La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles
La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (English: "The Church of Our Lady Queen of the Angels")[2] is a historic Catholic church in Los Angeles, California, located on the historic Plaza de Los Ángeles near Downtown Los Angeles. Part of the larger El Pueblo de los Ángeles Historical Monument, the church's origins date to 1784, when the Spanish founded the Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles Asistencia to support nearby Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. By 1814, the asistencia had been abandoned and a new church was founded in its place by Padre Luis Gil y Taboada. The church is one of the oldest buildings in Los Angeles.
Location
20th century[edit]
The facility has operated under the auspices of the Claretian Missionary Fathers since 1908.[6]
The building was designated as one of the first three Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in 1962.[1] It has also been designated as a California Historical Landmark.[7]
21st century[edit]
The church is a part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and serves as a neighborhood parish church, as well as a cultural landmark. Since the 1960s it has been retrofitted against earthquakes. Masses are said in Spanish and English.
California Historical Landmark Marker NO. 144 at the site reads:[8]
The Spring Street entrance of Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles (Our Lady Queen of Angels/La Placita Church—the main church, not the chapel)
La Placita Church in the Old Plaza in Los Angeles, CA circa 1880.
The "Old Plaza Church" facing the Plaza, 1869. The brick reservoir in the middle of the Plaza was the original terminus of the Zanja Madre.
The entrance of Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles (La Placita Church)Chapel located at 535 North Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles on July 20, 2007.
Postcard showing interior circa 1940s
Left side altar. Our Lady of Guadalupe image.
