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Building History

The previous, award-winning church by the Los Angeles architectural firm of Jones and Emmons burned in the Mandeville Canyon Fire of 10/23/1978; ground was broken for Saint Matthews Episcopal Church #3, Pacific Palisades, CA on 06/14/1981; the church held its first service, 03/18/1983.

Building Notes

The Los Angeles Conservancy said of the church: With the requirement that the design had to be approved by two-thirds of the congregation, the architects went to work on a collaboration that would combine two different desires: one for a lofty, symmetrical, acoustically superb church with little glass or wood; and one for a more rustic, informal space with intimate seating, lots of wood, and a connection to the landscape outside. The resulting building, completed in 1983, integrates these different viewpoints with great success, using a Late Modern style that is lovely and functional without being aggressive. The church’s entrance is framed by low, informal porches that usher you into a glass narthex, transitioning to a tall, formal nave marked by steel arches that are both structural support and ornamentation. A hipped roof intersects the nave and transept in a way that accommodates existing mature trees and forms courtyards, while operable skylights at the ridge of the roof allow for climate control without air conditioning." (See LA Conservancy.org, "St. Matthew's Episcopal Church," accessed 11/02/2018.)

PCAD id: 2503