. Yep, the chruch is still there, boarded up and creepy. It's not always abandoned, though: It's been used as the home of the Silver Lake Chorus. But as Eastsider LA wrote way back in 2011, plans are afoot to completely renovate the Bethany:

The imposing front doors to the former Bethany Presbyterian Church in Silver Lake are locked shut, the entryway is strewn with trash and shards of broken terracotta roof tiles litter an overgrown garden. A man sleeps alongside of the building, which is topped by a rusting white cross. The church, which neighbors say has not been used on a regular basis for several years, has definitely seen better days since parishioners gathered 80 years ago to lay the cornerstone for the $75,000 Romanesque-style church and Sunday school at the corner of Griffith Park Boulevard and Lucile Street. The church, however, may once again serve as a sanctuary – not for the faithful but for tourists and travelers wanting to bed down in Silver Lake style. The leader of this church revival is Silver Lake resident Dana Hollister, who has renovated many other neglected neighborhood buildings and helped open popular restaurants and bars, including Cliff’s Edge and the 4100 Bar.

Hollister is now taking on perhaps her most ambitious project, turning Bethany Presbyterian into a boutique hotel with 20 rooms and a “food component” or restaurant. “I want to do something that is conservative and appropriate,” she said.

The church is spooky enough that last year it was the site of the scary play "Delusion: Masque of Mortality."



1629 Griffith Park Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 9002

From Crystal to Christ, The Evolution of Orange County's Famed Cathedral

(Photo by MARK BOSTER/Los Angeles Times)

The L.A. Times has an interesting take on how the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County is taking pains to turn the Crystal Cathedral into a more Catholic-friendly cathedral:

"The exterior will always be the Crystal Cathedral, at least for a while," said Duncan Stroik, a professor of architecture at Notre Dame and editor of the publication Sacred Architecture Journal. "Catholic on the inside, but kind of Protestant on the outside."

Those who have taken on the project recognize that their assignment is a intimidating one, but they also have faith:

They can turn the Crystal Cathedral into the Christ Cathedral.

The diocese bought the Crystal Cathedral campus in 2011 for $57.5 million, beating out Chapman University in bidding for the Garden Grove property after Schuller's ministry filed for bankruptcy.

The diocese launched a $53-million undertaking to refurbish the complex, moving the congregation of nearby St. Callistus to the Christ Cathedral campus and handing over the old Catholic church to the Crystal Cathedral's refugees. (The transition hasn't gone without tension: The removal of engraved markers, called Walk of Faith stones, during the construction process has upset some of the Schuller followers who bought them.)

Walking the cathedral grounds, Neal marveled at what the Catholic Church has acquired: The Richard Neutra-designed Arboretum, where experts were at work restoring the architect's original vision. The cultural center, so futuristic in its design that it stood in as Starfleet headquarters in a "Star Trek" movie. And his favorite place, the Chapel in the Sky, the penthouse peninsula of windows from which he could see the far reaches of the diocese's domain.

Read more here.

For Sale, Slightly Used: Wilshire Church

Got $10 million? Then the Wilshire Christian Church, at Normandie and Wilshire, could be yours.



Yes, a real estate company has erected oversized, obnoxious signs outside the landmark historic church. Here's the listing:

Price:$10,000,000
Building Size:42,950 SF
Price/SF:$232.83
Property Type:Special Purpose
Property Sub-type:Religious Facility
Property Use Type:Vacant/Owner-User
Occupancy:100%
Year Built:1926
Lot Size:0.71 AC

"Historic Landmark Designation (since 1/17/1979) Built in 1926 42,950 SF of Improvements 0.71 Acre Parcel Size Sanctuary Seating Capacity of 800 Balcony Seating Capacity of 500 Fellowship Hall Seating Capacity of 300 to 500 Education Building includes:Fifteen ClassroomsFive Offi cesStaff LoungePrivate Chapel Commercial Kitchen Outdoor Playground

Time to start my own religion!

Vacation on the Palos Verdes Peninsula: The Wayfarers Chapel

Rather than brave a lengthy road trip or pay for exorbitant plane tix, for our vacation this year we kept it local. Palos Verdes Peninsula, if you imagine hard enough, could very well be the coast of a Hawaiian island. (You've got the topography, the blue waters and the island in the distance -- in this case, Catalina.) There are the sites and attractions in nearby San Pedro to visit; a pair of lighthouses to check out (more on those in future posts) and the brand-new Terranea resort.

The most calming of attractions on the peninsula? It's easily the Lloyd Wright-designed Wayfarers Chapel.

The Wayfarers Chapel is a popular spot for small Southern California weddings, but it's much more than that -- including, of course, a house of worship. Here's some history from the chapel's website:

When the Chapel was built in 1951 it stood alone like a precious jewel on a deserted dusty knoll overlooking the blue Pacific. It was soon to be known as “the glass church” after its most prominent architectural feature.

