University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Not so Little Armenia: conserving Armenian heritage sites in Los Angeles

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Not so Little Armenia: conserving Armenian heritage sites in Los Angeles

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NOT SO LITTLE ARMENIA:
CONSERVING ARMENIAN HERITAGE SITES IN LOS ANGELES

by

Erik Van Breene

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF HERITAGE CONSERVATION (MHC)

MAY 2022

Copyright 2022 Erik Van Breene

ii
Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to my great-grandparents Harry Muckjian, Eliz Muckjian, George
Dulgarian, and Haiganoosh Dulgarian who escaped Ottoman oppression and found new life in
Los Angeles.

iii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my thesis committee chair, Trudi Sandmeier, who for years
supported me and encouraged me along this journey. Without your cheerleading I would never
have finished. I’d like to thank my committee Jay Platt and Meredith Drake Reitan who
provided the critical eye I needed. I’d also like to thank Ani Mnatsakanyan and her
grandmother. Without your help many of the sites identified in this thesis would not have been
included.
Lastly and most importantly, I would like to thank my family. My grandparents, Dick and
Lita Dulgarian who reminded me to be proud of my Armenian heritage. And to my mother
Dickie Van Breene who has always supported me through my life’s journeys.

iv

Table of Contents
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
List of Tables vi
List of Figures vii
Abstract viii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Origins and Evolution of the Armenian Community in Los Angeles 3
Origins 3
Ottoman Empire 4
American Missionaries in Ottoman Turkey 5
Massacres and Genocide 7
First Wave of Immigration to the United States: 1890-1921 9
San Joaquin Valley 11
City of Los Angeles 12
Pasadena 15
Second Wave of Armenian Immigration 18
Hollywood 18
Pasadena 20
Glendale 21
Chapter 2: Institutional Properties (Houses of Worship, Schools, and Care Facilities) 26
Religious 26
Protestant and Congregational Churches and Organizations 26
Armenian Apostolic Churches 33
Armenian Pryguny Molokans 37
Catholic Churches 42
Education 43
Ararat Home 46
Chapter 3: Armenian Businesses 48
Rugs 48
Food 50
Markets 51
Delis 53

v
Bakeries 55
Restaurants and Eateries 57
Art and Culture 61
Media 65
Chapter 4: Conservation Solutions 68
Conventional Solutions 68
Context Statements 68
Local, State, and National Designation 71
Designation in Practice 74
Non-Traditional Preservation 76
Legacy Businesses 76
Mapping & Tours 77
Community Organizations 78
Conclusion 80
Further Research and Questions 80
Bibliography 82
Appendix A: Complete list of Armenian Heritage Sites 89

vi
List of Tables

Table 1. 1 Timeline of first wave immigration to Los Angeles County. 18
Table 1. 2 Armenian population growth from 1990-2010 using places of origin 23
Table 1. 3 Timeline of Second Wave of Immigration 25

Table 3. 1 List of early Armenian owned rug stores. 49

vii
List of Figures

Figure 1. 1 Six Armenian Vilayets in the Ottoman Empire 5
Figure 1. 2 Magarian Family in Marsovan pre-Armenian Genocide 6
Figure 1. 3 Map of Armenian Genocide and deportation Routes of 1915 9
Figure 1. 4 Balayan family deportation Papers 10

Figure 2. 1 Armenian Congregational Church 28
Figure 2. 2 Former Masis Congregational Church 29
Figure 2. 3 Former Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church 29
Figure 2. 4 Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church 30
Figure 2. 5 Former sanctuary of the Cilician Congregational Church 32
Figure 2. 6 Original Holy Cross Church 35
Figure 2. 7 Former sanctuary for the First Procohladnoye Church of Russian Molokan Spiritualist
Christian Holy Jumpers of L.A. 39
Figure 2. 8 First United Molokan Church 40
Figure 2. 9 Old Russian Molokan Cemetery 41
Figure 2. 10 Old Russian Molokan Cemetery 42
Figure 2. 11 Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church 43
Figure 2. 12 Rose and Alex Pilibos School 45

Figure 3. 1 Former location of J.H. Minassian and Company 50
Figure 3. 2 Bezjian's Grocery 52
Figure 3. 3 Interior of Sahag's Basturma 54
Figure 3. 4 Garo's Basturma 55
Figure 3. 5 Carousel Restaurant 59
Figure 3. 6 Falafel Arax 61
Figure 3. 7 Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter 63
Figure 3. 8 Former site of Abril Bookstore and Publishing 64
Figure 3. 9 Parseghian Records 65
Figure 3. 10 Asbarez Newspaper and Horizon Television headquarters 67

viii
Abstract

Los Angeles is home to the largest population of ethnic Armenians outside the Republic
of Armenia. Throughout the twentieth century, Los Angeles experienced a series of waves of
Armenian immigration from throughout the Middle East and Transcaucasia regions. The first
wave, from 1890-1924, was made up mostly of Armenians from the Ottoman Empire and to a
lesser extent those from the Russian Empire. The first wave is characterized by survivors of
massacres and genocide in the Ottoman Empire and Czarist Russia. In 1924, new immigration
policy effectively ended a period of immigration for all populations outside Western Europe. By
the end of 1920s, three distinct Armenian enclaves had formed in South Los Angeles, Boyle
Heights, and Pasadena.
In the 1960s, Armenian immigration resumed once again with the passage of new
immigration policy. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 also known as the Hart-Cellar
Act, enabled a new and distinctly different wave of Armenian immigration. From 1965 to the
1990s, this new group of immigrants came to the United States seeking refuge from political
and social instability throughout the Middle East during the Lebanese Civil War, Iranian
Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, and South Caucuses during the collapse of the Soviet Union, and
economic crash of the Republic of Armenia. These new immigrants strengthened older enclaves
while simultaneously creating new ones, shaping the Armenian community one sees today.
Despite the County’s large Armenian population, there are few historic resources
identified through official surveys and no designated historic resources. This thesis aims to
create a cultural context for the Armenian American community in Los Angeles County, identify
sites of significance, and present heritage conservation tools in an effort preserve memory and
identity for Armenians through the built environment.

1
Introduction

The Armenian diaspora is complex and far reaching. Following the Armenian Genocide
of 1915, refugees scattered around the world. In these new lands, Armenians built new lives
while maintaining their strong cultural identity. No other region in the world, outside the
Republic of Armenia, tells the history of the Armenian diaspora as well as Los Angeles County
which is home to the largest Armenian Diaspora community. In Los Angeles, the various
diaspora groups cohabitate and create a uniquely rich tapestry.
Cultural preservation is at the core of Los Angeles’s Armenian community. The act of
preserving culture and memory is not only a display of resilience, but a conscious act of
resistance against those who continue to try to erase their existence. It is within this context
that heritage conservation can play an important role by preserving memory through the built
environment.
The first chapter of this thesis provides a global and local context for Armenians in Los
Angeles. The chapter discusses the events and conditions abroad which caused Armenians to
leave their indigenous lands. Over the course of 100 years, two distinct waves of immigration
emerge, the first occurring before the restrictive Immigration Act of 1924 and the second after
the passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. Prior to 1924, most Armenians
arriving in the United States were from Anatolia. After 1965, Armenians arrived from an array
of nations throughout Southwest Asia and Transcaucasia. Lastly, this chapter looks at the
reasons for Armenian migration to Los Angeles from other parts of the United States.
The second chapter explores the establishment of institutional properties throughout
Los Angeles County. These include churches, schools, and an elder care facility. Institutional
properties play an important role in cultural preservation by maintaining and strengthening
community relationships. They also reveal important trends relating to settlement patterns
throughout Los Angeles. Often, institutional properties are established after the enclave
reaches a critical mass.
The third chapter introduces the role of business in the Armenian community. The
introduction of an Armenian economy developed to support the cultural needs of enclaves.

2
Food services, shops, media, and non-profit organizations provide Armenian-specific services
that are not otherwise met by the dominant culture. Additionally, these businesses allow
greater visibility to non-Armenians through goods and storefront signage.
The fourth chapter of this thesis presents existing heritage conservation solutions for
Armenian heritage sites. Some of these tools include historic context statements, municipal
ordinances, and mapping. At the present time, there is little Armenian representation in Los
Angeles’s heritage conservation landscape. Less than a handful of Armenian heritage sites have
been identified through official historic resources surveys and no formal designations have
been completed to ensure significant sites are protected. In addition to the tools presented,
this chapter addresses challenges such as community outreach, traditional integrity standards,
and the lack of representation.
It is impossible to capture the entirety of Los Angeles’s Armenian heritage in this single
thesis. Further research and outreach must be completed to tell the complex and multilayered
history of this community. This paper is intended to be an initial step for the field of heritage
conservation in an effort to illuminate Armenian heritage in Los Angeles and create
representation. It is my hope that this thesis will inspire and motivate the community to pursue
heritage conservation solutions in an effort to own their narrative and decide what is important
to them.

3
Chapter 1: Origins and Evolution of the Armenian Community in Los
Angeles

Los Angeles is the home to the largest Armenian population outside the Republic of
Armenia. The story of the Armenian people and the establishment Los Angeles’s Armenian
community is one of struggle and rebirth. With origins in the Armenian highlands of Southwest
Asia, massacres, genocide, revolutions, and civil wars were catalysts for various waves of
Armenian immigration to the United States. Many of the first Armenians to arrive in the United
States settled in industrial cities in the east. By the turn of the century much of the population
moved west upon hearing stories of prosperity in California. This chapter will examine the
origin of the Armenian people, how they arrived in Los Angeles, and how the community grew
in significance.

Origins
Armenian history begins at the crossroads of the great Eastern and Western empires.
Located along the Silk Road, the Armenian Plateau was a strategic region for trade and fought
over by Greeks, Romans, Persians, Ottomans, and Russians for centuries. In 301 CE, Gregory the
Illuminator successfully converted King Tiridates III, thus establishing the first Christian nation.
After his conversion and the formation of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Tiridates named
Gregory as its first Catholicos.
1
The Christian conversion of Armenians in 301 contributes to a
deep sense of pride for many Armenians around the world often acting as a cultural bond.
Language is one of the most important tenets of Armenian identity. In 406 CE, King
Vramshapuh, Catholicos Sahak, and the monk Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian
alphabet. Mashtots is a celebrated figure in Armenian culture, with many schools and
institutions named after him. There are two major dialects of the Armenian language, Eastern
and Western. The dividing line of these dialects is roughly the historic border between the
Ottoman and Persian empires. Throughout the centuries, Armenians remained committed to

1
Catholicos is the title given to the patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church
had been aligned with the Catholic Church until 552 CE when it completely separated because of differences
stemming from the Fourth Ecumenical Council of the West in 541 CE.

4
preserving their language and alphabet despite great pressures to adopt others. The choice to
preserve the Armenian language can be seen as a conscious act of cultural preservation.

