Clergy, civic leaders and artist standing in nave with dome and Iconostasis behind them during opening of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, 1952

Item Overview

Title

Clergy, civic leaders and artist standing in nave with dome and Iconostasis behind them during opening of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, 1952

Architect

Walker, Albert R. (Albert Raymond), 1881-1958
Klingerman, Charles A. (Arthur), 1912-1988
Kalionzes, Gus (William), 1910-1984
Walker, Kalionzes & Klingerman, Architects

Date Created

September 1952
1952-09

Publisher

Los Angeles Daily News

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

Los Angeles Daily News Negatives

Notes

Description

This photograph appears with the article, "Cathedral of St. Sophia to Open Doors Sept. 28, New Church, Erected at Cost of $2,000,000, Will Be Center ofGreek Orthodoxy in U.S." Los Angeles Times, 15 Sept. 1952: A1.
View towards the Iconostasis (Iconostasion) and apse of Saint Sophia Cathedral with a painting of the Virgin Mary arms outstretched and a medalion icon of the Christ-child in front of her. She is represented here as the Queen of Heaven, ready to receive the faithful to the Gates of Heaven. Inscribed in Greek on the arch of the Sanctuary, the translation proclaims: "This is the Gate of Heaven." The painting is 33 feet in diameter and the face is 7 1/2 feet in diameter.
St. Sophia Cathedral, located at 1324 South Normandy Ave., opened in 1952. It was commissioned by theater executive Charles R. Skouras. Designed by the firm Walker, Kalionzes & Klingerman, it is frequently attributed to Gus Kalionzes. Artist William Chavalas, who trained at the Academy of arts in Athens and was the artistic director at 20th Century Fox designing film sets and movie theaters, created the wall paintings and designed the stained glass. The crystal chandeliers are Czechoslovakian. St. Sophia is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #120.

Caption

Text from newspaper caption: Impressive: Viewing the cathedral's interior are, left to right, A. K. Mellos, head of the Hellenic American Community; the Rev. L. C. Contos, pastor; Bishop Athenagoras; Artist William Chavalas, Charles P. Skouras, theater executuve.
Handwritten on negative: A. K. Mellos, Father Contos, Bishop Athenagoras, William Chavalas, Charles P. Skouras

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Dimensions

10 x 12.5 cm.

Medium

b&w negative

Keywords

Genre

interior views
news photographs

Names

Mellos, Athanasios, 1895-1977
Kokkinakis, Athenagoras T.
Chavalas, William T. (Tryphon), 1886-1956
Skouras, Charles P., 1889-1954
Saint Sophia Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Contos, Leonidas

Location

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Longitude

34.04693

Latitude

-118.298853

Resource type

still image

Subjects

Byzantine revival (Architecture)--California--Los Angeles
Murals--California--Los Angeles
Orthodox Eastern church buildings--California--Los Angeles
Landmarks
Chandeliers
Iconostases
Greek Americans--California--Los Angeles County--Religion
Orthodox Eastern Church--Bishops