Scientologists take the awnings down
After I complained in my column about how much the sight of the awnings promoting businesses no longer there made me, and other passersby who had mentioned it to me, miss South Raymond Avenue's Braley Building -- La Fornaretta, the Pasadena Antique Mall, Moji's -- the Church of Scientology, which has owned the building for two years, asked me over to show that it's finally taken the awnings down.
Good job. But Pasadena branch church President Eden Stein also noted that when I expressed fear that criticizing the famously thin-skinned church might earn me a snake in my mailbox, I was thinking of retribution meted out by Synanon, not the Hubbard-founded Narconon. No relation between the two. I stand corrected.
After staffer Janette Williams then wrote a story about widespread Old Pas concern about the building, which has been empty for over a year and is looking weathered and disused in the midst of the otherwise bustling district, the church says it has kicked into high gear, and will have plans for a renovation within a few weeks and expects to begin work by the end of the year and to complete it by March 2009. Eden showed me photos of similar historic buildings taken over by the church in Madrid, San Francisco, Milan and London. They look good. Not that they probably have really good Sicilian-style pizza joints in them.
The Scientologists couldn't say whether the new churchy place would include an educational diorama version of the mansion on South Orange Grove Boulevard where in the 1940s church founder L. Ron Hubbard lived with JPL rocket scientist John Parsons , the Aleister Crowley protege. They didn't know if the house is still extant. Or perhaps it's this one, pictured in a front window of the Braley Building, reflecting the Vandervort Building across the street:
Comments
Oh, excellent. I believe they will be good tenants. I have faith in them, absolutely. They are not all bad, like some people think. They have been historically helpful in Pasadena, at least this branch.
I know, they will come through.
Posted by: Miss Havisham, bitter anti-bride | June 26, 2008 7:56 PM
a mega cult complex in the middle of Old Pas. Great. Welcome to Pasadena where the extremists play and live.
Posted by: bleh | June 27, 2008 8:35 AM
They bought an old classic building in downtown Detroit as well. 2.5 years now, and the old sign isn't down yet. The place looks horrible. All those businesses evicted when the cult bought the building down by the Ren. Don't worry, Old Pas, they will someday finish the building.. Someday, unless they are out of money by then, or the cult has been shown for the dangerous organization it is. BTW, Miss Havisham, you didn't make it by 2 PM yesterday. No up-stat for U! Consider this reply your downstat for this week.
Posted by: Genxanon | June 27, 2008 10:58 AM
this'll get done right after their super building in clearwater is finished. (they broke ground 11-21-98 and construction is still on going, or at a stand-still) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Power_Building
Posted by: Mr Haveatem | June 27, 2008 11:21 AM
Have a look at the shoddy buildings they have all over the country for a taste of what's to come.
The only one that looks halfway decent is the celebrity center.
Is the building in Old Pas for celebrities?
Posted by: Anonymous | June 27, 2008 1:34 PM
If anyone needs any help getting away from scientology, check out Http://www.ExScientologykids.com
It's a website recently set up by three former scientology kids.
Posted by: Not Again | June 27, 2008 3:22 PM
$cientologists don't play around with snakes in the mail box lol. They try to ruin your life, aka Paulette Cooper, Gabe Cazares, and so many others. Find out the truth: www.xenu.net
www.xenutv.com
www.exscientologykids.com
Posted by: Michelle | June 28, 2008 12:11 PM
I am glad the erroneous reference to Narconon has been corrected. For anyone wanting truth regarding Narconon they should visit www.stopaddiction.com
Posted by: Kayakotto | June 29, 2008 7:29 AM
Strange that the cult is neglecting its building in a city which played such a key role in its founding. BTW--I think that the old Jack Parson's mansion in which Hubbard and Parsons tried to revive the whore of Babylon is gone. After Hubbard and his mistress (who had been Parsons' mistress & acomplis in the Crowley ritual) fled with most of Parsons' money, Parsons (who was also employed at the JPL) "blew himself up" in an explosion on that property. Fiction is never as strange as anything to do with Hubbard and his so-called church.
Posted by: Oikos | June 30, 2008 12:11 PM
Such nonsense, there is always good and bad within every so called religion.
Criminal behavior is criminal behavior, whether it be perpetrated by individual members of the Catholic Church or others. I'd very much hope that anyone abused by such individuals under whatever colour of religion or authority be brought to justice. That has nothing to do with the consequence of this building. So there.
Posted by: Miss Havisham's Tea Party | July 1, 2008 11:51 PM
I am not a Scientogist so I don't know really how they are organized. But from my research, financially (Detroit, Florida), they seem to be almost independent of each other. Look at Hollywood Blvd. for instance, their restoration and preservation effort is unmatched-only except for the Mouse.
Posted by: Miss Havisham's Tea Party | July 2, 2008 12:17 AM