Ottoman Empire
By the sixteenth century, historic Armenian lands were split between the Ottoman and
Persian empires. The divide between eastern and western empires fostered unique cultural
identities and experiences that continue to influence the Armenian diaspora today. During the
Ottoman Empire, most Armenians lived in rural central and eastern Anatolia. However, smaller
but significant populations lived in commercial centers such as Istanbul, Smyrna, Bursa,
Samson, Trebizond, Angora, and Caesaria. In Smyrna alone, an estimated 17,000 – 50,000
Armenians lived in the city.
2

The largest populations of Armenians lived in the Empire’s eastern provinces of Van,
Erzerum, Sivas, Bitlis, Diyarbakir, Mamuret-ul-Aziz, Adana, and Aleppo. It is estimated that
roughly 1,950,000 Armenians lived in these provinces, about seventy-five percent of the
Empire’s Armenian population.
3
Of the eight provinces, Van, Erzerum, Sivas, Bitlis, Mamuret-ul-
Aziz, and Diyarbakir had the highest concentration of Armenians.

2
The city of Smyrna is now known as Izmir.; Robert Mirak, Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890
to World War I, Cambridge, Mass: Distributed for the Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard
University by Harvard University Press, 1983, 11.
3
Mirak, p.11.

5

Figure 1. 1 Six Armenian Vilayets in the Ottoman Empire. Source: An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire,
Volume 2 at Google Books by Suraiya Faroqhi, Bruce McGowan, Donald Quataert, Sevket Pamuk.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_vilayets#/media/File:Six_Vilayets,_Ottoman_Empire_(1900).png).

American Missionaries in Ottoman Turkey
It is believed that the Armenian Highlands are at the headwaters of the four biblical
rivers, where the Garden of Eden once existed, and Noah’s Ark rested atop Mount Ararat. From
Ararat, Noah and his kin descended to live on the mountain’s slopes. During the Second Great
Awakening in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries followed in the footsteps of
the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew who went to the slopes of Mt. Ararat to evangelize
Noah’s descendants.
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) organized in
1810.
4
Shortly thereafter, the ABCFM sent their first missionaries to Palestine to evangelize
Jews, pagans, Muslims, and to convert non-protestant Christians. All but the Armenians seemed

4
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, accessed March 10, 2022,
https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/24/resources/2708.

6
to resist the missionary’s efforts. When the Americans returned from their first mission, the
ABCFM decided to refocus their efforts on converting Armenians.
The relationship between American Protestant Missionaries and Armenian immigration
to the United States during the 1800s is significant and should not be overlooked. By 1847, the
Protestant presence was so strong that a new Ottoman millet was formed in the government.
5

By 1908, the ABCFM’s presence in Turkey comprised 269 outstations, 195 missionaries and
their wives, 852 teachers, 130 churches, 5 theological schools, 49 colleges, and many boarding
and high schools.
6
Through American education, Armenians learned Western concepts of
liberty and freedom which led to what historian Robert Mirak calls the “Armenian Awakening.”
7

The Protestant network enabled Armenians to emigrate during Hamidian Massacres (1894-97),
1909 Massacres, and the Armenian Genocide in 1915. Once in the United States, Armenians
used this network to find work and eventually move west to California.

Figure 1. 2 Magarian Family in Marsovan pre-Armenian Genocide. Several of the Magarian children were educated at schools
run by American missionaries. Source: Courtesy of the author’s family archive.

5
The millet system was the system of government used in the Ottoman Empire to separate religious communities.
6
Mirak, 24.
7
Mirak, 23.

7

Massacres and Genocide
A series of acts including the Hamidian Massacres, Armenian-Tartar massacres, and
ultimately the Armenian Genocide forced the first Armenians from their homeland. From 1894-
1897 the Hamidian Massacres were catalysts for the first wave of permanent Armenian
immigration to the United States. In 1891, Sultan Abdul Hamid II organized the Hamidiye Corps,
a militia of Kurdish tribesmen. In 1894, the Hamidiye Corps and Turkish regulars besieged the
town of Sasoon massacring Armenians. The violence had a ripple effect, spreading to twenty-
four villages causing some 20,000 Armenian deaths.
8
Sasoon marked the first in the series of
massacres lasting from 1894 to 1896. It is estimated that during the Hamidian Massacres
100,000 to 200,000 Armenian were murdered and another 500,000 Armenians were left
orphaned or homeless.
9

In 1902, a coalition of Young Turks, Armenians, Arabs, Jews, and Kurds formed a
revolutionary coalition that would overthrow the Sultan in an effort to form constitutional
government in Turkey. On July 24, 1908, the Young Turk Revolution, deposed the Sultan and
established a new constitutional government.
10
Shortly after the Young Turks seized power, a
brief coup led by Sultan Abdul Hamid II allowed his regime to regain power for ten days. Amid
the coup, the Sultan ordered pogroms against Armenians in Cilicia (Adana) using their political,
economic, and religious differences as justification for the ethnic cleansing. Despite the Sultans
short reign, the massacres persisted. By its end, much of the Cilician Armenian quarters were
destroyed and approximately 25,000 Armenians in the region were dead.
11
The massacres
during 1894-1909 were only a precursor to the violence that would occur between 1915-1923.
The Armenian Genocide is one of the most significant events in modern Armenian history. The
unhealed trauma and lack of accountability of the Turkish government deeply affects the
Armenian identity more than one hundred years later.

8
George Byron Kooshian, “The Armenian Immigrant Community of California, 1880-1935,” thesis (Ph. D.) --
University of California, Los Angeles, 2002., 2002., 25.
9
Mirak., 31.
10
George A. Bournoutian, A Concise History of the Armenian People: From Ancient Times to the Present, 2nd ed.
Costa Mesa, Calif: Mazda Publishers, 2003, 268.
11
Bournoutian, 269.

8
In 1914, an unprepared Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in World War I. On
April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Interior Ministry ordered the detention and deportation of
hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, civic leaders, and prominent businessmen under the
auspices of anti-nationalistic behavior. Those who were arrested never returned home. This
event marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. Every year on April 24, Armenians
around the world mourn their ancestors and call for the accountability of the Turkish
government for the atrocities it committed. To this day the Turkish government denies the
genocide and has regularly accused Armenians of massacring Turks.
The Armenian Genocide is considered the first genocide of the modern era. Advances in
communication and transportation facilitated killings and deportation on a scale never seen.
Telegraphs allowed orders to be sent instantly from Constantinople to officials throughout the
country who carried out the heinous crimes. Rapid communication paired with vast rail
networks extending to all points within the empire allowed Turks to deport Armenians from
their indigenous lands at staggering numbers.
In May 1915, Armenians from Van, Bitlis, and Erzerum Provinces were forced from their
homes and ordered to resettle in Mosul, Zor Sanjak, Urfa, Aleppo, and the Syrian Province with
a goal of reducing the populations to less than ten percent.
12
Men who had not been
conscripted were quickly rounded up and killed while the elderly, women, and children were
sent on death marches east through the desert. During these marches, Turkish and Kurdish
soldiers, and civilians brutalized and plundered Armenian caravans as gendarmes watched. It
did not take long for both the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to run red with the blood of Armenian
women and children. Clogged with corpses, dysentery spread to all who drank from them.
13

Individuals fortunate to survive the marches, found new homes in concentration camps.

12
Guenter Lewy, The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide,” (Salt Lake City: The
University of Utah Press, 2005), 152.
13
Sara Cohan, "A brief history of the Armenian genocide." Social Education 69, no. 6 (2005): 333+. Academic
OneFile (accessed May 20, 2019).
http://link.galegroup.com.libproxy2.usc.edu/apps/doc/A138440963/AONE?u=usocal_main&sid=AONE&xid=52d97
8fc.

9
By the genocide’s end, approximately 1,500,000 Armenians were dead along with
hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Assyrians. The genocide created a global Armenian
diaspora that we see today. Many Armenians came to the United States during the genocide,
however, many more resettled primarily throughout Southwest Asia, Europe, South America,
and Australia.

Figure 1. 3 Map of Armenian Genocide and deportation Routes of 1915. Source: Wikicommons/Semhur
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide#/media/File:Armenian_Genocide_Map-en.svg).

First Wave of Immigration to the United States: 1890-1921
Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Armenian immigration
ebbed and flowed as American immigration policy shifted. Over this period there appears to be
two distinct waves of immigration, the first being from approximately 1890-1924 and the
second from 1965-2000. For the purpose of this thesis, this section will primarily focus on
immigration and settlement in Los Angeles County.
The earliest Armenian immigrants to arrive were affiliated with the American Protestant
missionaries in Turkey and typically young men who came pursuing higher education or
temporary work. A small number of these men remained in the United States, and the majority
returned to home the Ottoman Empire. Armenian immigration records and census data have
proved difficult for many researchers. Early data is problematic because most of the records

10
indicate Turkey as the country of origin and their race as white presenting no information
regarding Armenian heritage except for the name. The 1921 Emergency Quota Act and
subsequent 1924 National Origins Act drastically limited the number of Armenians that could
immigrate to the United States. In 1921 alone, over 10,000 Armenians immigrated to the
United States. By World War II, approximately 80,000 Armenians were living in the United
States.
14

Figure 1. 4 Balayan family deportation Papers. Source: Author's family archive.
Armenian enclaves first formed around textile and industrial facilities in the Northeast
and upper Midwest. The oldest Armenian communities in the United States remain present in
New York City, Providence, RI, Boston and Worcester, MA. As Armenian immigration increased
due to heightened persecution abroad, communities moved west to Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI,
and Racine, WI. However, an unlikely farm town in the San Joaquin Valley emerged as the most
significant Armenian enclave during the interwar period. Over the next century, California’s
Armenian population grew to become the largest outside Armenia. From California’s Central

14
Daniel Fittante, “But why Glendale? A history of Armenian Immigration to Southern California,” 2017, 3.

11
Valley, Armenians moved north to San Francisco, but more importantly south into the lower
San Joaquin Valley and into Los Angeles County.
San Joaquin Valley
In 1876, Frank Normart became the first Armenian on record to arrive in Fresno,
however, his initial stay was short. Soon after the Seropian brothers became the first
permanent Armenian residents in Fresno.
15
Hagop, Garabed, and Simon Seropian came to the
United States with returning missionaries. Settling in Worcester, MA they opened and operated
a small store. When their father died, Garabed and Simon returned home to Marsovan.
16
While
his brothers were away, Hagop contracted tuberculosis and, like many others at the time, was
advised to move west to California. In 1881, after his brothers returned, Hagop left for
California with Simon. Using the Protestant network, the brothers found lodging with two
former missionaries in the San Joaquin Valley. After a successful stay in Fresno, the remaining
brothers on the East Coast moved west. In 1882, Hagop purchased forty-acres of land becoming
the first Armenian to buy property in Fresno.
17

It wasn’t long before other Armenians joined the Seropians. Haji Bedros Seferian and S.
Minasian soon arrived in Fresno, then came Stepan Shamirian from Marsovan, Melkon
Markarian of Mush, and Madhesi Bedros Bedrosian from Garin, all men arriving with their
families, a notable difference from earlier immigration.
18
Soon, a sizeable community formed as
letters reached the old country encouraging other Armenians to move. In September 1883, a
party of forty from Marsovan arrived in Fresno.

