Gentle reader,
Did you ever hear the story of the Little Country Church of Hollywood, pretty bastion of that old time religion that was not, in fact, a “real” church but instead a family business and tourist attraction, home of the popular daily radio program that featured corny humor, live music, and moral tales from the mythical hamlet of Goose Creek?
Dr. William B. Hogg established this place on the grounds of the old A.G. Bartlett estate Vista del Mar, one of the original Hollywood manor homes. Bartlett’s holdings were subdivided for a mix of commercial and residential development, and if you’ve ever been to the corner of Hollywood and Vine, you’ve visited Vista del Mar.
The church building and meandering concrete paths made from scrap material went up with volunteer labor in 1934, taking advantage of the mature trees to create a wee oasis steps from what was becoming a bustling business and entertainment district. It an immediate hit with locals, tourists and radio listeners, who tuned in to sit a spell with Dr. Hogg and wife Virginia in their roles of country parson Josiah Hopkins and Sister Sarah, and to enjoy the piano tinklings of gospel improvisor Rudy Atwood.
Dr. Hogg soon sickened and died, but Virginia was able to buy the land from the Bartlett estate in 1944 and kept the Goose Creek broadcasts going on the national CBS network into the 1960s. The rustic knotty pine church remained a popular small wedding venue, and the gardens enchanted all who stumbled upon them.
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The city declared the building and grounds a landmark in 1992, and the last religious service was held in 1997. But because the Little Country Church was a family business (incorporated as “Josiah Hopkins Memorial Church of Hollywood”) and not actually a religious organization, there was no plan or desire to keep it going as sisters Martha Hogg and Milly Hogg Rocque became too old to host Sunday services.
The sisters packed up the archives and sold the property to Hollywood Hills / 101 Coffee Shop owner Susan Fine Moore, who planned to build a standalone cafe at the front of the property and turn the landmarked church into a performance venue and banquet/meeting facility.
While the project worked its way through the planning and permitting process, Moore rented the church out for special events. Incensed by late night rowdiness and aghast at the proposed “relocation” of mature specimen trees, neighbors appealed, churches and people of faith nationwide wrote to object and the police department opposed granting a liquor license. Nobody who opposed Moore’s scheme offered to take on the responsibilities of reactivating the landmark church property. Facing seemingly insurmountable opposition, Moore gave up.
With no viable plan to maintain the land or building, the church was locked up, and the garden left wild to vandalism, squatters and general neglect.
And so it remained until 2007, when a mysterious fire broke out on Christmas Eve, ending plans by Vytas Juskys to put in a commercial kitchen and bar for secular events. The damaged church was demolished, leaving foundations and garden paths intact, and still officially “protected” as a city landmark. The land has been held fenced off, apparently as a speculative investment vehicle by a consortium of family trusts.
In recent years, homeless people have made camp on the grounds, and former councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, noted enemy of historic preservation, suggested removing its Mills Act tax relief as a throwaway aside in a council motion alleging blight and neglect at the long empty, rent controlled landmark Jardinette Apartments (Richard Neutra, 1928) in East Hollywood.
Which brings us to early January 2025, when we went to the corner of Yucca and Argyle, a stop on our Franklin Village Old Hollywood tours, to see for the first time the absence of the 40 rent controlled apartment units spread over three buildings that were recently demolished, even though the properties figure prominently in the public corruption case against Councilmember Curren Price.
And while Kim was yelling to the sky about the loss of these good buildings and displacement of so many longtime community members, the angels (or maybe the ghost of John Walsh) smiled and delivered a kindly security guard who asked us to move on, but not before taking a look at the secret garden next door.
What joy from the dust of despair!
A few days later, the city began to burn.
Can we really afford to let good residential buildings be emptied out and held vacant for years, until new developments pencil out for the speculators who own them? Can we in good conscience allow something as beautiful and green and old and lovely as the Little Country Church of Hollywood grounds to be fenced off for decades, neglected, ignored and inaccessible?
