While I was snooping around in the vicinity of Evergreen Cemetery I came across this interesting place. At first glance I thought it was a run-down mansion.
Then I noticed the wide front steps and uniform windows & thought it also had some characteristics of a school.
gsv
Well it turns out, the building used to be the "Forsyth Memorial School for Girls"
"The institution was established in 1914 by the local Presbyterian Church, as a facility to "
Americanize" Latinas." -say what!?
At the time it was described as "a boarding school for 75 Mexican Girls".
rare early lantern slide of the Forsyth School
http://boyleheightshistoryblog.blogs...&max-results=9
The 1914 Mission Revival structure was designed by architect Henry M. Patterson, who worked on many regional Presbyterian churches.
The Forsyth School for Girls closed it's doors in 1934, a victim of the depression.
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....and the interesting history doesn't stop there:
With the conclusion of the second world war came a new, temporary use for the former Forsyth School for Girls.
Reconstituted as the "Evergreen Hostel," the site was utilized for the resettlement of Japanese-Americans sent away to internment camps during the war.
http://boyleheightshistoryblog.blogs...&max-results=9
Jun Oyama and two unidentified boys at the Evergreen Hostel, Boyle Heights.
The initial capacity of 60-75 was enlarged to over a 100 with furniture used in the internment camps transferred to the facility. It operated for roughly two years.
To see additional photos and info. on the Japanese-Americans at the Evergreen Hostel go here:
https://atomikaztex.wordpress.com/20...stel-postcard/
More recently, the facility has been known as the Fellowship House of Los Angeles / Union Church of Los Angeles.
here's a recent side view.
gsv
.......and an aerial.
google_earth
I was surprised by this aerial: I wasn't expecting an interior courtyard.
that said, the "courtyard" was probably part of the backyard before that ram-shackled addition was built.
I wonder if the "Union Church" owns that empty lot?
Special thanks to boyleheightshistoryblog.
http://boyleheightshistoryblog.blogs...chool-for.html
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