The Chapel building was originally designed for use as a power and passenger station for the San Diego to La Jolla trolley line. The plans were completed in 1926. It was used as a station until purchased by the pioneers of our La Jolla Methodist Church in 1953.
In August 1988 the Board of Trustees accepted a generous gift from two dear friends and members of the church. The gift was to be used to begin the work of converting the original sanctuary, then used as a storage room, into a chapel – “Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful.”
Because of her experience in interior decorating and her interest in California missions, Merilyn Howard was asked to head the project. She graciously agreed, in a voluntary position. The Administrative Board approved her first plan.
The research into the project is obvious, every detail has been taken from or is an adaption of the California Missions. Most appointments have been created by hand by skilled craft-persons. The decorative designs are duplicates of those used in the missions, and have been hand-painted and stenciled by artists.
During her research, Merilyn happened upon photographs of the San Carlos Mission in Monterey. Built in 1794, it is the oldest mission in continuous use of all the California Missions. AN AMAZING DISCOVERY, the power station which we have converted into a chapel duplicates almost exactly the front design of that mission! No one knows why the architect used so elaborate a design for a power station – but we are happy that they did!
