Converted : Congregation Changes Mind; Church to Be Saved

In a surprise about-face, the congregation of First Baptist Church of San Pedro has voted overwhelmingly to renovate and preserve their 69-year-old church, rather than demolish it and build a new one.

The decision ends an unusual six-month battle over the historic church in which a preservation-minded developer stepped in to try to save the building, despite the determination of church leaders to tear it down rather than bring it up to earthquake safety standards.

Last September, just days before church officials were to break ground for a new building, developer Gary Larson nominated the church, at 555 W. 7th St., for status as a city historic landmark. Preservationists would have a year to try to save the building if the City Council approved landmark status.

Tentative Approval

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, a city agency, said the church--with its thick Roman columns and broad stained-glass windows--qualified for landmark status. But the council gave only tentative approval and gave Larson and church leaders six months to work out an agreement.

Monday night, after spending five years and $56,000 on plans for the new building, the church leaders announced they thought Larson’s proposal made sense.

At a special meeting of the congregation, the leaders said it would be substantially cheaper to renovate the church. They also said recent interest in the building’s history could attract new members. They recommended that the congregation abandon its plans for a new building.

The congregation agreed by a vote of 41 to 2.

Wilson Dean Blackwelder, chairman of the church building committee and previously a staunch advocate of a new building, acknowledged that the church’s board of deacons, which includes Pastor George Hansen, felt sheepish about the switch. Blackwelder said even he was surprised by his conclusion, which he reached after writing the pros and cons on a sheet of paper.

Changed Directions

“We took the ball, and we ran toward the goal as far as we could, and then all of a sudden in one fell swoop, we picked up and ran in the opposite direction,” Blackwelder told the congregation. “Well, you must remember, in every game there’s a half time, and at half time they switch the goals.”

Larson had come to the meeting expecting to be forced into defending his proposal for renovation. Just a month ago, he wrote to Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores that “the church building committee continues to stonewall.” Monday night, the developer flushed with nervousness after the leaders announced their recommendation.

“You threw me for a loop,” Larson, who is not a member of the church, told Blackwelder. Then, addressing the congregation, he said: “This was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, in interfering with the dictates of the church. I know that I came in at the 11th hour, but I felt so strongly about it, I just had to.”

Larson, who has renovated the Arcade building several blocks from the church in downtown San Pedro, got construction bids that showed that First Baptist could be reinforced and renovated for about $250,000--considerably less than the $650,000 it would cost to build a new church that would have been half the size of the old one.

In addition, Larson has arranged for a $50,000 loan for the renovations, and for an interior decorator to donate her services.

Church leaders had initially contended that although renovation would be cheaper, the new church could be constructed in phases and would be less expensive in the short term. In addition, they said a new church, with a street-level entrance rather than stairs and new, modern bathrooms, would be more accessible to their small congregation and would perhaps attract new members.

But Larson’s plan included installing an elevator, modernizing the bathrooms and remodeling the interior of the church to make better use of space. Blackwelder said Larson convinced church leaders that although “the building does have deficiencies and drawbacks . . . there are ways of meeting them.”

The congregation’s vote makes moot the effort to have the church declared a landmark. The council was scheduled to consider the matter next Wednesday, but church officials and Larson agree that a historic designation could restrict their flexibility in renovating the church. Neither side will press the matter, although church officials said they might like a historic designation in the future. The start date for renovation has not been determined.

During Monday’s meeting, which was peppered with prayer and hymns, only one member of the congregation spoke in favor of continuing with the building plans. Others said they wanted to preserve the church because of their memories, and because it is a piece of San Pedro’s history.

“I have seen the rape of San Pedro,” said one tearful member, recounting how her heart breaks each time she passes the apartment house that replaced the home she grew up in. “I’m sure that if this building gets torn down, my heart will be broken, too.”

Still others said they believe that preserving the church was God’s will.

“I believe that God has sent people to cause certain things to happen,” one woman said. “I believe he used Gary Larson.”