The completed Chapel was dedicated as a memorial to Emanual Swedenborg, theologian and scientist from the 1700’s. His spiritual illumination of the Bible is the basis for its sponsoring Christian denomination, the Swedenborgian Church.

Today, what you are looking at is not a glass church but a “tree chapel.” Chapel architect Lloyd Wright, son of the renowned American architectural pioneer Frank Lloyd Wright, had been inspired by the cathedral-like majesty of the redwood trees in northern California. The redwood trees that surround the Chapel are forming living walls and roof. Since its dedication in May 1951, millions of visitors have toured the Wayfarers Chapel and its surrounding gardens.

Like so much of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the views are stunning from the Wayfarers Chapel. A new Visitor's Center provides more history and a gift shop, while the grounds are free to roam.

Some pics from the Wayfarers Chapel:

L.A.'s First Congregational Church Tries to Save Ricky Gervais

Spotted tonight on my drive home: The First Congregational Church of Los Angeles would like a few words with noted atheist Ricky Gervais.

UPDATE: Looks like this photo is going viral, via Rainn Wilson and Will Arnett. Too bad no one's crediting Franklin Avenue! Grr.

L.A. Shoot: A Rainy Police Funeral on Wilshire

Wilshire Blvd. was backed up this morning to make room for a heavily attended police funeral. Umbrellas were up and the city's Finest were decked in blue.

Except... you guessed it. There was no actual police funeral in Los Angeles on Wednesday. It wasn't raining. And those weren't real cops.

It was another in what's always a common sight in L.A.: A film shoot. What made this unique, however, was the sheer number of extras, all dressed in police uniform, standing on the steps of the Gothic revival 1928 Immanuel Presbyterian Church.



I didn't get a chance to see what this shoot was for -- including whether it was a TV show or a movie. But given the choice of church and the number of umbrellas, I think it's safe to assume the shoot isn't for a project actually set in Los Angeles (so it wasn't "Law & Order: LA"). Could it be TV's "Blue Bloods"? Or perhaps something else?

I haven't been able to ID it just yet; On Location Vacations, which does a pretty good job putting together outdoor shoot roundups, has nothing on its site.

Images from San Francisco: St. Boniface Catholic Church

In searching for a Catholic church during our recent trip to San Francisco, we discovered St. Boniface, ornate Gothic/Romanesque Revival church built in 1900 (and rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake). It's located in the Tenderloin neighborhood, and services a fairly poor parish. That makes its mission all the more important -- and why it's great to see that the church, which came close to demolition in 2002, was still able to raise enough funds to be seismically retrofitted and restored.

According to the church, the original St. Boniface Church was dedicated in April 1860 and served as the center of San Francisco's German Catholic community. The new church was built in its current spot in 1900 -- but had to be rebuilt after the earthquake.
The 2002 retrofit lasted five years, at a cost of $12 million. "During the retrofit construction project, workers excavating beneath the heavy stone walls found the ashes and crumbled mosaics of the 1906 cataclysm," the church said. "It was said to be several feet deep. St. Boniface Parish in San Francsico is quite literally built upon the ashes of the past."

Here are some shots we took at the church:

Los Angeles' Most Welcoming Church: The Immigrant Sanctuary at La Placita

Great profile in this weekend's Los Angeles Times of Our Lady Queen of Angels church -- the church located across the street from El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument (the birthplace of L.A. and home to Olvera Street). Popularly known by its nickname, "La Placita," the church has played a big role through the years in supporting immigrant rights, as the Times writes:

For a century, the fates of Los Angeles, La Placita church and the priests of the Claretian Missionary order who serve there have been inextricably intertwined with provocative politics and courageous acts of faith.

In the 1920s, Father Medardo Brualla fearlessly entered a quarantined area near the church to minister last rites to those dying of the Black Plague and contracted the disease, dying a few days later.

In the 1960s, Father Thomas Matyschok led parishioners to protest bulldozers tearing down their Chavez Ravine homes for Dodger Stadium.

In the 1980s, Father Luis Olivares braved death threats and political censure to declare the church the city's first sanctuary for undocumented Salvadoran immigrants fleeing civil war.

In the 2000s, Father Richard Estrada helped organize some of the biggest protests in city history, bringing out hundreds of thousands of marchers against legislation aimed at criminalizing illegal immigrants and those who aid them.

With the recent ruling in Arizona, La Placita is once again serving as L.A.'s epicenter for immigrant rights, the paper writes.

We have a soft spot in our hearts for La Placita; it's where we got married in 2002.

Meet Cardinal Mahony's Replacement

(Photo: Eric Gay/AP)

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Los Angeles archdiocese leader Cardinal Roger M. Mahony's potential replacement, the L.A. Times reports:

The pontiff appointed Jose Gomez as co-adjutor archbishop of Los Angeles, an assisting position that essentially puts him first in line to succeed Mahony, who reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops in February.

