11 Most Endangered
Cathedral of St. Vibiana
Year Listed: 1997
Location: California
Current Status: Saved
Threat: Development, Poor Public Policy
St. Vibiana's Catholic Cathedral is one of Los Angeles' most important 19th century structures. Its Baroque-inspired Italian façade contrasted with the handsome 83-foot bell tower at the rear of the property. Completed in 1876, the structure was a stunning piece of architecture for a city still emerging from its pueblo origins. As many of the city's other historic buildings were destroyed, St. Vibiana remained, making the cathedral one of the last buildings from the late 19th century still standing in Los Angeles. In the early 1990s, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced plans to demolish St. Vibiana and construct a new cathedral on the same site. Matters worsened when the building suffered damage in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, and in 1996 the Archdiocese began demolishing St. Vibiana without permits.
Update
After two successful lawsuits to stop demolition of St. Vibiana by the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Cathedral property was purchased by a developer with plans to reuse the Cathedral as a performing arts center. The purchase was made possible by a land swap agreement worked out between the City of Los Angeles and the Archdiocese which gave the church an alternate site for construction of a new cathedral. Adaptive reuse design work commenced on the site in 2003, and the building underwent a seismic retrofit to help protect the building from damage from future earthquakes. The complex's non-historic, 1940s Education Building was demolished, making way for a new City of Los Angeles Little Tokyo Branch Library. The former St. Vibiana Cathedral is now open and operating as Vibiana, a venue for performing arts, art installations, weddings, and other public events.
