Showing posts with label La Canada (CA) Ward. Show all posts
Showing posts with label La Canada (CA) Ward. Show all posts

Sunday, August 14, 2022

La Canada (CA) Ward: Interior & Stained Glass Detail

The chapel interior has wonderful Tudor elements--dark wood, exposed beams, an A-frame ceiling, and stained glass at the front.





The center pane is a stylized reproduction of The Light of the World, by Holman Hunt. (This same image was reproduced in stained glass for the Wilshire Ward in California.)

The panels on the left and right have several symbols--the largest being the Bible (depicted as Stick of Judah) and the Book of Mormon (Stick of Joseph). Beneath them are four smaller symbols--a dove (representing peace, Noah's covenant, and the Holy Ghost), keys (likely referring to the two Priesthoods), two gripping hands (a symbol of marriage, since in this depiction one hand is clearly female) and the all-seeing eye (representing God's omniscience and presence).



Stained glass is, of course, a rarity in LDS chapels, and the heavy use of symbols is even rarer. It's a lovely window, although we don't have any documentation on who designed it.

Sunday, August 7, 2022

La Canada (CA) Ward

Today I'd like to highlight the La CaƱada Ward in Southern California. Built in 1949-50, it was designed by Louis Thomas, a Swiss architect who moved to California in 1921 and designed over 20 other chapels in the area.

It's mostly done in the Tudor style, although the steeple doesn't really seem to match the building...even if it's always had one.

Fortunately, the building looks much the same. It's got some unique stained glass on the interior as well that I'll highlight next time.