St. James' Episcopal Church is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of the Episcopal Church in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It ...

, and part of the

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 48,874 Episcopalians in 147 congregations, 40 schools, and 18 major institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Rive ...

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

History

The church began informally in 1890 as St. Andrews Mission, with support from All Saints Episcopal Church in nearby

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

. In 1905, a temporary structure was built on the corner of Monterey Road and Fremont Avenue, where the current church would be later built.

Building

The historic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

was designed by chief architect

Bertram Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...

of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson in a mix of

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

architectural styles. The church is #33 on South Pasadena's list of historic landmarks. The stained glass windows were made by

Judson Studios Judson Studios is a fine arts studio specializing in stained glass located in the Highland Park section (also known as Garvanza) of northeast Los Angeles. The stained glass studio was founded in the Mott Alley section of downtown Los Angeles i ...

. In 1919, a $3,000 () addition was started, which included a stage and dressing rooms. The chimes were donated to the building by aviator Pancho Barnes, who, on January 5, 1921, had married Rev. C. Rankin Barnes at the church. The tower was damaged in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. When the tower was repaired and retrofitted to meet earthquake protection standards, the chapel's pillars were narrowed, which had been obstructing views of the front of the church from rear pews.

Notable events

The church was the site of the 1929 wedding of actress

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned e ...

William Hawks William Bellinger Hawks (January 29, 1901 – January 10, 1969) was an American film producer. Career Hawks attended Yale University, where he was a member of Scroll and Key and graduated in 1923. In his early career, Hawks was a stockbroker. ...

, attended by such celebrities as Ronald Colman and

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

, mobbed by a crowd of 25,000, and documented in

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

's ''Diaries''.

History

Building

Notable events

References

External links