| First Congregational Church of Los Angeles | |
|---|---|
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 | |
| 34°3′51.8″N 118°17′5.4″W / 34.064389°N 118.284833°W | |
| Location | 540 S Commonwealth Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020 |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | United Church of Christ |
| Churchmanship | Congregational |
| Membership | 491 |
| Weekly attendance | 225 |
| Website | fccla |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1867 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | Allison & Allison |
| Style | English Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1932 |
| Specifications | |
| Height | 157 ft (48 m) (tower) |
| Floor area | 157,000 sq ft (14,600 m2) |
| Materials | Reinforced concrete |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Rev. Laura Vail Fregin (Interim)[1] |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Dr. Christoph Bull |
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is located at 540 South Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, California, United States. It is a member of the United Church of Christ.[2] Founded in 1867, the church is the city's oldest continuous Protestant congregation.[3] The congregation moved around using a variety of buildings until it moved to its current location in 1932, with the first service being held on March 13, 1932.[4]
The current building is an impressive English Gothic Revival-style designed by Los Angeles architects James Edward Allison & David Clark Allison. The massive concrete structure was reinforced with more than 500 tons of steel, and supported by more than 150 caissons extending up to forty-five feet into the bedrock.[5] Its dominant feature is a tower soaring 157 feet and weighing 30,000 tons. Four three-ton pinnacles used to cap the corners of the tower which rise another nineteen feet. These capstones were dislocated in 1994 by the Northridge Earthquake, and removed shortly thereafter, eventually to be replaced by fiberglass replicas, and eventually resurfaced as monuments at the church's driveway entrances on Commonwealth Street.
The church has the world's second largest church organ.
On March 15, 2002, the church was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.[6]
- ^ "Our Staff". fccla.org. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "UCC Southern Conference Fall Meeting". fccla.org. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ Clifton L. Holland. "An Overview of Religion in Los Angeles from 1850 to 1930".
- ^ Richardson, Eric (11 July 2008). "Downtown's Churches: First Congregational". Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "First Congregational Church of Los Angeles". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ Los Angeles Department of City Planning. "Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) List". Office of Historic Resources. City of Los Angeles. p. 26. Retrieved 2 August 2016.