Word increasingly spread throughout Armenian
communities within the United States. Later a sizeable group of families from Kharpert settled
in Fresno.
By 1897, 329 Armenians lived and operated 1,800 acres of vineyards in Fresno County.
19

This grew to 500 by 1900, and in 1908 the number was 2,326, owning 12,816 acres. By 1910

15
Kooshian writes that his real name was Mardiros Yanikian but upon reaching Ellis Island shouted, “Nor mart
em!” translated to “I am a new man!” and was given the name Frank Normart by the inspector.; Kooshian, 32.
16
Merzifon in Turkish.
17
Kooshian, 33.
18
Muş in Turkish; Kooshian, 34.
19
Kooshian, 43.

12
Armenians comprised more than four percent of the Fresno County’s total population.
20
In
1914, the year before the Armenian Genocide, the population reached 6,334 in the county.
21

When the United States’ entered World War I, immigration tightened. However, the Armenian
population in Fresno still grew by 2,500, revealing migration from within the United States.
By 1930, 84 percent of Armenians living in the United States moved to Fresno after an
average of 5.7 years.
22
As Fresno’s Armenian population swelled, Armenians spread into
neighboring towns. From Fresno, Armenians primarily moved south into Fowler, Selma,
Kingsburg, Parlier, Reedley, Wahtoke, and Tulare, with smaller settlements in Del Rey, Sanger,
Visalia, Turlock, Dinuba, and Yettem.
23
The migration south eventually led to Armenians settling
in Los Angeles with a strong network throughout the Central Valley for future commercial
development within the community.
City of Los Angeles
In 1900, Parnag Serope Yezdikardashian of Caesarea became the first Armenian to live in
the City of Los Angeles. Soon after Yezdikardashian, other Armenian individuals and families
began arriving in Los Angeles., At this time, most who arrived entered the Oriental rug business.
Avedis Enfiajian and Hovhannes Pashgian from Kharpert both arrived in 1900; Reverend Haigag
Khazoyan in 1901; Hovhannes Arakelian, 1902; Mrs. Elmas Dinjian and her son, 1902; Dikran
Avakian and his wife, 1903; M. Jamgochian and sons, 1903. By 1905 there were approximately
one hundred Armenians living in the Los Angeles area.
24

In 1905, Yenovk Ter Stepanian, a protestant pastor moved to Los Angeles from the East
Coast for health reasons and began preaching. That same year, seven Transcaucasian Armenian
families moved from Kars.
25
This group included the Shekerians, Mooshagians, Perumians,
Gatanians, Nalians, and Stepanians. In the following year more Transcaucasian Armenians from

20
Kooshian, 44.
21
Kooshian, 45.
22
Fittante, “But why Glendale,” 5.
23
Yettem changed its name from Lovell as Armenian residents who renamed it after the Armenian word for
“Eden.” For more information on Yettem’s Armenian heritage, see Ani Mnatsakanyan’s USC Master’s thesis
“Reconstructing Eden: The Armenian Community of Yettem, CA.”
24
Kayseri in Turkish; Kooshian, 57.
25
Transcaucasian Armenian will be used throughout this thesis rather than the more commonly used Russian
Armenian terminology. Transcaucasia refers the south Caucus region where the present-day Republic of Armenia
exists. During the late 1800s, the Russian Empire captured this region from the Ottomans; Kooshian, 58.

13
Kars and Shirak moved to Los Angeles as did Western Armenians who had spent time in Fresno
and the eastern states. It’s probable that this early influx of Armenians from the Russian Empire
may be connected to heightened persecution during the Russian Revolution of 1905 and
subsequent Armenian-Tartar massacres of 1905-1907. By 1911, about 1,000 Armenians lived in
Los Angeles. Of these, 520 were Transcaucasian Armenians including those of the Molokan faith
that settled primarily in Boyle Heights.
26

In 1921, the federal government passed the emergency Quota Act as a xenophobic
reaction to rising immigration following World War I. As anti-immigrant sentiment grew,
Congress passed the country’s first quota system. The law initiated a three percent cap on the
total number of immigrants from any nationality already living in the United States. The policy
used the 1910 census to maintain Western European dominance in the country. The quota
system was devasting to Armenian immigration at a time when many sought refuge following
the Armenian Genocide. When the new policy was enacted, less than 3,000 Armenians were
allowed to enter the United States from both Turkey and Russia.
27

In 1923, University of Southern California graduate student Aram Serkis Yeretzian wrote
the first comprehensive study of the Armenian community in Los Angeles. At the time of his
thesis, Yeretzian had lived in Los Angeles for a decade during which time he rose in prominence
as a leader of several protestant Armenian congregations. His protestant affiliation colors his
biases towards non-protestant Armenian communities in Los Angeles. Yeretzian estimated
2,500-3,000 Armenians were living in Los Angeles. At that time, the Western Armenians were
primarily from Kharpert, Aintab, Dikranagerd, Cilicia, Adana, and Van, while the Transcaucasian
Armenians were primarily from Alexandrople, Yerevan, Nakhichevan, Tiflis, Karaklis, and Kars.
28

Approximately 800 Transcaucasian Armenians lived in Los Angeles in 1923. This group
was concentrated in Boyle Heights near the Los Angeles River between East First Street and
Seventh Street on Gless, Clarence, and Pecan Streets.
29
Yeretzian cites Western Armenian
enclaves in West Adams, Hollywood, Glendale and the Wilshire District. Interestingly, Yeretzian

26
Kooshian, 58.
27
Yeretzian, 25.
28
Aintab is Gaziantep in Turkish.
Dikranagerd is Diyarbakir in Turkish.
29
Yeretzian, 53.

14
does not reference the Armenian enclave near the historic South Central corridor. The South
Los Angeles enclave appears to be the heart of Los Angeles’s Western Armenian community
before World War II. The neighborhood contained a concentration of protestant churches as
well as Holy Cross, the first Armenian Apostolic Church located at 424 East 20
th
Street (extant).
Holy Cross remained at this location until 1978 when it moved to its current location in
Montebello. This early concentration of Armenians may have been the result of restrictive
covenants that barred Armenians from living in other parts of the city.
30

In 1924, the federal government passed an even more restrictive immigration act. The
National Origins Act of 1924 built upon the 1921 Emergency Quota Act to create a stricter and
more permanent quota system that lasted until the 1960s. The new act reinforced anti-
immigration sentiment, keeping “undesirable” ethnic groups out of the country maintaining a
predominately white protestant nation composed of northern and western Europeans. The
government used a new visa system, the one still used today, to implement the quotas. Ellis
Island, once a thriving port of entry, was reduced to a detention center for a trickle of
immigrants.
31
The 1924 act significantly reduced Armenian immigration to the United States for
forty years, leaving many refugees of the Armenian Genocide scattered abroad.
Los Angeles’s Armenian community remained relatively small until the 1930s. Farming in
the Central Valley continued to be the choice of many throughout the 1920s despite shrinking
yields in agriculture. When the Great Depression hit, many Armenian farmers faced
foreclosures after defaulting on loan payments for their farms. Many who lost their property
moved to Los Angeles, swelling the community’s numbers. According to former UCLA Armenian
Studies professor Richard Hovannisian, residents became “small shop proprietors, for the most
part-mom and pop grocery stores, photo engraving, a number of other things. So, they were
the bulk of the community. They got things moving here in Los Angeles.”
32
As the population
grew, Armenians gained a financial foothold as they moved west from the Central Avenue area
into West Adams.

30
Interviews conducted alluded to deed restrictions although no deeds were researched for this project.
31
“Closing the Door on Immigration,” https://www.nps.gov/articles/closing-the-door-on-
immigration.htm#:~:text=The%20Emergency%20Quota%20Act%20of,the%20quotas%20stricter%20and%20perma
nent.
32
Fittante, “But why Glendale,”8

15
Despite quota restrictions, smaller waves of Armenian immigration still occurred.
Nansen passports supplied to refugees through the League of Nations allowed limited number
of Armenians to continue to immigrate. Additionally, after World War II the American National
Committee for Homeless Armenians (ANCHA) helped approximately 4,500 Soviet Armenians,
stranded inside Germany and Italy immigrate to the United States under the Displaced Persons
Act.
33
These individuals are commonly referred to as “DPs.” The Soviet Armenians who arrived
in Los Angeles as DPs, joined their Transcaucasian Armenian compatriots who had now moved
from Boyle Heights to Montebello by the 1940s. Although somewhat unknown to those outside
the Armenian community, Montebello still retains a significant Armenian population.
Pasadena
Pasadena’s Armenian community formed in tandem with Los Angeles’s. Pasadena’s
early Armenian residents were mostly Protestants from Hadjin and the neighboring Cilician
towns in southeastern Anatolia. Pasadena Armenians had higher socio-economic standing and
affiliations with mainstream Protestant American churches and this first wave of immigrants
appears to have assimilated into Pasadena’s society with relative ease.
The first Armenian families to live in Pasadena were the Pashgians and Khazoyans who
established oriental rug shops serving wealthy residents of Pasadena and Los Angeles. Situated
on what is referred to as the “rug belt,” oriental rugs have been a significant part of Armenian
culture for centuries.
34
Throughout history, Armenian rugs became valuable products well
known for the quality of their weavings and dyes and Armenian merchants became well known
in the trade. Today in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, there is a national rug museum. The
Khazoyans started their business in Los Angeles, later opening a satellite location in downtown
Pasadena on South Raymond Avenue. Both businesses remain in operation today. Chapter four
of this thesis will provide greater context for Armenian rug businesses in Los Angeles. The few
other Armenian residents of the time appear to be professionals, including Dr. Hozarbed B.
Yacoubian a physician living in the Orange Heights neighborhood.

33
Armenian lands in Transcaucasia were captured by the Soviet Union from Turkey following World War I.
34
While offensive when used to describe people, the term oriental may be used as a descriptor for products
including rugs.

16
Pasadena’s early Armenian community remained small until the 1920s. Between 1903
and 1919, city directories show none of the Armenian organizations that would appear in later
directories.
35
The founding of the Armenian Cilicia Congregation Church in 1922 signaled a
critical mass of Armenians in Pasadena.
36
The reference to Cilicia in the church’s name is
significant as it reflects the demographics of its congregation. For much of its history, Cilicia
Congregational Church held services in Turkish rather than Armenian or English. Originally
meeting in congregants’ homes, the church moved into the Psychic Science building at 495 East
Villa Street. After eleven years there, the congregation purchased its own property at 920 North
El Molino Avenue (1936, extant).
37

Pasadena’s early community grew as extended families from other parts of the country
moved together. Some of the early Armenians included the Pashgian, Khazoyan, Constantian,
Sohomonian, Gertmenian and Salisian families. As this community grew, occupations expanded
beyond merchants and professionals. By the mid-1920s, a large percentage of Pasadena’s
clothing repair, shoe repair and cleaning businesses were owned by Armenians. Once the
community established itself, Armenian organizations such as the Varoujan Literary Club and
the Friends of Armenia formed.
With the exception of Pasadena’s earliest upper middle class Armenian families, the
majority of Armenians tended to live north of Villa Street between North Raymond and Lake
Avenues.
38
Another concentration of Armenians was east of Hill Avenue and south of
Washington Boulevard. By the mid-1920s there were Armenian-owned businesses on the 1400-
1500 blocks of Washington Boulevard. The community, that formed near Washington
Boulevard formed the foundation for a growing Armenian population in the second half of the
twentieth century.