It’s time to change how we do things in Los Angeles. The age of extraction is over. No longer can we afford to let profit seekers suck all they want out of this place, with no thought for how unchecked growth detracts from our quality of life, destroys beauty and threatens public safety.
The secret Little Country Church of Hollywood garden is still here, and we believe it ought to once again be a public space where locals and tourists can find respite, steps away from the hustle of Hollywood Boulevard. If you think so, too, why not ask councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez to figure out a way to make that happen?
We’re back in walking tour mode this Saturday, with a linear excursion up and down Broadway’s National Register theater district, featuring an interior exploration of the first Hollywood motion picture palace, Sid Grauman’s Million Dollar, and some special surprises. Broadway is a marvel and a mess, and packed with fascinating lore and layers, and we’d love to share it with you, so join us, do!
Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
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Our work—leading tours and historic preservation and cultural landmark advocacy—is about building a bridge between Los Angeles' past and its future, and not allowing the corrupt, greedy, inept and misguided players who hold present power to destroy the city's soul and body. If you’d like to support our efforts to be the voice of places worth preserving, we have a tip jar, vintage Los Angeles webinars available to stream, in-person tours and a souvenir shop you can browse in. We’ve also got recommended reading bookshelves on Amazon and the Bookshop indie bookstore site. And did you know we offer private versions of our walking tours for groups big or small? Or just share this link with other people who care.
UPCOMING WALKING TOURS
• Broadway (Sat. 1/25) • Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 (Sat. 2/1) • Film Noir / Real Noir (Sat. 2/15) • The Real Black Dahlia (Sat. 3/1) • Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice Downtown L.A. (Sat. 3/8) • Bunker Hill, Dead and Alive (Sat. 3/15) • Raymond Chandler’s Noir Downtown Los Angeles (Sat. 3/22) • Franklin Village Old Hollywood (Sun. 3/30) • John Fante’s Downtown L.A. (Sat. 4/5) • Angelino Heights & Carroll Avenue (Sat. 4/12) • Leo Politi Loves Los Angeles (Sat. 4/19) • Downtown Los Angeles is for Book Lovers (Sat. 4/26)
CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS
Judge Chalfant approves a delay for the bench trial to determine if Marilyn Monroe's house will retain landmark protections: lead attorney Peter Sheridan lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire, neighbor Benjamin Hanelin may not be available, and property owners Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank are under evacuation threat. New date: June 17. Read all our coverage of the ongoing preservation battle here.
We are so moved by this New York Times story of Mountain View Cemetery staff protecting yet-to-be-cremated bodies and moving dangerous chemicals, bravely protecting the historic burial ground that formed a fire break in Altadena.
Historic housing battle in Glendale, as BW Brody Co. seeks to destroy the 37-unit Glendale Garden Homes and the mature trees that were saved in 1957, displacing community members to a region without comparable options.
Powerful words from the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council on the demolition threatened, potential landmark William Mellenthin Apartments: "Fires have wiped out a quantifiable number of Los Angeles’ irreplaceable historical treasures so it’s more important now than ever to preserve those which we can while there is still an opportunity to do so."
Do you have a SNAP card? Admission to the Huntington is just $3 for you and three guests under the national Museums for All program. Pass it on!
An accidental piece of public art, the Downey Doodle-icious mural turns ten with a community celebration of artist Don Lamkin's deep love for local landmarks. And Downey is lousy with 'em!
The ephemeral David Lynch shrine under the Big Boy statue at Bob's diner in Burbank has been dismantled by archivist Kat Fox, with the rotting and moist elements consigned to the dumpster. The other love offerings may find a permanent home... stay tuned.
Preservation pal James De Pietro, host of the Crown City Podcast (check out our episode here), has made a list of small businesses in Altadena and Pasadena that have been impacted by the Eaton Fire and need your support. Shop local, donate, spread the word!
Many sad new flames added to the Los Angeles Historic Preservation Hot Spots Map: landmarks and legacy businesses destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires. If we missed a place that's precious to you, please let us know.
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