The Monastery of the Angels closed on Christmas Eve

Gentle reader,

The Hollywood community is reeling from the news that the Monastery of the Angels is supposed to close forever on January 1. But when we tried to visit at 2pm on Christmas Eve Sunday, we found the gates locked up tight.

The Dominicans are marketing this sacred space as a $25 Million developer teardown. Angelenos: let's save it instead!

If you care, now is the time to ask your elected leaders, preservation non-profits and faith leaders to help save the Monastery of the Angels by making it a city landmark, protect the trees and gardens, and work with the Hollywood community to imagine a better future than demolition and redevelopment.

Contacts: Mayor Karen Bass, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, Los Angeles Conservancy, Hollywood Heritage, Archbishop José Gomez.

To learn more about the history and possible future of 1977 Carmen Avenue, visit the Monastery of the Angels advocacy page on our blog.

yours for Los Angeles,

Kim & Richard

Esotouric

Psst… If you’d like to support our efforts to be the voice of places worth preserving, we have a tip jar and a subscriber edition of this newsletter, 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 and bus tours for groups big or small? Or just share this link with other people who care.

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UPCOMING BUS & WALKING TOURS

• Human Sacrifice: The Black Dahlia, Elisa Lam, Heidi Planck & Skid Row Slasher Walking Tour (Tues. 12/26) • Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 Walking Tour (Sat. 1/20) • Broadway: Downtown Los Angeles’ Beautiful, Magical Mess Walking Tour (Sat. 1/27) • Bunker Hill, Dead and Alive Walking Tour (Sat. 2/3) • Westlake Park Time Travel Trip Walking Tour (Sat. 2/10) • Angelino Heights & Carroll Avenue Time Travel Trip Walking Tour (Sat. 2/17) • The Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 2/24) • Echo Park Book of the Dead Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 3/9) • Know Your Downtown L.A.: Tunnels To Towers To The Dutch Chocolate Shop Walking Tour (Sat. 3/16) • The Run: Gay Downtown History Walking Tour (Sat. 3/23) • John Fante’s Downtown Los Angeles Birthday Walking Tour (Sat. 4/6)