1900s and 1910s • Emergent enclaves include
Los Angeles

35
Pasadena, p. 59.
36
The congregation formed under the name Armenian Congregational Mission of Pasadena.
37
Kooshian, 286.
38
Pasadena, p. 61.

17
South Central Neighborhood (Primarily Western Armenians from
Kharpert, Aintab, Dikranagerd, Cilicia, Adana, and Van)
Boyle Heights (Eastern Armenians from Transcaucasia)
• Pasadena
Orange Heights neighborhood (Western Armenian Families from Cilicia)
• Glendale
Casa Verdugo Neighborhood

1920s • Los Angeles
South Central (established), West Adams (emergent), Hollywood
(emergent), Boyle Heights (established)
• Pasadena
Orange Heights (established)
• Glendale
Casa Verdugo (emergent)

1930s • Los Angeles
South Central (established), West Adams (established), Hollywood
(emergent)
Boyle Heights (established)
• Montebello (emergent as Boyle Heights community moves east)
• Pasadena
Orange Heights (established)
• Glendale
Casa Verdugo (emergent)

1940s • Los Angeles
South Central (established), West Adams (established), Hollywood
(emergent)
Boyle Heights (declining)
• Montebello (established)
• Pasadena
Orange Heights (established)
• Glendale
Casa Verdugo (emergent)

1950s • Inglewood (emergent)
• Los Angeles
South Central (declining), West Adams (established), Hollywood
(emergent), San Fernando Valley (emergent)
• Montebello (established)
• Pasadena
Orange Heights (established)
• Glendale

18
Casa Verdugo (emergent)

Table 1. 1 Timeline of first wave immigration to Los Angeles County.
Second Wave of Armenian Immigration
The second wave of Armenian immigration to Los Angeles County is distinctly different
from that of the first. Under the Johnson Administration, Congress passed the Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act. The act formally ended the quota
system established under the 1924 National Origins Act. Congresses’ choice to change the 1924
act resulted from the Civil Rights Movement and an understanding that restrictive immigration
policies conflicted with the progressive spirit of the period. Under the new policy, Armenians
throughout Southwest Asia were eligible to immigrate to the United States just as instability
grew throughout the region.
The new wave of Armenian immigration came “in the wake of the political tumult of or
leading up to the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the Iranian Revolution (1979), the Iran-Iraq
War (1980-8), the facilitation of emigration from the USSR due to the Jackson-Vanik
amendment (1974), collapse of the Soviet Union (1991), the economic crash of the Republic of
Armenia (1992-onwards), and other international events.”
39
By the 1960s, many of the second
and third generations of Armenian Americans had moved out of early enclaves. However, this
new influx of immigrants concentrated the Armenian community into denser ethnic enclaves
that included Hollywood and Pasadena and turned Glendale into an Armenian ethnoburb. From
Glendale, Armenians spread deeper into the San Fernando Valley into Burbank, North
Hollywood, and Tujunga, among other neighborhoods.
Hollywood
In Yeretzian’s 1923 thesis, Hollywood is briefly mentioned as a neighborhood with
Armenians, but it was not until the 1970s that Hollywood grew into the Armenian enclave
Angelenos know today. The area now known as Little Armenia, is roughly bounded by the 101
Freeway to the west, Hollywood Boulevard to the north, Vermont Avenue to the East, and
Santa Monica Boulevard to the South. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Armenians
were not the only ethnic community to settle in the vicinity. The Thai community in this area

39
Fittante, “But why Glendale,” 12.

19
grew as well forming what is now known as Thai Town. The growth of these immigrant
communities came about because of Hollywood’s high density and affordable housing in the
1960s-1990s, East Hollywood became a port of entry for many new arrivals.
Propelled primarily by families fleeing the Soviet Union, Hollywood’s Armenian
community coalesced into a densely populated Armenian enclave. In an interview with Maggie
Mangassarian Goschin, she recalled a small cluster of Armenians living on Madison Avenue near
Los Angeles City College as one of the first concentrations of Armenians. Nearby Bezjian’s
Grocery at 4725 Santa Monica Boulevard (extant) supported the growing community.
40

Mikhail Gorbachev’s Glasnost allowed Armenians to emigrate from the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1979 and 1980 approximately 9,500 Armenian emigres arrived in
the United States, many of whom settled in Hollywood.
41
From 1980 onwards, Soviet
Armenians immigrated in waves dependent on political conditions in their home country.
Between 1987 and 1988 over 10,000 Soviet Armenians arrived in Los Angeles County, making it
the area’s largest refugee group since the resettlement of Vietnamese in the late 1970s.
42
In
1989, another wave arrived following the devastating Spitak Earthquake in Armenia. The
earthquake left over 25,000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. During this same
period, the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan created a steady stream of
refugees who arrived directly to Los Angeles.
With the large influx of emigres, restaurants, markets, and shops catering to the
Armenian population flourished. Carousel Restaurant and Banquet Hall became an important
gathering place for large Armenian dinners, Jon’s Marketplace grew into a supermarket chain,
and Parseghian Records influenced Armenian music throughout the diaspora. Even Armenian
newspapers, including the widely read Asbarez, once based in Fresno relocated to Hollywood.
These new immigrants did not face the same pressure to assimilate as those in the first wave
had, allowing for Armenian ethnic identity to be celebrated throughout the neighborhood.

40
Interview with Maggie Goschin from the Ararat Home.
41
Mark Arax and Esther Schrader, “County Braces for Sudden Influx of Soviet Armenians,” Los Angeles Times,
March 8, 1988
42
Esther Schrader, “Dispute Clouds Future for Armenian Emigres,” Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1988.

20
Pasadena
Pasadena’s Armenian community that settled near East Washington Boulevard during
the first half of the twentieth century laid the foundation for those who arrived during the
second half. Pasadena appears to be a unique enclave as it has remained primarily Western
Armenian throughout the century. As noted, before, early settlers were almost all Cilician
Armenian. The second wave of immigrants to arrive in Pasadena were primarily Lebanese
Armenians fleeing Lebanon during the Civil War. There is a historical connection between the
two groups that likely accounts for the arrival of Lebanese Armenians in Pasadena.
Following the Genocide, many Armenians from Cilicia and the surrounding area found
new life in refugee camps near Beirut. Before the genocide, only a small number of catholic
Armenians lived in Lebanon.
43
After World War I, France controlled Cilicia until it ceded the
territory to Turkey in 1922 as part of a land swap for Turkish held lands in the Levant. The swap
caused a mass exodus of Cilician Armenians into Lebanon. In 1939, another wave of Armenian
immigration occurred when France relinquished the occupied Sanjak of Alexandretta to Turkey.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Lebanon’s Armenian population is estimated to have been
about 200,000 and by its end only 75,000 Armenians remained.
44

Between 1980-85, approximately 8,000 Armenians moved to Pasadena, a nearly 50%
increase totaling approximately 17,000.
45
The large influx of Armenian immigrants mixed with a
strong Armenian lobby, pushed the City of Pasadena to enact legislation recognizing Armenians
as a protected class for purposes of affirmative action.
46
In a 1985 article for the Los Angeles
Times, Mark Arax wrote, “Up and down Washington Boulevard in Pasadena-along the
storefronts of pastry shops, small vegetable markets and convenience stores – refugees from
war and persecution have created a new home, a new Armenia.”
47
In 1991, eighty percent of
the one hundred businesses along the Washington Boulevard corridor were Armenian-owned
giving it the moniker Little Armenia before Hollywood earned its official title.
48

43
Chapter 2 will discuss Armenians of the Catholic faith and their significance in Los Angeles at greater detail.
44
George A. Bournoutian, A concise History of the Armenian People, (Costa Mesa, Mazda Publishers, 2003), 345.
45
Mark Arax, “Pasadena’s Armenians,” Los Angeles Times, August 4, 1985.
46
Arax, “Pasadena’s Armenians.”
47
Mark Arax, “Clash of Old, New Challenges Growing Colony of Armenians,” Los Angeles Times, 1985.
48
Ginger Hope, “A taste of Old Country in ‘Little Armenia,’” Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1991.

21
Pasadena proved to be a microcosm for the Armenian community throughout Los
Angeles, as tensions between Armenian immigrants and second and third generation
Armenian-Americans. At the core of the tensions were disagreements around what some called
“Armenian terrorism,” and others called freedom fighting. Growing out of the politics and
militias of the Lebanese Civil War, Armenian militant groups sought justice for the Genocide
that the international community failed to deal. From 1975 to 1985 Armenians assassinated
twenty-two Turkish diplomats. In 1982, Harry Sasounian, who emigrated from Beirut to
Pasadena, assassinated Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan on Wilshire Boulevard in
Westwood. Armenians had become such an important demographic in Pasadena, that in 1985,
City Director Rick Cole proclaimed that those who carried out the assassinations were not
“terrorists” but “freedom fighters” rightfully seeking vengeance.
49

Glendale
Glendale is the largest and most recognizable Armenian community in Los Angeles
County. From Glendale, the Armenian community spread deep into the San Fernando Valley.
With its history as a “sundown town” and bastion for the American Nazi Party during the
twentieth century, Glendale may seem like an unlikely place for Armenians to settle. Before the
1960s, Glendale’s Armenian community remained small. For the first two decades, only a
handful of Armenian families lived within the city.
50
Around 1909 the Pampaian family moved
to Glendale, living at 1312 Valley View in the Casa Verdugo neighborhood. Around the same
time the Jamgochian family lived at 633 San Fernando Road. Paul Ignatius, grandson of the first
Jamogchians to live in Glendale later became Secretary of the Navy during the Johnson
Administration.
Glendale’s rise as an Armenian ethnoburb really began with wealthy Iranian Armenian
students studying at Glendale College. In his article, Daniel Fittante describes Armenian
immigration to Glendale as “a tripartite trajectory: (1) from the late 1950s until the early 1970s,
[Glendale] began to experience a scattering of non-Anglo newcomers. Following the growth of

49
Mark Arax, “Pasadena’s Armenians.”
50
Yeretzian.

22
suburbanization throughout the U.S., Armenians (as well as other groups) began moving to
Glendale in small numbers. (2) Between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s, Armenians came in
increasingly larger numbers. Unlike their predecessors who came largely from only a few
locations, these newcomers were far more multi-local in origin. They came from the Soviet
Union, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, etc. these newcomers were also far more socio-economically
mixed than their more affluent predecessors…. (3) from 1990 until today Glendale has become
a global symbol of the Armenian diaspora.”
51
Glendale’s image is so engrained in the Armenian
zeitgeist that there is a housing development in Yerevan named after the city.
Unlike other Armenian groups immigrating to the United States during the 1960s and
1970s, Iranian Armenians often arrived with significant resources because of Iran’s strong
economy and oil revenues under the Shah. Glendale College proved an appealing destination
for wealthy Iranian Armenians who came the United States to study. Early Iranian Armenians
who moved to Glendale in the 1950s and 1960s included Larry Zarian and Kosti Shervanian
whose famial and social networks attracted other wealthy Iranian Armenians to the city. In the
following decades, Shervanian founded Western Waste and Zarian became Glendale’s first
Armenian mayor.
Because of their socio-economic class, Iranian-Armenian immigrants were able to
purchase homes in Glendale unlike their refugee compatriots who were settling in Hollywood.
Where Hollywood was a densely developed urban environment, Glendale was by and large a
wealthy suburb of single-family residences. However, by the late 1960s a shift was occurring in
city government that created a pro-development environment in the 1970s.
In 1974, the Glendale Galleria broke ground, ushering a new wave of commercial and
residential development. As Anglo property owners sold their land, developers purchased
property for multifamily housing development. The increase in apartment units in the southern
part of the city created a port of entry for Armenians of all socioeconomic classes who were
fleeing political unrest in Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Armenia, and Lebanon. The chart below, taken from

51
Ethnoburb, a term coined by Dr. Wei Li to describe a suburban community that is home to a large ethnic
community. Li used this term to describe the Chinese presence in the San Gabriel Valley and Daniel Fittante has
used it to describe Glendale.;Fittante, “But Why Glendale?” 9.

