Church of the Epiphany
Restoration/Renovation
A restoration project for the historic Church of the Epiphany is remediation work, following a 2007 Historic Structure & Conservation Plan that was funded by the Getty Trust.
The church has played a significant role in the community life of Lincoln Heights and surrounding neighborhoods since its founding in 1888, most notably becoming a center of Latino culture and social justice work beginning in the 1960’s and hosting: the Los Angeles base for Cesar Chavez’ United Farm Workers Movement; La Raza, the Chicano civil rights movement; the local headquarters for presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign. The church continues its century-long tradition of non-denominational community service by hosting programs including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, the Wall – Las Memorias Project serving Latino populations affected by HIV/AIDS, Equality California, a food bank, health and fitness programs, day care, and immigrant rights forums. In addition to its place in the history of the struggle for civil rights and community service, the Church of the Epiphany comprises two beautifully crafted buildings which have fallen into disrepair. In 2011 a trust was created to help restore these two structures and revive the community programs they host. In 2020 the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The first phase of restoration work (2014) included: installation of a commercial kitchen; handicapped accessibility upgrades; stone facade repair; structural foundation work; repair of windows; new flooring; and other general repair work. The second phase of work (beginning December 2020) will focus on the church sanctuary installation of a heating and cooling system; the restoration of the historic basement into meeting and work spaces; the installation of an elevator; and other repair projects of the interior and exterior of the building.
The church has played a significant role in the community life of Lincoln Heights and surrounding neighborhoods since its founding in 1888, most notably becoming a center of Latino culture and social justice work beginning in the 1960’s and hosting: the Los Angeles base for Cesar Chavez’ United Farm Workers Movement; La Raza, the Chicano civil rights movement; the local headquarters for presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign. The church continues its century-long tradition of non-denominational community service by hosting programs including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, the Wall – Las Memorias Project serving Latino populations affected by HIV/AIDS, Equality California, a food bank, health and fitness programs, day care, and immigrant rights forums. In addition to its place in the history of the struggle for civil rights and community service, the Church of the Epiphany comprises two beautifully crafted buildings which have fallen into disrepair. In 2011 a trust was created to help restore these two structures and revive the community programs they host. In 2020 the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The first phase of restoration work (2014) included: installation of a commercial kitchen; handicapped accessibility upgrades; stone facade repair; structural foundation work; repair of windows; new flooring; and other general repair work. The second phase of work (beginning December 2020) will focus on the church sanctuary installation of a heating and cooling system; the restoration of the historic basement into meeting and work spaces; the installation of an elevator; and other repair projects of the interior and exterior of the building.
