Of course, Los Angeles is guarded by angels; anyone who doubts this should make a pilgrimage to this wonderful place. No, not to the bridge in MacArthur Park from the unforgettable song “Under the Bridge” by the Red hot chili peppers – you go there for a pact with the devil, which some in this city have made. For the angels, you wander from the Griffith Observatory towards the Hollywood sign for quite a while, and then you see it, just below the “H”: Monastery of the Angels.
This Dominican Order has existed since 1924. In LA it is known for its formidable pumpkin bread, which is sold quite secularly; and for the fact that the nuns send prayers to heaven around the clock and therefore close their eyes to what else is going on in the Hollywood Hills. It is said that famous neighbors often make pilgrimages to the chapel, confess their sins, pray for a successful film release or seek divine inspiration for the next album – but all that should now be over: the order has announced that it will close the house where five are left Nuns live instead of up to 45 as they once did.
The announcement causes a lot of excitement in the city because: Lose the City of Angels really his angels? It is said that this property is worth about $ 2.7 million, but could be double that if sold. The neighbors fear that the necessarily wealthy buyers could then erect an architectural idol and indulge in worldly pleasures – that is, create a pilgrimage site in the Hollywood Hills for those who previously sinned under the MacArthur Bridge and want to continue to sin.
You have to look at it all in a bigger context: In LA, what’s happening in so many places right now. Rents and property prices are increasing immeasurably, places are losing their unique selling points. The artist hotel “Chateau Marmont” on the Sunset Strip should first be converted into a private club, now it is a sinfully expensive noble hotel with what they call a “holy of holies” for members. It’s not only blasphemous, it’s stupid because a place becomes legendary because of the people. The then unknown James Dean, for example, hopped through a window there to get the role in “Rebel Without a Cause” – and disrupted an affair between director Nicholas Ray and actress Natalie Wood. How cool can a place be that only the rich can afford who think they can afford cool?
Many of these often quirky uniqueness are disappearing: the “101 Coffee Shop” in Hollywood, the “Pacific Dining Car” in Santa Monica, the dive bar “Poop Deck” in Hermosa Beach. There was hope at the Monastery of the Angels: Wealthy neighbors started a petition and wanted to help financially – but that’s obviously not the point. It is said that the nuns quarreled violently among themselves and therefore withdrew, and that makes things even worse. What does that say about them City of Angels if the earthly representatives don’t even get along with each other and still want to live here?