23
Daniel Fittante’s article The Armenians of Glendale shows the Armenian population growth
from 1990-2010 using places of origin.

1990
(identity/origin)
2000
(identity/origin)
2010
(identity/origin)
Iran 13,404 (17,126) 18,853 (25,123) 22,405 (27,480)
(Post) Soviet 7,549 (8,432) 16,327 (18,313) 28,616 (29,503)
Lebanon 2,114 (3,043) 2,540 (4,364) 2,094 (3,313)
Iraq 982 (1,284) 1,595 (2,280) 1,975 (2,811)
Syria 900 (1,266) 1,384 (1,796) 557 (1,583)
California (outside
Glendale)
2,576 (54,561) 7,932 (58,385) 15,364 (60,773)
All Countries 29,996 (17% overall
population)
52,249 (27% overall
population
74,511 (39% overall
population)
Table 1. 2 Armenian population growth from 1990-2010 using places of origin. Source: Fittante, “Armenian’s of Glendale.”
Fittante acknowledges that this is not an exhaustive list and that Armenians arrived from other
countries of origin. However, the countries above make up the largest groups who came to
Glendale during the selected periods.
Despite their minority status, Armenians have made a significant impact on Glendale. To
support the growing ethnic population, an Armenian economy became more visible. Like other
Southwest Asian communities that are categorized as white on official census data, Armenians
have not always fit within the Anglo-American ideals of whiteness. Strong ethnic identity and
cultural customs caused many of Glendale’s Anglo population to marginalize Armenians. In
1995, a preservation battle erupted when the Apostolic Church acquired a landmarked 1926
First Church of Christ, Scientist building at 500 S. Central Avenue pitting the established Anglo
community against Armenians.
52
Glendale a once conservative sundown town is now an
Armenian ethnoburb central to America’s Armenian diaspora.
53

52
Steve Ryfle, “Culture Clash of Glendale Church Building: Large Armenian congregation wants its historic
structure, built by Christian Scientists in 1926, off protected list. Preservationists oppose the move,” Los Angeles
Times, April 18, 1995.
53
Sundown towns were white communities that did not allow Black individuals to be within city limits after sunset.

24
During the twentieth century, Los Angeles County emerged as the epicenter of the
North American Diaspora bypassing enclaves in eastern cities. Armenians escaping Russian
pogroms, Hamidian Massacres, and the Armenian Genocide, formed the County’s first enclaves
in Boyle Heights, South Central Los Angeles, and Pasadena. As more Armenians immigrated and
socioeconomic standing rose, Armenians in Boyle Heights moved east into Montebello and
from South Central into West Adams. Following the Immigration Act of 1964 new waves of
Armenian immigrants arrived from countries throughout the Middle East escaping political
unrest. During the second half of the twentieth century, today’s most visible enclaves in
Hollywood and Pasadena were coined “Little Armenia” and Glendale emerged as an ethnoburb.
The following chapters will explore historic resources in each of these communities.

1960s • Inglewood (Established)
• Los Angeles
West Adams (declining), Hollywood (emergent), San Fernando Valley
(established)
• Montebello (established)
• Pasadena
Orange Heights (established)
• Glendale (emergent)

1970s • Inglewood (Established)
• Los Angeles
Hollywood (established), San Fernando Valley (established)
• Montebello (established)
• Pasadena (established)
Beginning of Lebanese Civil War refugee immigration
• Glendale (emergent)
Growing number of Iranian Armenians from political tensions

25
1980s • Inglewood (declining)
• Los Angeles
Hollywood (established with growing number of Soviet Armenians
immigrating)
San Fernando Valley (established and growing with various diaspora
groups)
• Montebello (established)
• Pasadena (established)
Massive influx of immigration from Lebanese Civil War refugee
• Glendale (Established)
Massive influx of Iranian Armenians caused by Iranian Revolution and
Iran-Iraq War
Increased multifamily housing options allow lower income refugees to
settle in Glendale

1990s • Los Angeles
Hollywood (established, continued growth from collapse of Soviet
Union and economic issues in Armenia)
San Fernando Valley (established)
• Montebello (established)
• Pasadena (established)
Continuation of Lebanese Civil War refugee immigration
• Glendale (Established)
Continued growth of Iranian Armenians
Increased multifamily housing causes migration from Hollywood and
other recent immigrant groups
Increased migration from other Los Angeles neighborhoods as
Armenians rise in socio-economic status

Table 1. 3 Timeline of Second Wave of Immigration

26
Chapter 2: Institutional Properties (Houses of Worship, Schools, and
Care Facilities)

Institutional properties, such as churches, schools, and care facilities help to tell the evolution
of the Armenian community in Los Angeles. Through these property types, we see enclave
formation, disappearance, and migration. As discussed in the previous chapter, the Armenian
Church became firmly rooted in Armenian culture and identity because of both the Ottoman
millet system and the lasting effects of the genocide. Within Los Angeles County there are over
thirty Armenian churches and nearly twenty Armenian day schools. Throughout Armenian
migration to Los Angeles, the church has not only played an important role in identity but as a
community space where Armenians are able to gather and preserve their cultural heritage in a
wider context than solely religion. Generally, these schools are organized around church
organizations including the Armenian Apostolic church, as well as international Armenian
organizations such as the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

Religious
Armenian churches are significant cornerstones of the community that facilitate support
networks and cultural preservation. Armenian churches are often identifiable by their
architecture. Since the 1920s, churches constructed by Armenian congregations and parishes
are predominately contemporary interpretations of classical Armenian church architecture.
Character defining features of Armenian churches include austere stone construction to
resemble the volcanic tufa used in the Armenian highlands, polygonal domes and cupolas, and
a vertical emphasis. While this is the prevailing church style, some Armenian churches in Los
Angeles adopted more regional styling that include Spanish Colonial Revival architecture or
moved into already constructed sanctuaries. Apostolic and congregational churches are the
most prominent Christian sects in the Armenian community. However, there are Catholic and
Pentecostal sanctuaries that are included in this section.
Protestant and Congregational Churches and Organizations
The Gethsemane Armenian Congregational Church was Los Angeles’s first Armenian
Protestant congregation. In 1908, the congregation formally organized under the leadership of

27
Reverend S.H. Babasinian. The church’s first service was led by Reverend Haigag H. Khazoyan in
a small room at the First Congregation Church of Los Angeles. In 1910, Aram Yeretzian, author
of the 1923 USC thesis on Armenians in Los Angeles, became involved with the church ministry.
Three years later, in 1913, Yeretzian was ordained as reverend of the congregation, which
bought a sanctuary at 1001 East 28
th
Street (extant) in 1917, one block west of Central
Avenue.
54
[Figure 2.1] The congregation purchased the building across the street from the
YMCA from the Salem Congregational Church for $1,000.
55
On Christmas Day, January 6, 1917,
the Gethsemane Congregational Church held its first service at its new church building.
56
The
Church was active in the community, even conducting missionary work in Los Angeles’s
Transcaucasian Armenian community in Boyle Heights.
57

54
“Open A Church for Armenians: To be Known as Gethsemane Congregational,” Los Angeles Times, January 13,
1917. The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributor to the 27
th
Street
Historic District. The district is listed for its association with African American Heritage.
55
“Open A Church.”
56
“Church Center for Armenians: Edifice will be Dedicated Tomorrow Morning,” Los Angeles Times, January 19,
1918.
57
Transcaucasian Armenians are those who emigrated from the South Caucus region. Today, this region generally
refers to the land area that is made up of the Republic of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

28

Figure 2. 1 Armenian Congregational Church location at 1001 East 28th Street. Source: Photo by author.
By 1923, the Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church had an average attendance
of 250 for Sunday service.
58
On February 25, 1925, approximately fifty Turkish speaking
members left the congregation to start the Masis Congregational Church.
59
In 1940, the Masis
Congregation constructed a church building at 3068 San Marino Street (extant) between
Vermont and Western Avenues in Koreatown.
60
[Figure 2.2] In 1941, the Gethsemane
Congregational Church constructed a new and much larger church at 2085 South Hobart Street
(extant) in the Harvard Heights neighborhood.
61
[Figure 2.3-2.4]

58
Kooshian, 283.
59
Most of these Turkish speaking Armenians had immigrated from Aintab in Cilicia.
60
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Permit No. 7483, March 1940.
61
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Permit No. 15259, June 23, 1941.

29

Figure 2. 2 Former Masis Congregational Church at 3068 San Marino Street. Source: Photo by author.

Figure 2. 3 Former Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church sanctuary at 2085 South Hobart Street. Source: Photo by
author.

30

Figure 2. 4 Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church on Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1940. Source: Los Angeles Public
Library.
During the 1950s, the youth groups from Masis and Gethsemane Congregational
Churches expressed their desire to merge churches after socializing. In 1959, church leaders
began to discuss a merger which officially took place in January 1963. The merging of the two
churches led to the formation of the United Armenian Congregational Church. One year later,
the Armenian Congregational Church of the San Fernando Valley joined the newly formed
church.
62
In June 1965, the congregation held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Church’s
current location at 3480 Cahuenga Boulevard (extant) near the Cahuenga Pass.
63
The merger
and relocation of the church to Studio City likely reflects congregant migration from West
Adams and Koreatown neighborhoods to the San Fernando Valley. Since leaving their
respective locations, the sanctuaries used by Masis, and Gethsemane Congregational Churches
have been adapted to meet the needs of other religious groups.
In 1930, Reverend Yeretzian left the Gethsemane Church to help form the Immanuel
Armenian Congregational Church. From 1930-1933 the congregation met at a Seventh Day

62
“Our History,” Accessed November, 10, 2021, https://uaccchurch.org/our-history/.
63
“Our History,” Accessed November 10, 2021, https://uaccchurch.org/our-history/.

