Bid to Save Cathedral Intensifies

The campaign to save St. Vibiana’s Roman Catholic Cathedral from demolition intensified Monday as preservationists named the downtown Los Angeles church building as one of the nation’s most endangered historic places and offered financial details on possibly restoring it as part of a hotel, office or cultural complex.

In Washington, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the 121-year cathedral on its annual “endangered” list, along with 10 other sites such as the Wa’ahila Ridge in Hawaii and decaying portions of Ellis Island in New York. The listings by the nonprofit advocacy group have no legal status but have served as powerful public relations tools in battles to stave off wrecking cranes or nearby construction that would harm landmarks.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Conservancy released the final portion of a study that contends it would make financial sense for a buyer to rehabilitate the closed cathedral and give the Spanish Baroque style structure a new use.

In March, nine theoretical design proposals were unveiled and Monday their potential costs were revealed. They ranged from $7.6 million for turning the church at 2nd and Main streets into a senior citizens center surrounded by 100 units of housing to $88.4 million for a 10-story office center for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which would use the cathedral as a ceremonial lobby.

All nine proposals include $4.76 million for seismic retrofitting of the quake-damaged landmark--about 25% of what engineers hired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese estimated last year. And in another conflict, the conservancy report suggests that a fair selling price for the cathedral and its two-acre property between skid row and Little Tokyo would be $3 million.

Father Gregory Coiro, the archdiocese spokesman, said $3 million “is way, way below what we would be asking, and it seems rather self-serving for the conservancy to be offering public figures on our property.” He said the archdiocese won’t release a sale price until an appraisal is done.

Knowledgeable sources say that Cardinal Roger M. Mahony wants at least $6 million, which he would then use to help pay for a new $50-million cathedral planned for Temple Street and Grand Avenue near the Hollywood Freeway.

The archdiocese began razing St. Vibiana’s last June in hopes of building a replacement on the Main Street land. But a Superior Court judge quickly halted the work for lack of proper permits. As subsequent court rulings also delayed any more demolition, the archdiocese switched sites for its new cathedral. However, the city still insists the old church building remains a safety hazard and is drafting an environmental study that could facilitate the demolition of the building next year.

Coiro wouldn’t put a time frame on possible demolition and acknowledged that several developers have approached the archdiocese about the possible INS project.

Conservancy President Jack Rubens said he hopes that Monday’s report--by the USC School of Architecture and 16 architecture and economic consulting firms--will persuade the cardinal that “the property is worth more with the cathedral on it rather than a cleared site.”

In addition to the 100-unit senior housing project and INS office, the study estimated construction costs for the seven other ideas and then subtracted potential tax credits for preservation. Potential funding problems are acknowledged. For example, a $23.8-million proposal for a 300-unit senior apartment project would depend “on significant private fund-raising” and the $46.2-million concept for a Japanese trade mission and electronics mall might need Japanese government backing, the report stated.

Described as “the most viable commercial use,” hotel projects might use the church for conferences, banquets and weddings. Construction costs are estimated at $28.2 million for a surrounding 123-room hotel, $58.3 million for 236 rooms and $83.3 for 394 rooms. Despite hotel vacancies in downtown, the study authors insist there is demand in Little Tokyo for such a facility.

Cultural uses might include a new $25.4 million home for the Latino Cultural Museum, now a block away; a music school and 800-seat recital hall ($58.3 million) and an interfaith religious center ($47.8 million.)

In Washington, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust, referred to the Los Angeles study. “Religious properties play an enormously significant role in a community’s life and sense of place. While they can’t always serve their original purpose, we need to find creative uses for these neighborhood anchors,” he said.

In 1994, the trust placed the historic McDonald’s hamburger stand in Downey on the endangered list. Preservationists contend that it was a crucial step toward the reopening in December of the nation’s oldest remaining McDonald’s.

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Endangered Places

Other sites on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list for this year are:

* Congressional Cemetery, Washington

* Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana

* Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine, Fla.

* Cranston Street Armory, Providence, R.I.

* Montezuma Castle hotel, New Mexico

* Stillwater Bridge, Minnesota

* Vicksburg Campaign Trail, Louisiana and Mississippi

* Wa’ahila mountain ridge, Hawaii

* Ellis Island

* Various termite-infested Gulf Coast buildings