Day 26

November 30, 2019

I really enjoy photographing churches. It all started on my first trip to Europe many, many years ago. There is just so much art to be seen inside. Not to mention the architecture. But here is the thing, I never considered photographing churches in the U.S. It just never crossed my mind. I have driven past Saint Monica, probably, hundreds of times and never gave it a second thought. Tonight though, as I was driving home, I finally noticed it. Sure the exterior is not as dramatic as say the Duomo, or Westminster, but it is quite lovely. So I pulled over and grabbed this shot.

There is very little information on line about who designed it or what the art is inside, so this will take a bit of exploration. Hoping there will be a pamphlet better outlining the history of the church. All I’ve found so far is that it was completed, at it’s current location, in 1925 and opened for Christmas mass at 5 O’clock in the morning on Christmas Day that year. It was officially dedicated in July, 1926. It suffered quite a bit of damage due to the Northridge quake in 1994, but was repaired and reopened in April of 1995.

There may be many more shots of the interior of this church in future posts as I am now quite curious about the architecture and art in American churches. Saint Monica’s is the best place to start.