Just Off the Freeway

After years of driving by on the Hollywood Freeway saying someday we should exit and take a look at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, we finally did. The place was built amidst some controversy to replace the old St. Vibiana Cathedral, which had been closed in 1995 due to cumulative earthquake damage over the years, culminating in the 1994 Northridge quake. After preservationist efforts failed to rescue the original building, this 5.6 acre downtown location was chosen as the site for a contemporary cathedral designed by Spanish architect José Rafael Moneo.

Completed in 2002, it's 11 stories high, with virtually no right angles, built of tawny-colored concrete reminiscent of sun-baked adobe. There is a magnificent Dobson organ in the sanctuary with over 6,000 pipes, and at the entrance, bronze doors and statue created by Mexican-born sculptor Robert Graham.

The tranquil grounds, with their fountains and shrines, are intended to be used as a public space, and I found it peaceful and calming...at times even spiritual, probably because that's what I was looking for. So, I thought I'd share a few images, starting with that 8-foot sculpture of Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, (shown above), her arms outstretched from the ornamental space above the great bronze doors, all designed by Graham.

Mary is presented as a woman "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet" (Revelations 12:1), with God's light shining through the halo opening above her head as the sun travels from east to west. The photos here show a portion of the organ, and a few more glimpses.

There's a detail of the hand of God from the bronze door, and rows of votive candles.

And a shrine to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, and some exterior views.