St. James' Episcopal Church (South Pasadena, California)

St. James' Episcopal Church
St. James Episcopal Church in 2022
St. James' Episcopal Church Location within Los Angeles County St. James' Episcopal Church St. James' Episcopal Church (California) Show map of California St. James' Episcopal Church St. James' Episcopal Church (the United States) Show map of the United States
34°06′42″N 118°09′13″W / 34.1116991°N 118.153701°W / 34.1116991; -118.153701
Location	1325 Monterey Road, South Pasadena, California^[1]
Country	United States
Language(s)	English
Denomination	Episcopal
Tradition	High Church Anglicanism
Churchmanship	Progressive
Website	www.sjcsp.org
History
Status	Church
Dedicated	May 19, 1907 (1907-05-19)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Bertram Goodhue of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson^[2]
Style	Gothic Revival Romanesque Revival^[3]
Years built	1907^[1]
Administration
Province	Province VIII
Diocese	Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
Clergy
Rector	Vacant
Priest in charge	Rev. Dr. Michelle Baker-Wright
Assistant priest(s)	Rev. Gethin Wied
Honorary priest(s)	Canon Anne Tumilty
Laity
Organist(s)	Jason Klein-Mendoza
Treasurer	Komal Tolani
Youth ministry coordinator	Lucy Yates
Music group(s)	Sarah Gonzalez, Music director
Parish administrator	Sara Jane Thies
Sacristan	James Holguin

St. James' Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, California, and part of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

The church's mission is "To Learn, to Love, to Live the Word of God."^[4]

History

The church began informally in 1890 as St. Andrews Mission, with support from All Saints Episcopal Church in nearby Pasadena.^[2] In 1905, a temporary structure was built on the corner of Monterey Road and Fremont Avenue, where the current church would be later built.^[2]

Building

The historic church was designed by chief architect Bertram Goodhue^[2] of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson in a mix of Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival architectural styles.^[3] The church is #33 on South Pasadena's list of historic landmarks.^[2] The stained glass windows were made by Judson Studios.^[2]^[5]

In 1919, a $3,000 (equivalent to $51,000 in 2022) addition was started, which included a stage and dressing rooms.^[6] The chimes were donated to the building by aviator Pancho Barnes,^[7] who, on January 5, 1921, had married Rev. C. Rankin Barnes at the church.^[7]

The tower was damaged in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake.^[8] When the tower was repaired and retrofitted to meet earthquake protection standards,^[2] the chapel's pillars were narrowed, which had been obstructing views of the front of the church from rear pews.^[8]

Notable events

The church was the site of the 1929 wedding of actress Bessie Love to William Hawks, attended by such celebrities as Ronald Colman and William Powell, mobbed by a crowd of 25,000, and documented in Cecil Beaton's Diaries.^[9]^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "Chapter V: Historic Preservation Element" (PDF). City of South Pasadena General Plan. p. V-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Our History". St. James' Episcopal Church.
^ ^a ^b "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). p. 39.
^ "St. James' Episcopal Church". The Episcopal Church.
^ "Judson Stained Glass Studios began 88 years ago in LA" (PDF). Highland Park News-Herald. March 3, 1984.
^ "Los Angeles". The Living Church. Vol. 62, no. 9. December 27, 1919. p. 283.
^ ^a ^b Spark, Nick (12 August 2015). "Chimes for St. James Episcopal Church". The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club.
^ ^a ^b Tansey, Ben (May 22, 2019). "A Rich Tapestry of Historical Churches: SPPF 'Architecture of Faith'". South Pasadenan.
^ Beaton, Cecil (1961). "America 1929–1931". Diaries: 1922–1939, The Wandering Years. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. LCCN 62-8059.
^ "L.A.'s Big Show: Marriage of Bessie Love", Variety, vol. 97, no. 12, p. 6, January 1, 1930

External links

This page was last edited on 4 January 2024, at 00:43