A building that has stood in Los Angeles for nearly a century is welcoming visitors in an entirely new way after an extensive restoration.The former Bethany Presbyterian Church, built in 1931 in the city's Silver Lake neighborhood, has been converted into Hotel Lucile, a 25-room boutique hotel with a courtyard cocktail pool that opened Sept.14, according to a hotel news release shared with Fox News Digital.The property has taken on several roles over the decades.
After operating as a church, it was later used as a theater and an antique market before being converted into a hotel, according to the release.RENTALS NOW ALLOWED IN HISTORIC WATER TOWER ON KING CHARLES' SANDRINGHAM ESTATE WHERE ROYALS SPEND CHRISTMASThe latest transformation was about seven and a half years in the making, Anthony Gutierrez, opening general manager of Hotel Lucile, told Fox News Digital.The restoration focused on finding a new use for the building while maintaining elements that date to its time as a house of worship, Gutierrez said.Hotel Lucile is a 25-room boutique hotel housed in a former Presbyterian church built in Los Angeles in 1931 (pictured).(Chase Daniels)Many of the church's original features remain throughout the property, including stained-glass windows, wooden beams, high ceilings and steel-framed windows.One of the biggest transformations took place inside the former chapel, which now serves as the hotel's restaurant and dining room.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER"Literally just about every aspect of the chapel itself was preserved," Gutierrez said, pointing to the original wood flooring, beams and stained-glass windows.Preserving those features while preparing the building for its new use required extensive work, Gutierrez said.
Crews removed the chapel's original wood flooring to install modern electrical and plumbing systems and add soundproofing for the guest rooms before putting the flooring back into place.The transformation of the historic propert...