Reverent Restoration : Tiny Ramona Chapel, Steeped in History, Gets a Face Lift in Newhall

Gary Cooper became an honorary Sioux there. Rudy Vallee--by some accounts--said his wedding vows there.

But the people who visit Ramona Chapel in Heritage Square in Newhall probably know little of the stories and myths surrounding the tiny wooden building which, like a tattered wedding dress, displays a faded loveliness. Most people are drawn to the chapel simply because it is unique and charming.

“It does seem to get a lot of attention,” said Bob Diem, who is overseeing the chapel’s restoration for the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. The chapel, built about 1925, is perhaps the most popular attraction at Heritage Square, a collection of antique buildings maintained by the society.

“It’s the one that attracts people right away,” said Paul Kruetzer, society president.

“It’s a delightful little building,” said Jerry Reynolds, another society member. “I wish it were twice as big as it was. It seats about 12--if they’re friendly.”

Bell for Ringing

Part of its attraction, Kruetzer said, is the spire’s bell, which people ring by yanking a rope hanging down the side of the building. Newly engaged couples often ask when the restoration work will be completed. “They want to get married in it,” he said.

The couples will have a long wait. The society began restoring the outside of the chapel this summer and poured a concrete base for the wooden steps last week. The group hopes to complete the work by December, Diem said. Fixing the inside, which has suffered from years of neglect, will take longer, he said.

The chapel was built for Callahan’s Mission Village, an early theme park of sorts that was located where the Santa Monica and Golden State freeways intersect southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Reynolds said it was designed by Carrie Jacobs Bond, a well-known songwriter of the era who composed “I Love You Truly,” “The End of a Perfect Day” and other “soggy stuff.”

The chapel was used for weddings and as a movie set but was not used for regular religious services. Rudy Vallee supposedly was married there, but Reynolds said he hasn’t confirmed that story. But it is true that the park’s owner, Robert Callahan, who was part Indian, had Gary Cooper officially inducted into the Sioux Nation at the chapel.

“We do have pictures of Gary Cooper there with his war bonnet on,” Reynolds said.

Chapel Was Showpiece

It’s also true that the village was “quite the spot for the movie crowd in the ‘20s,” Reynolds said. And the showpiece of the village was the Ramona Chapel, Kruetzer said.

When the Santa Monica Freeway displaced the village in 1962, Callahan had the chapel carted off to Canyon Country to create a new theme park along Sierra Highway. Callahan was hit by a train two years later and, although he lived until 1981, his health faltered and the Canyon Country park went into decline.

Callahan’s widow donated the chapel to the society, which trucked it to the Newhall park in 1987. The move will be long remembered by the historical society.

“We lifted it up and, holy cow, this swarm of bees came out of there,” Reynolds said. “People scattered in all different directions.” The movers promptly bought several cans of bee repellent. “It took half a day to get the bees out,” Kruetzer said.