The United Methodist Church in Echo Park closed its doors after recent storms damaged the bell tower and being at risk of collapsing through the structure. Christian Cazares reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 28, 2024.
Pastor Frank Wulf hopes community donations will help repair what Mother Nature has destroyed at a Los Angeles historic landmark that is now closed.
Recent rain has exposed rotten wood at the Echo Park Methodist Church. To make matters worse, the dome on the bell tower is in jeopardy of collapsing.
“It doesn’t look safe. I don’t feel safe,” said Wulf.
On Tuesday, engineers captured the damage at the top of the tower during an inspection, which also exposed a bigger concern.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“As we were told by engineers, it’s not going to sustain the dome for long," Wulf said. "There is possibility of a collapse and if that happens, then it will continue to go down until where we are now."
Rotten wood on the level below the dome was visible from the street. It was a shock to the pastor, who said the entire tower was reroofed in 2019.
The century-old church on the corner of North Alvarado and Reservoir Streets was not only used for worship; Wulf said it was also a sanctuary for immigrants, community gatherings and homeless outreach.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
“We had to stop everything,” Wulf said.
“Right now, we are in a temporary location at the end of the street in a parking lot. It’s not ideal or long-term, but we are looking for a new home,” said Sara Reyes, SELAH’s executive director.
“My dream and goal is for this church to be able to do whatever it needs to do in order to be a church for the community,” added Wulf.
