Letters to the Editor: ‘Sister Aimee’ and her Angelus Temple still leave their mark on L.A.

To the editor: Thanks to Patt Morrison for her beautifully written piece on the landmarks of Los Angeles that turn 100 this year, including Angelus Temple.

My paternal grandparents, poor and uneducated Sicilian immigrants, were converted under Sister Aimee Semple McPherson’s inclusive ministry and attended the first service at Angelus Temple on Jan. 1, 1923. Twenty-two years later, my parents met at the college next door to the temple.

Though Sister Aimee endured endless conflicts before she died in 1944, her influence on my life and millions more worldwide is undeniable. And, the centennial of her scandalous disappearance is just three years from now.

Los Angeles is rich in amazing history. As author William Faulkner so aptly stated, “The past is never dead.”

David William Salvaggio, Redlands

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To the editor: We have a local treasure in Patt Morrison. She does the research and gives us a crash course in our history, architecture, politics, demographics and whatever else brings our city alive.

Her work is especially apt with snow atop our local mountains, making this metropolis look more beautiful than ever. It’s enough to make us all civic boosters even while acknowledging the wrinkles and pimples in our past and present.

Thank you, Ms. Morrison. Keep writing, and we’ll keep reading.

Julie Downey, Studio City

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To the editor: For five years in the late 1990s, I ran the “Together we’re the best” campaign that then-L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan organized with the support of government and corporate leaders. Our files were jammed with the many discoveries and innovations that were born in L.A. and were still relevant to people around the world.

Of course, there was the bikini and the internet, but there was also the microwave oven and the freeway system. It was a refreshing reminder that L.A. remains a great place to live, work and imagine.

Regina Birdsell, Irvine