The Wadsworth Chapel: The Myths, the Legends, & the Truth

Once, it was the spiritual center of a home for Civil War era soldiers. Now, it strains to remain standing, in desperate need of repair from too many injuries sustained in the battle of time.

First, let’s separate the truth from the myth.

What's true

• Older than the bustling boulevard it overlooks: completed in 1900, the Wadsworth Chapel is the oldest standing building on Wilshire Boulevard. As for Wilshire Boulevard – a road that followed the paths of the indigenous Tongva people – it wouldn’t be paved until 1928.
• The Wadsworth Chapel is not only the oldest remaining building on the VA West Los Angeles campus, it’s been noted as perhaps its most architecturally unique.
• According to the original deed for the land, and mentioned in five separate paragraphs, the Wadsworth Chapel was to be the spiritual and community center of the grounds. Sitting atop a grand stairway at the front of the property, it was to be the grounds’ grand entrance.
• Its architecture represents a period when Los Angeles “transformed from a dusty Mexican outpost into a gilded age American Boomtown.” The Wadsworth Chapel’s late-Victorian architectural style would’ve been among thousands of similar structures built at the time. Only a handful still stand today.

• Besides being used as a venue for guest speakers, community and other events including weddings and funerals, in later years the Wadsworth Chapel would be incorporated into other multi-uses such as a site for therapeutic support for Veterans and their families, for group counseling, and other aspects vital to the continuum of mental health care.
• The Wadsworth Chapel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
• The Wadsworth Chapel is a highlight of “the 388-acre West LA campus [that] supports one of the largest, most complex medical centers in the VA system…the campus provides Veterans with access to a full continuum of healthcare services in a range of treatment environments including hospital, residential, long-term, and various outpatient settings.” (By comparison, the original Disneyland was only 100 acres.)

Why it's here

• The facility, now referred to as the VA West Los Angeles campus, was established in 1887 as the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers with a mandate to fulfill President Lincoln’s mission: To care for [them] who shall have borne the battle.
• In tribute to its purpose, the Wadsworth Chapel was named after the home’s first Chief Medical Officer, James Wolcott Wadsworth – also a decorated major in the Civil War, senator, congressman, and early Veterans’ advocate.
• Accommodating the religious diversity of its time, the Wadsworth Chapel was divided into two separate churches by a double brick wall, providing space for Catholic and Protestant worshippers each to enter from their own doors.

What you probably don't know is true

Funds for the restoration and operation of the Wadsworth Chapel are not provided by VA. All funds used for the Wadsworth Chapel restoration and operations will be provided by the lessee, Wadsworth Chapel Heritage Partners, and their financial partners which may include loans, grants, donations, and the use of historic tax credits.

Funds for restoration comes from:

• Wadsworth Chapel Heritage Partners (WCHP): This California 501(c)(3) is a non-profit public benefit corporation whose corporate officers consist of representatives from United States Veterans Initiative (U.S.VETS) and the 1887 Fund. WCHP leadership includes the chief executive officer of U.S.VETS, a non-profit organization providing housing, employment, and counseling services to Veterans across the country.  
• The 1887 Fund, is a non-profit organization led by descendants of the families that donated the land now comprising the VA West Los Angeles campus to the federal government. This organization is involved in planning, organizing, and performing actions in support of VA’s efforts to refurbish historic buildings located on the VA West Los Angeles campus, including the Governor’s Mansion, the Superintendent’s Home, the Streetcar Trolley Station, and the Hoover Barracks.
• The Wadsworth Chapel is to be a part of a $188 million capital campaign being launched by The Veterans Collective (a partnership of Century Housing, Thomas Safran & Associates, and U.S.VETS, and supported by the 1887 Fund), called “Veterans Promise Campaign.” The Wadsworth Chapel is to be included in a larger $1.1 billion dollar project that will include the development of at least 1,200 new Veteran housing units.
• Other organizations to be a part of the capital campaign include: Wadsworth Chapel & Historical Fund, Veteran Services and Welfare Fund, Infrastructure and Green Fund, Greatest Needs Fund, and an endowment fund to ensure that “services are uninterrupted for decades to come.”
• Applications are in process for State Historic Tax Credits.
• A donation was provided by The Getty Foundation for predevelopment design costs for the renovation.
• The renovation operation of the Wadsworth Chapel will offer many opportunities for Veteran involvement:
  • A portion of the building and non-building trades work will be awarded to Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) and/or Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB).
  • Veterans’ service organizations will be used for referrals for qualified persons to meet hiring targets.
  • Pre-apprenticeship training scholarships will be available for local Veteran residents.

What's in store for the restoration:

Efforts on the Wadsworth Chapel renovation were not able to commence until the execution of a lease with WCHP on November 30, 2020. This action followed a fair and competitive solicitation process, as required under VA regulations.

• Plans for the renovated building include its use as a multipurpose facility for the promotion of health and wellness for Veterans and their families – for mental health support, community and special events, guest speakers, spiritual wellness, and others. All of this is contingent on WCHP securing funding to fully restore and renovate the chapel.
• Oversight & accountability:
  • The lease with WCHP contains several provisions to provide oversight and accountability during the lease term:
    • WCHP is required to cooperate in good faith with respect to the actions of VA necessary to comply with the audit and reporting requirements of the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-226).
    • This includes complying with any and all recommendations and requests of the VA Office of Inspector General and providing VA with status updates for the Congressionally Mandated Report which is issued annually.
    • On an annual basis during the lease term at its sole expense, WCHP must obtain an independent third-party audit report of its obligations under the Lease, detailing the extent to which the obligations are being met, as well as specific recommendations to address any identified deficiencies going forward.
    • The audit for the first year of the lease is currently in process. Key activities during this time period are the commencement of fundraising activities and the commencement of due diligence and design utilizing the Getty Foundation donation.

While fundraising efforts continue for WCHP’s restoration of the Wadsworth Chapel, VA continues to prioritize and implement other projects and programs on the VA West Los Angeles campus that directly benefit the Veterans for which the grounds were dedicated: To those who have borne the battle.