100-year-old Southern California church in danger of collapse
LOS ANGELES – The gold dome atop Echo Park United Methodist Church has been a community beacon for 100 years.
However, heavy rainfall has damaged the structure, which has brought the singing and worshipping to a stop while forcing the building to close.
Built in 1923 at the corner of Reservoir and Alvarado streets, the church has been a place for marriages and baptisms, a haven for the homeless and a meeting space for Alcoholics Anonymous.
“It feels grim because what you see when you get to the top tower is a pile of rubble,” Pastor Frank Wulf told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “The ceiling has collapsed. You look up and see the wood above.”
After recent heavy rainfall, water had been collecting on the church’s roof causing the wood to rot and the walls to collapse. There is now a real danger that the gold dome and everything under it could come crashing down.
“It’s broken. It’s cracking and bending,” the pastor explained. “I wonder how it’s holding up the dome right now.”
Echo Park United Methodist Church has shut its doors after water damage has made the structure dangerously unstable. (KTLA) Echo Park United Methodist Church has shut its doors after water damage has made the structure dangerously unstable. (KTLA) Echo Park United Methodist Church has shut its doors after water damage has made the structure dangerously unstable. (KTLA) Echo Park United Methodist Church has shut its doors after water damage has made the structure dangerously unstable. (KTLA) Echo Park United Methodist Church has shut its doors after water damage has made the structure dangerously unstable. (KTLA)
Wulf said that structural engineers warned him that further damage would be dangerous and expensive to fix.
“What I was told today was it would probably cost $200,000 just to take down the tower down,” he said. “That’s a lot of money. It’s more money than what we have.”
The empty seats in the sanctuary have sparked concern for the well-being of the church’s congregation of more than 100 people, many of them immigrants from El Salvador.
“It’s a sacred place for people,” Wulf said. “Ultimately, the church is more than just a building, it’s a community of people and a community of people makes the building significant.”
Even as the church is in danger of collapse and the congregation has been forced out, Pastor Wulf said he has faith that there will be enough money for repairs or rebuilding.
“There is hope and there is still faith,” he explained. “It’s hope and faith that is bigger than the building and that’s really where I find my strength.”
Church leaders, along with members of the congregation, said they’re asking the city of Los Angeles to help with the cost of repairs or rebuilding. In the meantime, the church has started a GoFundMe to start the process.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
