| Sacred Spaces:
Historic Houses of Worship in the City of Angels |
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 By
Robert Berger
The quite exhausting but truly fascinating part of this Sacred Spaces project was the research. Over the past three and a half years I visited more than 300 historic houses of worship built before 1952. Wandering through neighborhoods that seemed as foreign as distant lands, looking for steeples, crosses and domes vaulting towards the sky, I began to appreciate the vast web of Los Angeles, its wide range of cultures and constantly changing demographics. When I realized the enormous scope
of L.A.’s rich religious heritage, it became obvious
that putting confines on the project was a necessity.
The selection process was a difficult one. In a city
this size, comprehensive coverage would be nearly
impossible and quite voluminous. I did not attempt
a comprehensive list of historic houses of worship
in the city, but rather a sampling of architectural
styles from various time periods from various religions,
from a broad variety of neighborhoods. [scroll down for more] |
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Once the selection process was somewhat complete, getting access to the properties became a daunting task. Many sites were very accommodating but others became an exercise in sheer persistence. Frankly, in the end, my rejections were few. Once I was granted access that’s when the fun began. Exploring the diverse interiors, some cavernous and some mysteriously intimate, looking for unusual details and angles was endlessly exciting. The chore became finding electrical outlets that would support our lighting gear. My family has been in L.A. for more than 100 years and I have lived here most of my life. This project took me into neighborhoods I had never wandered before. Notably, there is Boyle Heights, today a heavily Latino area whose demographic changes are so graphically displayed in the abandoned synagogue on Breed Street and in the Jewish names in the terrazzo storefront sidewalks. Tucked away in the Hollywood Hills there are many shrines for lesser-known religions such as the Krotona Inn and the Vedanta Society. In Silverlake and the central city, Eastern Orthodox churches offer a view of the city’s immigrant past and future. The southern part of L.A. holds the famed Modernist architect R.M. Schindler’s only church design ever built. I made discoveries in every corner of this ever-changing city. The question of “Why here?” was common in my search. Being a third generation native Angelino, the history of architecture in Los Angeles has become an obsession. In a city not known for its reverence of history or buildings, I feel the continually changing landscape should be captured on film before it is transformed into something totally unrecognizable from the past. From researching my previous book, The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown, I learned how buildings can transport you back in time. The houses of worship are one of the few existing forms of architecture in the city that can lead you back into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The 1890’s Plaza around Olvera Street or multi-ethnic 1920’s Boyle Heights come alive in the photography of the buildings and their history. |
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| The photographer: Robert Berger has been photographing architecture and interior design in the U.S. and abroad for more than eighteen years. Balcony Press published his book, Sacred Spaces, in 2003. He is the owner of Berger/Conser Architectural Photography in Santa Monica and assignments for clients, ranging from furniture and lighting manufacturers to residential, hospitality, and casino designers, have taken him around the globe. His images have been published in various books and periodicals and have been exhibited around the country. His previous book, The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown, is now in it fourth printing. The book: Sacred Spaces: Historic Houses of Worship in the City of Los Angeles includes photographs from more 300 churches, synagogues and temples, along with text by architectural historian Alfred Willis and an introduction from former California Librarian Kevin Starr. The book also has a listing, by neighborhood, date, and architect, of the houses of worship featured. The reviews: “Even those who never set foot in church might find religion in Robert Berger's evocative photographs of Los Angeles' historic houses of worship,” wrote Samantha Bonar in the Los Angeles Times. “He captures the sensual and artistic aspects of worship in the form of multi-hued mosaics, brilliant stained glass, delicately rendered paintings and creatively designed buildings with soaring vaults and gilded domes” Online: www.bergerconser.com |
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