Council Designates Disputed Church as Historic Building

Judgment Day came Tuesday for the “Jesus Saves” church. After almost five months of delay, the Los Angeles City Council decided to declare the Church of the Open Door (the building) a historic monument, even though the Church of the Open Door (the congregation) objected.

In making its 10-3 decision, the council provided up to a one-year moratorium on demolition of the downtown church known for the “Jesus Saves” signs on its roof. It also provided a victory for the controversial television preacher Gene Scott in his bitter feud with the Church of the Open Door, which had hoped to sell the real estate for top dollar to developers.

A purchase agreement with the Lincoln Properties development firm will likely fall through, say Church of the Open Door pastors. “We lost a $21-million purchase price,” said pastor Michael Cocoris. “We will probably have to lay off some of our staff and we are in danger of losing our property in Glendora.” A dwindling congregation prompted the church, which had been based downtown for 50 years, to move to Glendora almost two years ago.

The council’s decision, which came after several months of lobbying on both sides, triggered applause from followers of Scott and tears from some Church of the Open Door members. Emotion ran high during the lengthy hearing, and at one point a wheelchair-bound Scott follower rammed Church of the Open Door assistant pastor Dale Wolery as he addressed the council. The council’s sergeant-at-arms persuaded the woman to move away.

Uncomfortable with their roles as de facto referees in the church feud, several council members said they tried to focus on the single issue of whether the building had historic and architectural merit.

A visibly troubled Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, whose district includes the church and who in February told Scott’s congregation that “Hell’s gonna freeze over” before the building is torn down, seemed apologetic as he argued for its designation as a monument.

“I made commitments I thought were correct--that’s when I couldn’t talk to the other side,” he said. “Something might have been done wrong, I’m the first to admit it. Probably I went a little too far, I don’t know.”

The 86-year-old councilman, a religious man who relies heavily on aides to keep track of city issues, was referring to the ardent “save-the-church” stand that he took after first being approached by Scott. The TV preacher, who has made friends at City Hall with political contributions to Mayor Tom Bradley and by charitable gifts, was in a foreclosure battle with the Church of the Open Door when he approached Lindsay.

Scott entered a purchase agreement on the property in 1986, but defaulted shortly after paying a $6.5-million down payment, citing a lawsuit filed by a Church of the Open Door member who claimed an old trust made the sale invalid. The enmity between the two churches galvanized, however, after it was learned that the litigant, who had just recently joined the Church of the Open Door, had extensive ties to Scott.

Cocoris and Wolery have since voiced suspicions of Scott’s motives and methods. Wolery said Scott has pursued the church issue as a means to raise money, to feed an “enormous ego” and to satisfy a “vindictive” nature “because we have not bowed to him.”

Scott, who has rebuffed several interview attempts, has maintained he wants to preserve the building simply for its cultural value.

On a recent broadcast, Scott provided a glimpse of his persuasive style. “I believe that he (Lindsay) is God’s man for the hour,” the preacher said. “. . . I believe, still believe--and at the earliest opportunity will say this to Mr. Lindsay--that he has come to the kingdom for this hour, and that the crowning achievement of his many years of political life, and that what history will remember him the most for, is his action in regard to this church.” As recently as Monday night, Scott was suggesting that Lindsay’s support would assure the councilman a place in heaven.

At another point, Scott said Lindsay “is under unmerciful pressure. So I think he needs lots of letters and telegrams to wave in the face of those who pressure him. . . . Write him everyday! . . . Write, write, write, write, write, write!” (Lindsay said his mail was running about 5 to 1 in favor of declaring the church a monument.)

More Conventional Tack

The Church of the Open Door and its equal co-owner of the church property, Biola Hotels, by contrast, chose a more conventional political approach, hiring lobbyist Ken Spiker. Lincoln Properties, meanwhile, hired lobbyist H. Randall Stoke. Together, they emphasized that, before Gene Scott became involved, the City Council in 1985 approved a sale from the church to Lincoln in a development deal that would have also provided the city $21 million toward the restoration of the Central Library.

At the time, there was no outcry that the “Jesus Saves” church should be spared, and even the preservationist Los Angeles Conservancy voiced support for the deal as a “trade-off” that would benefit the library.

That original deal, which fell through in 1985, had been revived. To sweeten the offer, the Church of the Open Door and Biola Hotels--having already received $6.5 million from Scott’s organization--agreed to forfeit $2 million of the their profits to the library project as well.

But this time, the council said no to the Church of the Open Door. Councilman Joel Wachs, an ardent advocate of preserving historic buildings, stressed that there is no guarantee the most recent Lincoln Properties deal would go through.

“We’re extremely pleased with the way it turned out,” said Mark Travis, Scott’s chief of staff. “It’s a victory for us and a victory for the City of Los Angeles.”

As it was, only three council members spoke out against historic designation--Ernani Bernardi, Joy Picus and Joan Milke Flores.

If Lincoln Properties backs out, Cocoris said, the Church of the Open Door will lose $50,000 per month in option payments. The pastor said that real estate experts have advised him that, under more stringent development guidelines, it is unlikely that the church can be sold for the amount that Lincoln had offered.