31
Adventist Church located at 38
th
Street and Vermont Avenue across the street from Exposition
Park.
64
In 1933, the congregation purchased a permanent church building at 1401 West
Washington Boulevard (extant) in the Pico-Union neighborhood.
65
Reverend Yeretzian died in
1938 and to this day, the congregation still hangs his photo in the north annex of their church.
In the late 1970s, the congregation moved to Downey selling their church location on
Washington Boulevard. The congregation held services in the Immanuel Mennonite Church of
Downey for a year and a half before moving to their current location at 9516 Downey Avenue
(extant).
66

The Armenian Evangelical Brethren Church began with services in private homes in the
early 1920s. Meetings soon moved to a mortuary on Main Street and then to an old YMCA in
the 1920s. The YMCA played an important role in many of the early Los Angeles congregations
due to its likely ties to pre-World War I missionaries and involvement with the Armenian relief
efforts following the Armenian Genocide.
67
As the congregation grew, services moved to a
Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1928. In 1945 the congregation broke ground on a new church
building at 3200 London Street (extant) in Silver Lake. Congregants performed much of the
labor themselves and the church was completed in 1949 just as the Hollywood Freeway
opened. The congregation remained in Silver Lake until 2006 when the church relocated to its
current location in Glendale.
Pasadena’s early Armenian community consisted mostly of Protestants from Hadjin and
other Cilician towns. On June 3, 1922, families began meeting under the leadership of Stephen
Salisian and Setrak Timourian and organized the Armenian Congregational Mission of
Pasadena.
68
On April 7, 1927, the Armenian Congregational Mission changed its name to the
Armenian Cilicia Congregational Church. Early on, services were conducted in private homes
and then for two years at the Pasadena YMCA. In 1924, the congregation used the chapel at the

64
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.immanuelacc.org/history.
65
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Permit No.
66
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.immanuelacc.org/history.
67
Carmen Ramos Chandler, “CSUN Exhibit Highlights Role YMCA, Americans Played in Armenian Relief Efforts
Following World War I,” CSUN Today, October 17, 2019, https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/csun-
exhibit-highlights-role-ymca-americans-played-in-armenian-relief-efforts-following-world-war-i/
68
Kooshian, 284.

32
First Methodist Church and then for eleven years at the Church of Psychic Science building at
495 East Villa Street. In 1935, Stephen Philibosian, visiting from St. Louis, Missouri purchased a
lot on the corner of El Molino Avenue and Mountain Street for $1,000 and donated it to the
church.
69
On March 31, 1936, the congregation broke ground at 920 North El Molino Avenue
(extant).
70
[Figure 2.5] Architect Luther Eskijian designed the church building with Samuel
Mardian as the contractor. Parishioners supplied much of the physical labor and construction
related services and in 1937, the church was dedicated.
71

Figure 2. 5 Former sanctuary of the Cilician Congregational Church at 920 El Molino Avenue. Source: Google Maps.
The congregation, although primarily Turkish speaking, did have some Armenian
speaking individuals who began to resent the use of Turkish in services as it was the language of
the oppressor.
72
Eventually Armenian language was introduced into the service and Turkish was
phased out as the Turkish speakers had become older congregants by that time. Finally English
became the predominant language in an effort to retain the younger American-born
Armenians. Despite its efforts, the congregation continued to dwindle, and the property was
sold in 1974. In the late 1970s and 1980s, increased Armenian immigration breathed new life

69
Kooshian, 286.
70
“Our History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.ciliciachurch.org/our-history.
71
“Our History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.ciliciachurch.org/our-history.
72
Kooshian, 288.

33
into Pasadena’s oldest congregation. Since the sale of the El Molino property, services had been
held at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 1280 East Washington Boulevard and then at the
Altadena Congregation Church at 943 East Altadena Drive. On June 2, 1991, the congregation
purchased a new sanctuary at 339 South Santa Anita Avenue in Pasadena where services are
still held.
73

Today, there are many other Armenian protestant churches throughout the County
From the northernmost part of the San Fernando Valley to Montebello. The formation and
evolution of these congregations is important to the history of Armenians in Los Angeles.

Armenian Apostolic Churches
The Armenian Apostolic Church gained a foothold in the United States after the
Armenian Protestant and Congregational churches and faced more challenges establishing itself
in the new country. As George Kooshian wrote, “Individualism, Protestantism, and the
separation of church and state, the principles upon which the nation was founded, profoundly
affected the institutions of every immigrant group. The established churches of the old world
were disestablished in the new.”
74

In the Ottoman Empire, the Apostolic Church exercised civil power, controlling taxes,
community, and marriage. The government used passports to identify individuals as Armenian
and those documents were validated by an individual’s baptism in the Church. In the United
States, no such authority was given to the Church and its survival was now based on the
voluntary actions of its congregants. With a hierarchy centered in Constantinople and
Echmiadzin, America’s early Apostolic churches faced many challenges in establishing
themselves and at times plunged into chaos threatening their very existence. However, after
the Genocide, the Church’s power strengthened as it became inextricably linked to Armenian
identity. This powerful connection to cultural identity caused rival political factions to fight for
control of the Diocese and local parishes.

73
“Our History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.ciliciachurch.org/our-history.
74
Kooshian, 90.

34
In 1902, the Catholicos of Echmiadzin authorized the formation of the Eastern Diocese
of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Massachusetts. The new American Apostolic jurisdiction
and hierarchy allowed for greater independence for American churches. No longer were
requests required to travel to Patriarchate in Constantinople for approval. The Western Diocese
was created in 1928 to meet the needs of the blossoming West Coast community. At the time
of its establishment in Fresno, five churches in California fell under its authority. They were Holy
Trinity in Fresno (consecrated in 1900), St. Gregory the Illuminator in Fowler (consecrated in
1910), St. Mary in Yettem (consecrated 1911), Holy Cross in Los Angeles (consecrated in 1923),
and Saints Sahag-Mesrob in Reedley (consecrated in 1924). Throughout the twentieth century,
the Apostolic Church became increasingly polarized by politics. Disagreements between
international Armenian political parties, namely the Social Democrat Hnchakian,
Dashnaktsutyun (also known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation), and Sahmanadrakan
Ramkavar drove wedges between parishioners and became the catalyst for new parishes
nationally and in Los Angeles. In 1933, political divisions were so bad that Archbishop Ghevont
Tourian in New York City was assassinated during mass.
75

In 1907, Armenians in Los Angeles organized the Holy Cross parish as an emotional
response to the death of Catholicos Khrimian Hayrig.
76
From 1907 to 1917, the parish relied
upon traveling clergymen from Fresno to conduct services. On Palm Sunday in 1917, the parish
celebrated its first Divine Liturgy in the Episcopal Church under its first permanent priest Adom
Kahana.
77
In January 1921, a building committee was elected, and Father Adom traveled to
Armenian communities throughout the United States raising a total of $21,179 for the new
church. Of the total, $10,305 was donated by Armenians in Los Angeles.
78
With that money the
parish purchased a lot at 420 East 20
th
Street in South Los Angeles. On March 26, 1922, Holy
Cross held its cornerstone ceremony, and the church was completed in 1923 (extant). [Figure
2.6] Holy Cross remained deeply divided politically until on April 18, 1942, when non-

75
“Armenian Feud Kidnaping Seen as New York Boy Disappears,” Los Angeles Times, July 22, 1939.
76
Kooshian, 114.
77
At the time it was not uncommon for new Apostolic parishes to hold services in Episcopal churches when they
did not have their own sanctuary.
78
“History,” http://www.montebelloholycross.com/cathedral-history/.

35
Dashnaktsakans under Locum Tenens Vartan Dzairakuin Vartabed Kasparian, left Holy Cross to
establish St. James Armenian Church.
79

Figure 2. 6 Original Holy Cross Church at 420 East 20th Street. Source: Photo by author.
In 1953, at a general membership meeting parishioners of Holy Cross unanimously
voted to leave the Western Diocese and join the newly formed Western Prelacy which operated
under the Auspices of the Holy See of Cilicia rather than the Holy See of Echmiadzin.
80
The
decision to leave the Western Diocese was a political act as congregants feared the Soviet
influence on the church. In 1978, Holy Cross began relocating to its current church building in
Montebello at 900 Lincoln Avenue (extant). Groundbreaking took place on June 1, 1980, and on
September 6, 1981, Holy Cross Cathedral held its first Holy Mass. In 1984, His Holiness Karekin II

79
Kooshian, 437.
80
“No Prayers for Stalin: Armenian Church Here Severs Russian Ties,” Los Angeles Times, August 16, 1953.

36
of the Great House of Cilicia consecrated the cathedral.
81
The move from South Los Angeles
east to Montebello reflects a demographic shift and the growing Montebello community.
When the split occurred in 1942, the more politically conservative St. James parishioners
purchased a house with a large yard at 3200 West Adams Boulevard which was converted to
church use. In 1947, the parish constructed a new church building on the property designed by
architect Edward H. Fickett and engineer K. Bardizbanian (extant). On the day of the first service
at St. James Church, cars lined Adams Boulevard as Armenians from across the city attended
the Devine Liturgy. The parish grew rapidly following World War II as more Armenian families
moved to Los Angeles during the Post-War boom. In 1949, the parish built a new auditorium
and later a new sanctuary and classroom building in 1957. In 1958, the Western Diocese moved
its office from Fresno to St. James Parish. During the 1960s, additional Diocesan offices were
located at 821 South Crenshaw Boulevard (extant), and 4511 Orchid Drive. These offices
operated out of residential properties that may have served as the residences of the bishops.
In 1964, the parish acquired land further west at 4950 West Slauson Avenue. The first
structure on site was constructed soon after and used for church services. On May 19, 1968, His
Holiness Vazken I Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians officiated the
groundbreaking of the new sanctuary which was completed and consecrated in 1971 (extant).
In 1974, the parish constructed Sunday school classrooms and in 1975 dedicated the
Haiganoosh Dulgarian Hall (extant).
82
St. James Church remains Los Angeles’s oldest Armenian
Church under the auspices of the Western Diocese and has played an important role in
community development in West Adams, Inglewood, and other Westside communities in the
twentieth century.
Following Saint James parish, Saint Gregory the Illuminator parish was established in
1947 to serve a growing Pasadena community. In 1958, Saint Peter Apostolic Church at 17231
Sherman Way (extant) became the first San Fernando Valley parish, followed by Holy Martyrs
Apostolic Church in Encino in 1961 (extant). During the mid to late 1970s, the first Armenian
Apostolic churches were established in Hollywood’s Little Armenia community. These are Saint

81
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021http://www.montebelloholycross.com/holy-cross-brief-history/
82
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://stjamesla.net/st-james-church-history.

