St Vibiana S Cathedral

The Los Angeles Conservancy's announcement that it will fund a study of possible new uses for St. Vibiana's Cathedral not only follows through on a conservancy pledge but offers the Civic Center's ragged northeastern edge a bit of hope. Last summer, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony announced the archdiocese plans to erect a new cathedral at the northwestern end of downtown, an important addition for the Civic Center. The cardinal wants to raze St.

As one who usually merely browses the Home section (its articles strike me more as House than Home, while my interests are more Home than House), I was singularly struck by "In the Shadow of Angels" (Sept. 18), Marjorie Gellhorn Sa'adah's lovely piece on her home in what was once St. Vibiana's Cathedral. The glorious photograph and full-page layout demanded my attention, and Ms. Sa'adah's sublime writing rewarded me with far more: insight into a colorful, surprisingly vital downtown community that no doubt goes largely unnoticed and certainly underappreciated.

As one who usually merely browses the Home section (its articles strike me more as House than Home, while my interests are more Home than House), I was singularly struck by "In the Shadow of Angels" (Sept. 18), Marjorie Gellhorn Sa'adah's lovely piece on her home in what was once St. Vibiana's Cathedral. The glorious photograph and full-page layout demanded my attention, and Ms. Sa'adah's sublime writing rewarded me with far more: insight into a colorful, surprisingly vital downtown community that no doubt goes largely unnoticed and certainly underappreciated.

The best way to remember and honor civic leader Ira Yellin (obituary, Sept. 11) is to spend a Saturday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Park your car near the Bradbury Building and have a look inside. If you are there later in the day, with the autumn light streaming in through the skylights, you would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved. Stroll across to the Grand Central Market and absorb the smells, the pulse and the energy of lives that don't leave at 6 p.m. on weekdays.

The Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese will hold public funeral services over three days for Cardinal Timothy Manning, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles who died Friday. All services will be held at St. Vibiana's Cathedral at 2nd and Main streets downtown. The cathedral is where Manning lived during his 15 years as archbishop. Manning's body will lie in state Tuesday evening and most of Wednesday. St. Vibiana will open at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Formal liturgical reception of Manning's body will begin at 7:30, followed by Solemn Vespers.

If the Los Angeles Conservancy doesn't speak up in the name of historic preservation, just who will? Not the mayor or the City Council, this is certainly clear. As a native Angeleno too young to have ever seen anything but photographs of the old Bunker Hill site, I have often wondered how so many wonderful buildings could be so easily erased. The St. Vibiana's Cathedral issue makes it all too clear; no one at City Hall really cares. It's a nonissue for the mayor and the council. L.A. Conservancy leaders have every right to ask the tough questions; they represent the only preservation voice in this city of very lost angels.

The former spiritual headquarters of Roman Catholicism in Los Angeles could be reborn as a hotel banquet hall, a music school, an ethnic museum, a senior housing complex, an international trade showroom, an office for federal immigration officials or an interfaith chapel. Those proposals for the future of the now-closed St. Vibiana's Cathedral were unveiled Thursday in a report and public exhibit by the Los Angeles Conservancy and USC's School of Architecture.

Another step toward possible demolition of St. Vibiana's Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles was taken Tuesday when city inspectors red-tagged the entire 120-year-old landmark, declaring it an extreme hazard because of seismic damage, a Roman Catholic archdiocese spokesman said. The adjacent bell tower was red-tagged last week. The archdiocese has closed the cathedral at 2nd and Main streets to the public for a year.

A city-owned downtown warehouse will be opened to hundreds of Skid Row homeless during the September visit of Pope John Paul II, officials said Friday, easing concerns that the men would be forced onto the streets by security restrictions on the Union Rescue Mission. Because the Pope is staying overnight Sept. 15 and 16 at St. Vibiana's Cathedral next door to the Main Street mission, security officials ordered that transients be barred from eating and sleeping at the building during the visit.

Re "Battle Over Cathedral's Fate Intensifies," June 4: What an irony that a bishop and cardinal of a church whose tradition has preserved art treasures for almost 2,000 years should be placed in the position of opposing people whose raison d' etre is the preservation and conservation of historical monuments. And yet, in this distinction there possibly lies the tension concerning the future of St. Vibiana's Cathedral. Many values accrue in the preservation of a monument, but time marches on and the Catholic community needs more than a monument.

