Council Appears to Switch on Razing Churches

Five years ago, with the blessings of the Los Angeles City Council, the historic downtown First United Methodist Church was torn down and a black top parking lot was put in its place.

Now the City Council is facing similar circumstances with the landmark “Jesus Saves” church on Hope Street, three blocks north of that parking lot. But this time, it appears that the City Council may try to hold back the wrecking ball--preserving, ironically, what some experts say is a second-rate example of cultural heritage, especially compared to the magnificent old Methodist church. Council action could come as early as this week.

The difference this time is a charismatic, controversial television preacher named Gene Scott.

Campaigning from the church and his Glendale TV studio, lobbying at City Hall and maneuvering in the courts, the irreverent, flamboyant Scott has mixed an odd brew of politics, showmanship and community guilt in an effort to make the landmark church known for its two neon, rooftop “JESUS SAVES” signs a cause celebre.

In the process, he won a preliminary victory two weeks ago when a council majority voted to explore designating the building a cultural monument. The action was the reverse of the demolition order it granted for the former Methodist church property. Moreover, it contrasted with the position the council took two years ago, when it enthusiastically approved a plan for the owners--the Church of the Open Door--to sell the “Jesus Saves” church to developers who would raze the building in favor of a skyscraper. At that time, there was no campaign to save the church.

But as the convoluted, contentious struggle over the church’s fate moves back into City Hall, a resolution is far from clear.

Even downtown City Councilman Gilbert W. Lindsay, who has been a key ally of Scott, professed in an interview Friday that he was not sure who owns the building.

Such confusion is understandable. After an acrimonious legal fight, the courts ruled last week that its rightful owner is the evangelistic Church of the Open Door, which has been portrayed by Scott as the culprit in what the TV preacher calls “the Battle of Hope Street.”

Like the Methodists before them, the pastors and congregation of the Church of the Open Door say they simply want a fair price for the property to advance their ministry. Hurt by dwindling attendance, the church in recent years relocated to a 40-acre site in Glendora in an effort to re-establish a family-oriented ministry, Associate Pastor Dale Wolery says.

Regained Title

Last week, the church regained title from Scott’s Wescott Christian Center after the courts found that Scott had defaulted on his 1986 agreement to buy the church for $23 million. After paying more than $6.5 million toward the purchase, Scott stopped payment and sought to void the original deal, claiming that the title was clouded by litigation that raised pre-existing deed restrictions. The litigation is pending.

In what apparently was his farewell sermon at the “Jesus Saves” church, Scott claimed that he still holds valid leases on the church but said he will turn over the keys to Church of the Open Door rather than fight for possession of the property. But he promised to promote the building for monument status, reiterating his vow that it will be destroyed “over my dead body.”

If the council agrees to preserve it--perhaps as an ecumenical center, he suggested--Scott said he will foot the maintenance bills. In “advancing to the rear,” as Scott put it, the preacher said he hopes to quell suspicion that his strategy has been to drive the cost of the building down for his benefit.

On Scott’s side in the debate is the preservationist group, the Los Angeles Conservancy, and several council members following the unlikely lead of Councilman Lindsay. Normally a supporter of development, Lindsay two weeks ago appeared to have the votes he needed to designate the church a cultural monument.

Forestall Foreclosure

The move was stalled because the property, at that time, had been placed by Scott’s religious conglomerate into federal bankruptcy proceedings in an unsuccessful attempt to forestall foreclosure.

Aligned with the Church of the Open Door are a private hotel firm that is co-owner of the property and developers who would like to put up another skyscraper in the heart of the city’s financial district.

A vocal council minority, including Marvin Braude and Ernani Bernardi, have raised ethical concerns about the City Council intervening in a dispute between two private parties--two churches.

Pastors of the Church of the Open Door, who Sunday had church members praying for the City Council to leave their church alone, say the basic issue is one of fairness.

They note that two years ago, when the council enthusiastically endorsed a Church of the Open Door-supported development plan in which the building would be sold and razed for skyscrapers, there was no hue and cry that the church be saved. That plan, which would have provided more than $20 million to help restore and expand the neighboring Central Library, ultimately fell through, prompting the sale to Scott.

Strong Campaign

The preservationist Los Angeles Conservancy, which had earlier waged a strong campaign to save First United Methodist Church, chose not to act.

“There was really no alternative at the time,” said Ruthann Lehrer, director of the conservancy. “The preservation community recognized that the church was important.”

However, the benefits to the historic Central Library were so great, Lehrer said, that “that plan was accepted with reluctance by our organizations.”

‘Quite Significant but . . . ‘

Comparing the “Jesus Saves” church with the Methodist church, Lehrer said the Methodist structure was “an architectural and historic landmark of the highest rank,” while the other Hope Street church is “quite significant, but not at that level.”

David Gebhard, professor of architectural history at University of California, Santa Barbara, and co-author of the book “Architecture in Los Angeles: A Complete Guide,” said the 72-year-old “Jesus Saves” church is “not outstanding.”

“This is not a choice gem of downtown Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s very typical of the time. But we need to be careful to preserve, every now and then, an example of the normal, the commonplace.”

More Valuable

Lehrer said that if the brick-and-terra cotta Methodist church had been located at the “Jesus Saves” site, the conservancy “absolutely” would have fought the earlier development plan. But the fact that the Methodist church is gone makes the “Jesus Saves” church more valuable, she said.

“We don’t have many buildings of that type,” she said. “It is the single remaining large-scale church in downtown that has survived.”

Softer Market Cited

Lehrer asserted that a variety of factors, including a softer real estate market, have contributed to the council’s apparent shift in attitude. In 1982, the Methodist group had already entered escrow on a $9-million sale to Pacific Lighting Co., parent corporation of the neighboring Southern California Gas Co. The gas company, a major downtown employer, said it needs the property for expansion.

The Methodist congregation, drawing 300 worshipers into a 3,000-seat church, could no longer afford the upkeep, the Rev. Mark Fink recalled. Unlike the Church of the Open Door, the Methodist group--dating to 1853 as the oldest continuing Protestant congregation in Los Angeles--remained downtown, moving to an office building at Flower Street and Olympic Boulevard.

Both Cases

Lindsay, whose district includes both church sites, also took a leadership role in the 1982 decision. Asked last week why he supports preservation of the “Jesus Saves” church but favored the sale and demolition of the Methodist church, the councilman said that in both cases he thought he was supporting the ministries that owned the properties.

“I agreed with the pastor and the people who owned the church,” the councilman recalled. “And I thought I was agreeing with the pastor and people of this church,” he added, referring to Scott and his flock.

When he was told that the owner is not Scott’s ministry but the Church of the Open Door, the councilman turned his palms up and smiled.

“I don’t know who owns it now,” he said.

Contributing to this story was Times staff writer Russell Chandler.