37
John Garabed Armenian Church established under the Western Diocese in 1974 (extant) and
Saint Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church under the Western Prelacy in 1977 (extant). Saint
John Garabed became the Diocesan Headquarters until it was moved to Saint Gregory the
Illuminator Armenian Church in Pasadena in 1994 after the Northridge Earthquake. In 2003, the
Diocesan Headquarters moved to its current location in Burbank.
In 1985, Saint Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church became the first Apostolic parish in
Glendale. When the parish purchased the 1926 First Church of Christ, Scientist at 500 South
Central Avenue (extant), the church building became the center of the tension between the
established Anglo and the bourgeoning Armenian communities as the parish sought to erect an
Armenian style dome atop the church. However, historic preservation laws in Glendale
prohibited the construction of the dome that is a distinct symbol of Armenian culture.
83
Many
Armenian churches throughout Los Angeles boast contemporary interpretations of classical
Armenian churches. Notable examples of this architecture are St. James Armenian Church,
United Armenian Congregational Church, and St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church.
84

Armenian Pryguny Molokans
A relatively unknown religious sect, Los Angeles’s Armenian Pryguny Molokans or
“Spiritual Christians,” is the smallest of the dedicated Armenian houses of worship. Armenian
Molokans primarily immigrated to the United States from the village of Karakala in the Kars
Oblast during the early 1900s.
85
Originating in central Russia and not indigenous Armenian
lands, followers of Molokan faith rejected the doctrines of the Russian Orthodox Church. A sect
of Christianity, the Molokans share similarities with Mennonites, Quakers, Dukhobors, and
Pentecostals.
86

Around 1828, the Czarist government forcibly relocated Russian sectarians en mass,
moving populations to the most remote parts of the empire. As a result, a group of Molokans
were resettled to Kars Oblast in Transcaucasia. A small population of indigenous Armenians

83
Ryfle, “Cultures Clash.”
84
St. Gregory will be discussed in a following section of this chapter.
85
Yeretzian, 49.
86
Kooshian, 99.

38
soon began converting to and intermarrying with the new Russian Molokans. The Molokans
who settled in Kars were members of the Pryguny sect, so named because of their jumping and
ecstatic dancing during worship.
87
Beginning around 1878, prophecies of impending destruction
at home and refuge abroad began to proliferate amongst the group. These prophecies
coincided with the government’s change in policy that no longer exempted religious pacifists
from military service.
88
In 1900, Efin Gerasimitch Klubnikin began travelling from village to
village within the Kars Oblast and Erevan Governorate spreading his warnings. Klubnikin warned
the Armenians that if they did not flee, they would suffer a fate far more severe than that of
their Russian brethren.
89

The first Armenian Molokans left Kars Oblast in 1904 and settled in Boyle Heights, in the
area known as the “Flats” or “Russian Flats.”
90
That year the Los Angeles Herald reported six
families from Kars living in the “Flats.”
91
The area eventually grew into the Transcaucasian
Armenian enclave discussed in the previous chapter. The Armenian Molokans first held
meetings in homes on Boston Street, then in a large room at 431 S. Pecan Street.
92
Eventually
the group secured a permanent home for the First Procohladnoye Church of Russian Molokan
Spiritualist Christian Holy Jumpers of L.A. at 320 South Gless Street (extant). [Figure 2.7]

87
The Russian word prygun translates to jump or leap.
88
Ethel Dunn and Stephen P Dunn, “THE MOLOKANS IN AMERICA,” Dialectical anthropology 3, no. 4 (1978): 349–
360, 353.
89
Kooshian, 100.
Whether or not the prophecy was divine, Karakala was destroyed in 1918.
90
Kooshian, 101
91
C.P. De Blumenthal, “Members of Odd Brotherhood Make This City Their Home,” Los Angeles Herald, July 17,
1904.
92
Kooshian, 101.

39

Figure 2. 7 Former sanctuary for the First Procohladnoye Church of Russian Molokan Spiritualist Christian Holy Jumpers of L.A. at
320 South Gless Street. Source: Photo by author.
By the 1930s, “The Flats” became one of the most impoverished areas in Los Angeles
and a target for slum clearance. In the 1940s, much of the neighborhood was razed for the Aliso
Village housing project and construction of the Santa Ana Freeway. In 2000, Aliso Village was
demolished for the Pueblo del Sol housing project.
93
Today, only a small section of the
neighborhood remains along Gless and Pecan Streets between Third and Fourth Streets and
along Clarence and Gless streets between First and Third Streets. In 1933, three other Molokan
congregations came together to form the First United Christian Molokan Church on East Third
Street. In 2012, the church building was relocated to 635 Lorena Street within a multifamily
development. [Figure 2.8]

93
Susan, Briante, “Utopia’s Ruins: Seeing Domesticity and Decay in the Aliso Village Housing Project,” CR (East
Lansing, Mich.) 10, no. 1 (2010): 127–139.

40

Figure 2. 8 First United Molokan Church at 635 Lorena Street. Source: Photo by author.
From “The Flats,” many Molokans moved up the hill between Eighth Street and Whittier
Boulevard. When the East Los Angeles Interchange was built, many of the Armenian Molokan
residents moved east towards Montebello. The second location of the Pryguny church was at
1101 Goodrich Boulevard (extant) in the City of Commerce. This community continued to move
east over the decades, and descendants of these Molokans now hold services at the Hillside
Armenian Pentecostal Church located at 125 West Road in La Habra Heights (extant).
Many of the original Armenian Molokans are buried at the Old Russian Molokan
Cemetery located at 4319 East 2
nd
Street (extant). [Figure 2.9 - 2.10]When observing the names
on the headstones, it is quickly apparent that many of those buried in the cemetery hold
Armenian surnames. Having reached capacity in the late 1930s, the Molokan churches
purchased a new cemetery at 7201 Slauson Avenue in the City of Commerce (extant).
94
The

94
Hugo Martin, “Laid to Rest Among Their Ancestors,” Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1998.

41
latter cemetery sits in the middle of an industrial zone. There are three other cemeteries in the
immediate area, two of which are Jewish, shedding light into the area’s pre-industrial past.

Figure 2. 9 Old Russian Molokan Cemetery at 4355 East 2nd Street Source: Google Maps

42

Figure 2. 10 Old Russian Molokan Cemetery at 4355 East 2nd Street. Source: Photo by author.

Catholic Churches
There are only two Armenian Catholic churches in Los Angeles County. Prior to World
War II, the number of Armenian Catholics was relatively small and many attended masses at
other catholic parishes. In Europe, after the war many Soviet Armenians were temporarily
resettled in Stuttgart, Germany as Displaced Persons. Father Michael Akian traveled from Los
Angeles to the refugee camp to meet their spiritual needs. For four years, Akian worked with
Armenians at the camp.
95
Eventually many of those individuals were resettled in Montebello
with the established Transcaucasian Armenian community which had first settled in Boyle
Heights. In 1952, the Armenian Catholics were awarded their own parish. It was a modest A.C.
Martin designed church facility at 1327 Pleasant Avenue (extant) in Boyle Heights. [Figure 2.11]
The Our Lady of Martyrs Armenian Catholic Church is adjacent to the original Transcaucasian

95
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.ourladyqueenofmartyrsacc.com/our-church.

43
Armenian settlement in the “Flats.” The location of the parish may be indicative of an Armenian
population that remained in Boyle Heights despite the majority having moved to Montebello.
In 1989, Father Raphael Minassian was appointed as the first Ardzivian congregation
priest to the mission in Los Angeles. The goal of this mission was to establish a second parish
from Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church. Father Raphael saw a need for a new church project in
Glendale because of the growing Armenian population. In 1997, the mission purchased a
Lutheran church at 1510 East Mountain Street in Glendale where Saint Gregory Armenian
Catholic Church remains today.

Figure 2. 11 Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church at 1327 Pleasant Avenue. Source: Photo by author.
Education
Beginning in the 1960s, Armenian K-12 schools emerged within Los Angeles’s Armenian
community. K-12 schools help ensure the passage of knowledge related to intangible heritage
through courses in history and culture. A key focus of Armenian schools is language

44
preservation for the diaspora, with courses in Armenian guaranteeing students can read and
write the Armenian language. Before the founding of Armenian K-12 schools in Los Angeles
County, Armenians relied on church courses to teach youth the Armenian language. More often
than not, church courses failed to meet that goal. The blame cannot be solely placed upon the
Church and its programs. Previous generations of Armenian children who grew up in American
public schools faced intense pressures to assimilate. It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the
concept of an Armenian K-12 program became financially feasible.
In 1964, the Western Prelacy’s Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in Encino opened the
Holy Martyrs High School on the church campus. The new high school became the first
Armenian day school in the United States with an initial enrollment of twelve students. During
the summer of 1965, Principal Gabriel Injejikian traveled throughout Armenian communities in
the United States and Canada to raise funds for the new school. In addition to the money raised
on this tour, the school received a sizeable endowment from the Mateos Ferrahian estate for
$235,000, prompting the school’s name to change to the present Ferrahian High School.
96

Beginning in 1969, the school acquired three and a half acres adjacent to the church property
for the school, leading to the 1974 ground-breaking for the school’s a new two-story building.
By 1978, 200 students were enrolled and there were ten full-time and twenty part-time faculty.
Soon, elementary and kindergarten classes were added. Enrollment grew as Armenian
immigration increased. In 1988, the school purchased an additional property in North Hills. In
2007-2008, 750 students were enrolled at Holy Martyrs Cabayan Elementary & Ferrahian High
School.
In 1964, the Western Prelacy established the nation’s first Armenian elementary school
in Pico Rivera in addition to its new High School in Encino. Throughout the following decades
the school expanded to include middle school and high school classes and is now the largest
Armenian school serving Montebello’s Armenian community. Today the Prelacy operates five K-
12 campuses including the Rose & Alex Pilibos School in Hollywood. Pilibos School is the largest
Armenian school in Los Angeles County. [Figure 2.12]

96
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021,
https://www.ferrahian.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1314949&type=d&pREC_ID=1515572.

45

Figure 2. 12 Rose and Alex Pilibos School at 1615 North Alexandria Avenue. Source: Photo by author.
The Manoogian-Demirdjian School, located at 6844 Oakdale Avenue in Canoga Park is
another large Armenian day school run by the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU). In
1976, the AGBU founded the school on the grounds of the nearby Saint Peter Armenian
Apostolic Church. In 1986, the AGBU purchased a shuttered Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD) campus. In 1991 the school constructed two large structures along Vanowen Avenue
containing fourteen classrooms, two science laboratories, a computer laboratory, lecture hall,
faculty room, offices, gymnasium, cafeteria, and subterranean parking. Since its founding, the
campus has continued to grow and now offers enrolment for preschool and K-12 students.
There are approximately 800 students, ninety teachers and staff.
97
The Manoogian-Demirdjian
School is just one of many schools the AGBU operates globally.

97
“History,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://www.agbumds.org/mds/about/history.jsp.

46
Armenian K-12 schools are an important component of the Los Angeles’s Armenian
community. Day schools provide important cultural education for members of the Armenian
diaspora. These facilities help diasporans connect to their Armenian heritage, through courses
in language, culture, and Armenian history that are not accessible through the public education
system. There are thirteen Armenian preschools and K-12 schools throughout Los Angeles
County. These facilities are operated by the AGBU, Western Prelacy, Western Diocese,
Armenian Catholic parishes, and Armenian Evangelical Union of North America.

