A nearly century-old church in Los Angeles has found new life as a luxury boutique hotel, following a restoration that took roughly seven and a half years to complete. The former Bethany Presbyterian Church, built in 1931 in the Silver Lake neighborhood, reopened Sept. 14 as Hotel Lucile, a 25-room property featuring a courtyard cocktail pool.
The building has worn many hats over the decades. After serving as a house of worship, it operated as a theater and later an antique market before its latest conversion into a hotel. The transformation sought to give the structure a viable new purpose while retaining the architectural character of its original religious use.
Many of the church's original features remain throughout the property, including stained-glass windows, wooden beams, high ceilings, and steel-framed windows. The most dramatic change took place inside the former chapel, which now serves as the hotel's restaurant and dining room. According to Anthony Gutierrez, opening general manager of Hotel Lucile, nearly every aspect of the chapel itself was preserved, including the original wood flooring, beams, and stained-glass windows.
Preserving those elements while preparing the building for modern use required extensive work. Crews removed the chapel's original wood flooring to install updated electrical and plumbing systems and to add soundproofing for guest rooms before putting the flooring back in place. Gutierrez estimated that about 90% of the dining room space remains original. «For the dining room itself, it is as original as it can be,» he said.
Working with a building approaching its 100th year presented challenges throughout the years-long redevelopment. «We had surprises up until the day when we received our certificate of occupancy,» Gutierrez said. «It was not an easy journey.» Meeting contemporary building requirements while trying to preserve the structure's original architectural elements made parts of the restoration a painstaking process, he added.
The building's latest chapter also includes an art collection, with two large hand-painted murals in the former chapel and other works displayed throughout the property. Some pieces are part of a permanent collection, while others are available for purchase, according to Gutierrez.
Alongside the preserved historic features, the hotel has introduced modern touches, including an Erewhon-curated minibar and a roving martini cart that makes its rounds each evening. Gutierrez said the combination of old and new can offer travelers something different from a traditional hotel experience. «There is some comfort in things being the same, but taking even a small risk of just going somewhere different and experiencing something different can really bring kind of a highlight to a trip or even a staycation,» he said.
The project reflects a broader trend of adapting historic religious and civic buildings for hospitality and residential uses, though such conversions often require balancing preservation goals with modern safety and accessibility codes. For Silver Lake, the reopening adds a new lodging option in a neighborhood known for its eclectic architecture and cultural history, while giving a long-vacant landmark a daily role in the life of the city once again.