The Church of the Epiphany in Lincoln Heights, shown here in the 1920s, was built in the late 1880s. (Escher GuneWardena / Church of the Epiphany)

Sitting quietly on a side street in Lincoln Heights, in a residential neighborhood sandwiched between the 5 Freeway and the hills of Montecito Heights, is L.A.'s oldest continuously used Episcopal church.

Since 1886, the landmark Church of the Epiphany has stood at the corner of Sichel and Altura streets. It has been through religious services and weddings, community meetings and events, and a period of great transformation in the middle of the 20th century, when Lincoln Heights evolved from white professional enclave into an important Mexican immigrant community. 

In fact, in the latter half of the 20th century it became an important center of local Chicano history. Farm labor leader Cesar Chavez gave talks at the church. Eastside organizers for Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign gathered in its halls, as did the activists who helped plan the 1968 East L.A. high school walkouts and the 1970 Chicano Moratorium anti-Vietnam War protest where former L.A. Times reporter and columnist Ruben Salazarwas killed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.

The church still serves as an important community site, offering SAT tutoring, a food bank and important health services, as well as summer arts programs and dance classes....Continue Reading

> via LA Times