The former spiritual headquarters of Roman Catholicism in Los Angeles could be reborn as a hotel banquet hall, a music school, an ethnic museum, a senior housing complex, an international trade showroom, an office for federal immigration officials or an interfaith chapel. Those proposals for the future of the now-closed St. Vibiana's Cathedral were unveiled Thursday in a report and public exhibit by the Los Angeles Conservancy and USC's School of Architecture.

The Los Angeles Conservancy's announcement that it will fund a study of possible new uses for St. Vibiana's Cathedral not only follows through on a conservancy pledge but offers the Civic Center's ragged northeastern edge a bit of hope. Last summer, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony announced the archdiocese plans to erect a new cathedral at the northwestern end of downtown, an important addition for the Civic Center. The cardinal wants to raze St.

If the Los Angeles Conservancy doesn't speak up in the name of historic preservation, just who will? Not the mayor or the City Council, this is certainly clear. As a native Angeleno too young to have ever seen anything but photographs of the old Bunker Hill site, I have often wondered how so many wonderful buildings could be so easily erased. The St. Vibiana's Cathedral issue makes it all too clear; no one at City Hall really cares. It's a nonissue for the mayor and the council. L.A. Conservancy leaders have every right to ask the tough questions; they represent the only preservation voice in this city of very lost angels.

Re "Battle Over Cathedral's Fate Intensifies," June 4: What an irony that a bishop and cardinal of a church whose tradition has preserved art treasures for almost 2,000 years should be placed in the position of opposing people whose raison d' etre is the preservation and conservation of historical monuments. And yet, in this distinction there possibly lies the tension concerning the future of St. Vibiana's Cathedral. Many values accrue in the preservation of a monument, but time marches on and the Catholic community needs more than a monument.

Another step toward possible demolition of St. Vibiana's Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles was taken Tuesday when city inspectors red-tagged the entire 120-year-old landmark, declaring it an extreme hazard because of seismic damage, a Roman Catholic archdiocese spokesman said. The adjacent bell tower was red-tagged last week. The archdiocese has closed the cathedral at 2nd and Main streets to the public for a year.

Re "L.A. Should Unite to Keep the Cathedral Downtown," editorial, May 26: It would be a terrible shame if the neighbors to St. Vibiana's couldn't see past immediate gain and look to the legacy they would be contributing if they'd be reasonable in their asking price for the property. I do hope St. Vibiana's stays downtown. But if the 2nd and Main site fails to materialize, perhaps the 3rd and Lucas hilltop (very large and vacant) across the freeway would serve as a beacon to civic pride and vision.

Re "L.A. Should Unite to Keep the Cathedral Downtown," editorial, May 26: It would be a terrible shame if the neighbors to St. Vibiana's couldn't see past immediate gain and look to the legacy they would be contributing if they'd be reasonable in their asking price for the property. I do hope St. Vibiana's stays downtown. But if the 2nd and Main site fails to materialize, perhaps the 3rd and Lucas hilltop (very large and vacant) across the freeway would serve as a beacon to civic pride and vision.

The best way to remember and honor civic leader Ira Yellin (obituary, Sept. 11) is to spend a Saturday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Park your car near the Bradbury Building and have a look inside. If you are there later in the day, with the autumn light streaming in through the skylights, you would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved. Stroll across to the Grand Central Market and absorb the smells, the pulse and the energy of lives that don't leave at 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Permit me a word of commendation on Mary Rourke's article about St. Vibiana's Cathedral and on Gary Friedman's lovely photographs accompanying it ("Tower of Hope," Dec. 24). If Cardinal Mahony really wanted to recognize Los Angeles' historic roots, he would find a way to restore this beautiful building. I came to Los Angeles 51 years ago as a postwar bride from Northern California. One of the first places I visited was St. Vibiana's. I took our daughter down to a special Mass for the Virgin of Guadalupe when an ancient statue was visiting from Mexico.

As a native Angeleno, ardent preservationist and long-time member and volunteer for the Los Angeles Conservancy, a small piece of my heart is torn out every time I see part of our city's heritage torn down. In the case of beautiful old St. Vibiana's, however, it is with sadness that I realize that if it cannot be worked into the plans for the new cathedral center, it must go (Jan. 7). Ever since my grandmother first took me as a child to St. Vibiana's for a visit, I have loved the stately landmark and its steadfast witness to our faith and heritage amid the squalor of homelessness and despair.