13g 946-948 West Adams Blvd - Second Church of Christ Scientist, Los Angeles - HCM-57 - NRHP-87000576 (E)

13g 946-948 West Adams Blvd – Second Church of Christ Scientist, Los Angeles – HCM-57 – NRHP-87000576 (E)


Image by Kansas Sebastian
National Register of Historic Places No. 87000576, 4/2/1987
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 57
__________

Art of Living Foundation
Formerly the Second Church of Christ Scientist, 1910
946 West Adams Blvd
Alfred H. Rosenheim
Belgravia Tract, Lots 4 & 5
University Park

Sanctuary

Built in 1907 to 1910 the Second Church of Christ Scientist is a Los Angeles icon. Visable from the 10 freeway, especially at night with it’s lighted dome, it graces the Historic West Adams skyline. Alfred Rosenheim designed the church in the Classical Style, mixed with Beaux Arts. It’s most prominant features are the massive Corinthian columns supporting a huge pediment, and the large copper coated dome. The dome is 130 feet tall, 75 feet in diameter, and weighs 1,400 tons. The building is covered with glazed Terra Cotta tiles (most likely Gladding McBean) and nearly every window is filled with stained and/or milk glass. A January 22, 1910, LA Times article hails it as the "The most beautify and costly in the West."

The interior has remained completely original. Mahogany graces the reception hall and grand staircases. The fellowship hall and Sunday school classrooms on the lower level are comfortable and warm with an expanse of oak flooring and wainscotting. In the basement are the original workings of the building, including the air intake and exhaust fans, and the organ bellows. Ornate original light fixtures can be found throughout the building.

The coup de gras, of course, is the sanctuary under the dome, which seats approximately 1,200 people. The sanctuary is in the most need of restoration, but it hasn’t lost it’s ability to awe. Some of the canvas is peeling away and hangs down, and some of the paint is chipped. The accoustics are perfect, however. An attendee sitting in the back row can hear a speaker on the dias without a microphone as if they were sitting in the front row. The original organ and piping still exist and are usable.

When I was first introduced to the this historic structure in the mid-nineties, the congregation had dwindled to about 20 members. Maintaining the property had become problematic. In 2009 it was sold to the Art of Living Foundation. According to our tour guide (a kind worker there who recently agreed to show us around), the foundation is planning a complete restoration of the property.

Art of Living: artoflivingwest.org/
Wikipedia: Second Church of Christ Scientists: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Church_of_Christ,_Scientist_…

Tags:946948, Adams, Angeles, Blvd, Christ, Church, HCM57, NRHP87000576, scientist, second, west