Angelus Temple

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Angelus Temple
Angelus Temple.jpg
Angelus Temple
Angelus Temple is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Angelus Temple
Location 1100 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, California
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Architect Brook Hawkins
Architectural style Modern Movement
NRHP Reference # 92001875
Significant dates
Added to NRHP April 27, 1992[1]
Designated NHL June 23, 1965[2]

Angelus Temple was the central house of worship of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California.

It was constructed under the leadership of denominational founder Aimee Semple McPherson and dedicated on January 1, 1923.[3] The cornerstone of the building bears the inscription "Dedicated unto the cause of inter-denominational and worldwide evangelism".[4] The temple, located opposite Echo Park Lake, had an original seating capacity of 5,300, huge for a church then and now, but suited well for the crowds McPherson attracted as an evangelical sensation of the 1920s and 1930s. The halcyon days have yet to be repeated, and a 2002 renovation has left it with a capacity of a more manageable 3,500. According to the United States Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index, Angelus Temple’s construction would cost $3,245,964.91 in 2014.[5]

It was the largest construction of its time in North America, rising "125 feet from the main floor". A panorama of clouds, which was the work of artist Anne Henneke, adorns the ceiling, and the temple has eight stained glass windows depicting the life of Jesus Christ, created by artist George Haskins. The building underwent renovations in 1972, while still retaining its original interior and exterior appearance.[6] The lighted cross atop the temple's dome is a longstanding landmark. The entire temple was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.[2][7]

It was a Class "A" fireproof building was constructed of concrete and steel and designed by Brook Hawkins. The main architectural feature of the structure is its large, unsupported concrete dome coated with a mixture of ground abalone shells. The dome's interior was painted azure blue, with fleecy clouds, a reminder to "work while its day" and "to look for His coming". McPherson insisted on a bright joyous setting, avoiding any reminder of sin from either artwork or motto. In back of the pulpit was her theme verse from Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever." She later conveyed she loved "every stone in Angelus Temple,...I love to touch its walls, its altar,...I look to its high vaulted dome...."[8] but no part of the church pleased her more the magnificent Kimball pipe organ which always soothed and brought her peace of mind.[9]

The church was dedicated on January 1, 1923. The auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,300 people and was filled three times each day, seven days a week. Enrollment grew exceeding 10,000, and was claimed to be the largest single Christian congregation in the world[10] According to church records, Angelus Temple received 40 million visitors within the first seven years[11] At first, McPherson preached every service, often in a dramatic scene she put together to attract audiences.

L. I. F. E. Bible College was founded in a building adjacent to Angelus Temple. The building is currently the home of the Angelus Temple Hispanic Church. The former Queen of Angels Hospital is the base of operations for the Dream Center, which housed many people from the Gulf States displaced after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. In 2001, Pastor Matthew Barnett and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel united the Dream Center with Angelus Temple.

Its current pastors are Matthew and Caroline Barnett.

File:Postcard-los-angeles-angelus-temple.png
Postcard of early Angelus Temple

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Template:Payne, Leah. Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism: Making a Female Ministry in the Early Twentieth Century. N.p.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. Print.
  6. ↑ http://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/wom/2002/angelas.htm
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. and Accompanying 3 photos, exterior and interior, from 1991 PDF (219 KiB)
  8. ↑ Blumhofer, p. 239
  9. ↑ Blumhofer, pp. 246–247
  10. ↑ Thomas, Lately Storming Heaven: The Lives and Turmoils of Minnie Kennedy and Aimee Semple McPherson (Morrow, New York, 1970) p. 32.
  11. ↑ Bridal Call (Foursquare Publications, 1100 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles.) October 1929, p. 27

External links


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