Byzantine Latino Quarter - TheBLQ.org

THE BYZANTINE LATINO QUARTER - PLACES

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St. Sophia Cathedral
1324 S. Normandie Avenue
St. Sophia Cathedral — stsophia.org

The need for a cathedral for members of the Greek Orthodox religion in Los Angeles resulted in the construction of what many architectural experts consider to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Constructed between 1948-1952, the church was designed along traditional Byzantine lines, with no exterior architectural decorations. The interior contains numerous murals, icons and rich bronze furnishings. The interior dome, measuring 90 feet from floor to top and 30 feet across, has 24 windows around it. In the nave, which seats 850 people, there are 21 massive crystal chandeliers. One major departure from Byzantine architectural tradition is the elimination of columns, which provide unobstructed vision for the worshipers. In 1973, St. Sophia’s Cathedral was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument.

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
1831 W. Washington Boulevard

Rosedale comprises sixty-five acres of land facing Washington and Normandie and Walton and Catalina Streets. Incorporated on June 9, 1883, the facility featured the first crematorium in the West. Rosedale was the first of the Southland’s burial places to serve people of all races and creeds, including Oscar-winning actress Hattie McDaniel, jazz pianist Art Tatum, and actress Anna May Wong. Rosedale possesses outstanding examples of funerary architecture. The cemetery was first to adopt the concept of “memorial park” whose grounds were enhanced with decorative trees, shrubs, flowers, natural scenery and works of art.

In addition to 450 veterans, from the Grand Army of the Republic, many prominent figures are interred at Rosedale such as: Jessie Benton Fremont, Remi Nadeau, Phineas Banning, John Bradbury, James Slauson, Fredrick Rindge, C.I.D. Moore, Thomas Stimson, and Caroline Severance.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church
1321 S. Mariposa Avenue
St. Thomas the Apostle Church — stthomasla.org

St. Thomas the Apostle Church is one of the strong and flourishing parishes in Los Angeles. The Church, built after the style of the Old Missions of California, with a touch of the Fourteenth Century Spanish Renaissance architecture, was completed for worship on December 25, 1905. The parish was established on August 1, 1903, by the Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Conaty. Since the demolition of St. Vivian’s, St. Thomas is the second oldest Catholic Church building in Los Angeles. Currently, St. Thomas the Apostle Church serves over 8,000 people each week. The church seats 700 people with 10 masses a week.

Loyola High School of Los Angeles Jesuit Prepatory
1901 Venice Boulevard
Loyola High School of Los Angeles Jesuit Prepatory — loyolahs.net

In 1865, the year the Civil War ended, Bishop Thaddeus Amat convinced three of his Vincentian confreres – not the Jesuits – to found a school for young men and located it at the Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. In 1911, the educational venture at St. Vincent’s was handed over to the Jesuits and moved to a new location in Highland Park. Six years later, the Jesuit faculty and student body moved to Venice Boulevard, and in 1918, the institution was re-christened Loyola College and High School. In 1929, the college division moved to Westchester, and the Venice Boulevard campus became solely the high school.

The school’s student body is drawn from over 160 parochial, private, and public elementary schools in the greater Los Angeles area, and reflects the multi-ethnic and varied economic status and strata of the city. Loyola enjoys one of the best equipped and most beautiful prep school campuses in California.

Bishop Conaty - Our Lady of Loretto High School
2900 West Pico Boulevard
Bishop Conaty - Our Lady of Loretto High School — bishopconatyloretto.org

Originally named Catholic Girls High School, Bishop Conaty - Our Lady of Loretto High School was opened in September 1923 during the episcopate of Archbishop John J. Cantwell. It was the first diocesan high school built to serve the needs of young Catholic women throughout the Los Angeles area and was erected in memory of his predecessor, Bishop Thomas Conaty. In 1955, the school was renamed Bishop Conaty memory High School and it assumed it present name in 1989 to reflect the consolidation of Our Lady of Loretto High School and Bishop Conaty at the Conaty site. As a result of earthquake damage, the original building was razed and construction of the new facility was completed in 1994. The southeast wing contains six classrooms built in the 1950's, and remains part of the existing complex. The Pico entrance to the school replicates the original facade of the 1920's building. The school currently serves a multicultural population from a large geographical area and reflects the rich cultural diversity of the community. The West Pico Campus offers a beautiful, peaceful environment in which students learn and grow.

French Lodge Masonic Temple

Of all the constituent Lodges of the Grand Lodge of California, the Valleede France Lodge No. 329 (known as the French Lodge), of Los Angeles, probably has the most unusual history. The Lodge worked only in the French language and was composed mostly of members of French descent. Its first charter was obtained from some obscure body in Louisiana; later, on November 30, 1902, another charter was issued by Grande Lodge Symbolique Ecossaire in Paris, France. As such, it was considered a clandestine Lodge by the Grand Lodge of California. Special dispensation was given to work in the French language, and to confer the first degree of Masonry in the same manner as it has been done in France for centuries. Any Mason who has seen the work can vouch for its impressiveness.

The former Masonic Temple is presently occupied by Musica Latina, a popular international music store with the Byzantine-Latino Quarter.

"Immigrant," mural
El Tigre Market, exterior
Pico Blvd. at Hoover (northeast corner)
1992: oil, 10' x 30'
Juan Hector Ponce

Central Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist: Iglesia Adventista Central
1366 South Alvarado Street

Architect Elmer Gray designed this Beauz Arts / Italian / Spanish Romanesque church edifice for the First Church of Christ, Scientist and construction began on June 10, 1912. For six decades the building served as the central church for this denomination locally. The building was sold in 1972 and was converted to use by the Disciples of Christ congregation of People’s Temple Christian Church. The Central Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1971 by the City of Los Angeles.

Alvarado Terrace
1300 Block of Alvarado Terrace

Each of these five exclusive residences was constructed circa 1902. Perhaps the most historically significant residence is the house at 1345 Alvarado Terrace, built and lived in by Pomeroy Powers, president of the Los Angeles City Council from 1900 to 1904. As a real estate developer, Powers also constructed the house next door at 1333 Alvarado Terrace, a home with unusual utilization of oak and stone with excellent carving throughout. These houses are private residences and not open to the public.