Gomez is archbishop of San Antonio, a post he took up five years ago, during the last few months of John Paul II's papacy. Gomez, 58, is also a member of Opus Dei, the controversial order favored by John Paul II for its conservative teachings.

The selection of Gomez was apparently a nod to the demographics of Los Angeles, where Latinos form a large part of the overall population and especially of the region's Roman Catholics. Gomez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and speaks fluent Spanish.

There's obviously huge symbolism to naming a Latino bishop to the Los Angeles post.

Christmas at the Cathedral, and Denied at the Dorothy Chandler

After the church we usually attend -- Los Feliz's St. Casimir -- decided to move its Christmas Eve mass to 10 p.m. (waaay too late for us, as we had a family gathering that evening), we discovered that downtown's Cathedral had scheduled its family-targeted Christmas Eve mass at much more workable 4 p.m.



The $189 million Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, opened up in 2002. Erected to replace downtown's old St. Vibiana cathedral -- damaged in the 1994 Northridge quake, and now remade by Tom Gilmore into a special events venue -- came with plenty of controversy.

The high cost of some of the Cathedral's features led to the nickname the "Taj Mahony" -- a dig at Cardinal Roger Mahony, who heads up the Los Angeles archdiocese.



We briefly investigated getting married at the Cathedral back in 2002, but the timing didn't work (plus, we ultimately decided to go with the Plaza Church -- La Placita -- in El Pueblo de Los Angeles). As a result, we had never actually attended Mass at the Cathedral until Wednesday night. (Above, tapestries of saints by painter John Nava hang on the walls.)



I'm glad we did. Surprisingly, it was crowded, but not packed; there was plenty of room for attendees at the Cathedral (which holds 3,000). And because it was geared toward families with small kids, it wasn't an overly long service. Most interestingly, Cardinal Mahony was there (above, he greets folks after Mass) -- and while he didn't preside over the Mass, he did remain on the altar and give a blessing at the end.



The timing of the Mass was also perfect for several local TV news teams -- KCBS/KCAL, KABC and (I believe) KTTV were all there. (Above, a KCBS/KCAL cameraman does double duty.)



Meanwhile, the 4 p.m. time meant that we had time to stroll over across the street to the Music Center, with the hopes of checking out the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration.

Something else we've been meaning to do for years, the annual event -- which takes place from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- features countless performers, and is free to attendees, who come and go throughout the show.



We naively thought we could stroll in and check it out. Uh, not quite. The line from the door snaked down the entire length of the Music Center.

We didn't have time to spend 45 minutes in line, and instead walked around the Music Center, where others who opted not to join the queue were milling about. A big screen erected in the Music Center plaza featured what was going on inside (via the live simulcast on KCET).



Even though we didn't get in, there was a jubilant mood there in the plaza, as we walked around with a few hundred other Angelenos on Christmas Eve -- the crisp air, the tall, sparking Christmas tree lights, the downtown skyline, the music piped outdoors from the stage. A pretty cool Los Angeles experience.

Msgr. John Kucingis, Founded Los Feliz's St. Casimir's Church

We wrote several years ago about the quirky Catholic church in Los Feliz, St. Casimir's, which we attend and where Blogger Preschooler was baptized.

The secret about St. Casimir's no frills mass: It's done in 30 minutes. That may be one reason the Lithuanian church's English masses are so packed with non-Lithuanians. (And that's part of the charm: A mostly Filipino congregation being led by a Lithuanian priest. God Bless America!)

St. Casimir's founder Msgr. John Kucingis passed away on Jan. 6, having just celebrated his 100th birthday two weeks prior.

Kucingis, who was ordained as a priest in 1937, took over St. Casimir's Lithuanian Church Parish in Los Angeles in 1947 (it had been founded in 1941) after fleeing his homeland. Kucingis lived through the German and Russian occupations of his country, but was arrested four times by Soviet police in the 1940s before escaping first to Germany and then to the United States in 1946. The L.A. Times obit notes:

Kucingis (led) efforts to build the parish church, school, rectory and convent. He encouraged church members to sponsor Lithuanian refugees and speak out about Communist repression in their homeland.

"We were thrown out of our country," Kucingis told The Times in 1969. "We were happy there. Like all people who are exiled, we brought a mission with us, to help those at home who are suffering, to be a loudspeaker for the whole world."

Kucingis retired in 1984, but continued to live at the church. He was laid to rest last Saturday.

St. Casimir's continues to serve as the centerpiece for Lithuanian life in Southern California; the church holds a popular annual Lithuanian carnival, among other events. Its school, however, was closed last year due to declining enrollment; Holy Trinity School took over the buildings to expand to a second campus.

Urban Mystery: What Was This Building?

These days, it's the Christ Church, at 635 S. Manhattan Pl. (near Wilshire). But I'm thinking this building was once home to something else. A library? A school? An organization of some sort? What was this building? If you know -- or if you even have a guess -- comment below.