Central Los Angeles : Bells May Be Tolling for Historic Downtown Church
The clock is ticking more loudly than ever for Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Mission, a tiny yellow church that once served Mexican Catholics who were not allowed to attend white churches.
A community group last month bought the beloved church in the Temple-Beaudry district from the Los Angeles Unified School District for $2,700. But the group must now find another site and raise $40,000 to move the church before Nov. 30 or it will be demolished.
School officials plan to build an 11-acre middle school campus on the site at Colton Street and Beaudry Avenue. Last year, community members who rented the building from the school district began offering children’s art workshops and staging plays in the church, which was built in the 1920s.
So far, little money has been raised to move the church.
Max Terronez, a project consultant, wants to lobby the school district to incorporate the church building into plans for the new school, possibly as a youth theater center.
“We think that it’s going to add a resource to the LAUSD as a very good tie-in with the Latino community,” Terronez said.
But with only three months to go, Terronez admits the wrecking ball may win this race.
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