Ararat Home
The Ararat Home of Los Angeles is a significant intuition providing critical care for elderly
Armenians. In 1949, a small group of Armenians saw a need for elder care and established the
Los Angeles Home for Armenian Aged. In 1951, the group purchased a large two-story house at
3730 West 27
th
Street (not extant) in the West Adams neighborhood for $12,000. The house
was located roughly three blocks away from the original Saint James Armenian Church
property, reinforcing the enclave in West Adams. In 1969, the Los Angeles Home for Armenian
Aged formally changed its name to Ararat Home of Los Angeles. In 1980, Ararat Home
purchased an existing 42-bed facility at 2373 Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock (extant), which
became the Ararat Convalescent Hospital. From 1951 to 1990 when the West Adams property
was sold, the Ararat home underwent several expansions to meet the needs of its growing
population.
98

In 1981, Ararat Home purchased a 10.5-acre property in Mission Hills. As Armenian
immigration increased following immigration reform in the 1960s, the need for services
increased. In 1992, the facility completed its first phase of construction in Mission Hills. The
new facility housed 130 beds, new care facilities and the George Deukmejian Center. Between
1993-1997, Ararat Home constructed the ninety-nine bed Ararat nursing Facility, Sheen
Memorial Chapel, Ararat-Eskijian Museum, and a ninety-seven-bed addition to the Nursing
Facility. With services continuing to grow, Ararat Home purchased thirteen acres on an adjacent
property in Mission Hills.

98
“Our Story,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://ararathome.org/about-us/our-story.

47
This chapter has examined institutional properties that often provide foundation
support for Los Angeles’s Armenian community. The establishment of these properties are key
indicators of flourishing Armenian enclaves within Los Angeles County as institutional
properties tend to support communities that already exist. Likewise, their movement from one
location to the next, or closures, reveal demographic shifts and enclave migrations. Armenian
churches may be one the best indicators of this pattern. From early church locations we see
different trajectories. From South Los Angeles Armenians moved west, first into West Adams
and then Inglewood, and others moved east into Montebello. In the 1960s and 1970s, the
emergence of the San Fernando Valley communities including Glendale are revealed through
the establishment of new parishes and congregations which increased through the second half
of the twentieth century. In Pasadena, the established Armenian population began to drift from
church attendance until the 1970s when a new wave of immigration, primarily from Lebanon,
bolstered these institutions and were the catalyst for the formation of others.

48
Chapter 3: Armenian Businesses
Community-owned businesses are essential to building and maintaining ethnic enclaves.
Often these businesses meet specific needs that are not otherwise met by the dominant Anglo-
American culture. Their emergence may be seen as a strong indicator that the ethnic
community is present and growing. In Armenian enclaves specifically, Armenian owned
businesses are very apparent to those who are familiar with the culture. Often, Armenian
references are found in the business name. Signifiers may be an Armenian last name or the
name of a geographic region. Should the name not present as Armenian, imagery in company
logos may be used to send signals to clientele. Additionally, storefronts often display Armenian
script on windows or use the Armenian national colors of red, blue, and orange in their
typeface. Armenian businesses are integral to maintaining and growing enclave strength. They
are sources of specialty food items, art, and home goods. This chapter will discuss several
significant business types for the Armenian community and identify historic resources.

Rugs
As discussed in previous chapters, Armenians played an important role in the United
States’ oriental rug trade. Early Armenians in Los Angeles County established themselves as
merchants, dealers, and cleaners for some of the area’s wealthiest clientele. Aram Serkis
Yeretzian listed thirteen Armenian rug dealers in his 1923 thesis, some of which remain in
business today. These are as follows:

John S. Pashzian and Co. 454 West 7
th
Street, Los Angeles
J.H. Minassian and Company* 1500 West 7
th
Street, Los Angeles [Figure 3.1]
A.M. Enfiziajian and Company 835 West 7
th
Street, Los Angeles
A.S. Salisian and Company 945 West 7
th
Street, Los Angele
E.S. Pashgian and Company 1760 West 7
th
Street, Los Angeles

49
Pashgian Brothers* 1825 West 7
th
Street, Los Angeles
G. Haroutunian and Company 2855 West 9
th
Street, Los Angeles
K. Harpootlian (Blackstone Store) 901 South Broadway, Los Angeles
Constantian Brothers 905 South Broadway, Los Angeles
G. Philifs (Bullocks Store) 7
th
and Broadway, Los Angeles
Roupen and Company 526 West Washington Street, Los Angeles
H.H. Khazoyan and Company Pasadena
G. Kartmanian and Company Pasadena
M.S. Pashgian and Company Pasadena
Table 3. 1 List of early Armenian owned rug stores.
* Represents businesses that are still in operation. E.S. Pashgian and M.S. Pashgian later consolidated all stores
into the Pashgian Brothers business. Source: Yeretzian, Aram Serkis. A History of Armenian Immigration to America
with Special Reference to Conditions in Los Angeles a Thesis Presented to the Department of Sociology, University
of Southern California., 1923.
As we can see from the list, many of the original Oriental rug shops were centered in downtown
Los Angeles and the Westlake neighborhood. Two of the longest running rug businesses in Los
Angeles County are J.H. Minassian and Company founded in 1905 and Pashgian Brothers
founded in 1889.
99
Since their founding both rug shops have moved to new locations. J.H.
Minassian in now in West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center at 8687 Melrose Avenue and
Pashgian Brothers is in Pasadena at 993 East Colorado Boulevard. Other significant rug
companies include Pasadena Oriental Rug, Inc. founded in 1924 at 1155 North Allen Ave in
Pasadena (building and business extant), Ararat Oriental Rug founded in 1920 at 2221 Granville
Avenue in Los Angeles (extant), and Arax Carpet Company founded in 1923 at 5007 West

99
“History,” accessed February 12, 2022, https://jhminassian.com/history; “Company,” accessed February 12,
2022, https://www.pashgianbrothers.com/.

50
Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles.
100
Ararat Oriental Rug company merged with Thomas
Rug Cleaning and is now located at 3000 Riverside Drive.

Figure 3. 1 Former location of J.H. Minassian and Company 1500 West 7
th
Street. Source: Photo by author.
Food
“Food is a constant topic of discussion for Armenians, who often disagree on and debate
what cuisines and dishes are authentically Armenian” wrote Liana Aghajanian for CNN.
101

Through food the complexities of the Armenian identity are revealed in ways that other aspects
of culture do not. The food Armenians eat tell rich histories, linking families to their country of

100
“About Us,” accessed February 12, 2022, https://www.pasadenaorientalrug.com/aboutus; “Ararat Oriental Rug
Co. advertisement,” Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1938, 22; “Arax Carpet Company, Arax Oriental Rug Cleaning
Co.,” accessed February 12, 2022, http://historicplacesla.org/reports/f185f092-6dc4-40b5-b144-fb6ee96c4cbb.
101
“What is Armenian Food? Depends On Who You Ask,” accessed February 14, 2022,
https://explorepartsunknown.com/armenia/what-is-armenian-food-depends-on-who-you-ask/.

51
origins and ancestral homelands before the genocide. What Armenians eat in the Republic of
Armenian may be vastly different than what Armenians eat in Lebanon, Iran, or Turkey. Aside
from the ingredients that make the meal, a dish may have a different name all together.
Because of these differences, restaurants, markets, and eateries often cater to different
diaspora groups.
Markets
Markets are one of the first businesses that open to serve a growing ethnic community.
These shops meet the primary need of residents who use foodways as a form of cultural
preservation.
102
Neighborhood markets are prolific throughout Los Angeles’s Armenian
enclaves with fiercely loyal customers. In Hollywood’s Little Armenia, Bezjian’s Grocery located
at 4725 Santa Monica Boulevard (extant) operated as one of the first Armenian grocers in the
neighborhood. [Figure 3.2] The grocery store operated from 1964 until the mid-2000s when it
closed. Today, Bezian Bakery, a wholesale bread company, operates inside the old market .
Another notable market is Arbat Grocery, which opened in 1978 at 5001 Hollywood Boulevard
(extant) in Little Armenia. Many of the small markets established in the 1970s and 1980s such
as Valley Hye Market at 14845 Burbank Boulevard in Van Nuys (extant), and Armenian Grocery
and Bakery at 1442 E. Washington Boulevard in Pasadena (extant) appear to have closed within
the last fifteen years as neighborhood demographics have shifted.

102
Merriam-Webster defines foodways as the eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical
period.

52

Figure 3. 2 Bezjian's Grocery at 4725 Santa Monica Boulevard. Source: Photo by author.
While small neighborhood markets make up most Armenian owned grocers, several
have grown much larger reaching supermarket status. Founded in 1977, John Berberian opened
his first Jon’s Marketplace at 5315 Santa Monica Boulevard (extant) in Hollywood in a shuttered
Vons Grocery.
103
The supermarket quickly made a name for itself selling Soutwest Asian, Latin
American, and Asian products mixed with mainstream goods. The products sold at Jon’s
reflected the Hollywood community it originally served. Today, Jon’s operates thirteen stores
across Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Since its founding, Jon’s Marketplace has been an
important employer for recent Armenian immigrants. Following the success of Jon’s
Marketplace, the Fermanian family established Superking as a supermarket-scaled retailer of

103
“Funeral Services Planned For John Berberian, Founder of Jon’s Market,” The Shelby Report, March 21, 2019,
https://www.theshelbyreport.com/2019/03/21/funeral-services-planned-for-jons-market-founder/.

53
international food products.
104
Since its founding, Superking has spread across Los Angeles and
Orange Counties with eight stores in operation.

Delis
In addition to traditional neighborhood markets, specialty food shops fill an important
space. Basturma, a cured beef with origins in the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia, is prepared
with salt and fenugreek, a mix of cayenne, paprika, pepper, cumin, and garlic that is spread
evenly over the meat.
105
Beloved by Armenians around the world, thinly cut slices of basturma
are served as cold cuts, often eaten with fresh lavash, pita, or for breakfast with eggs. The late
food critic Jonathan Gold once described it as “the most powerfully flavored cold cut in the
world, less a foodstuff than a force of nature sometimes, with a bit of the chewy translucence
of first-rate Italian bresaola, a ripe, almost gamy back taste, then—pow! – the onslaught of the
seasoning, a caustic, bright red slurry of hot pepper, fenugreek, and a truly heroic amount of
garlic that hits the palate with a subtle elegance of a detonated landmine.”
106

104
“Notable Family-Owned Businesses in Los Angeles: Super King Markets,” Los Angeles Business Journal,
https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2018/nov/09/notable-family-owned-businesses-los-angeles-super-/.
105
Arianna Sikorski and Hannah Luc, “The Lure of Basturma in Little Armenia,” Smithsonian Folklife Festival,
https://festival.si.edu/blog/the-lure-of-basturma-in-little-armenia.
106
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-04-fo-54637-story.htm.l

54

Figure 3. 3 Interior of Sahag's Basturma. Source: Photo by author.
Many will argue that Sahag’s Basturma, at 5183 Sunset Boulevard in Little Armenia
(extant), sells the best basturma in Southern California. [Figure 3.3] Harout Tashjian is a third
generation basturma maker who opened his shop in 1988 after moving from Nor Aresh,
Armenia.
107
With family origins in Caesaria, once a key region for basturma production in the
Ottoman Empire, Tashjian’s family escaped genocide and relocated to Lebanon. Sahag’s may be
the most well-known basturma shop in Los Angeles, even gaining recognition from the
Smithsonian during the Folklife Festival Armenia: Creating Home in 2018.
108
As Little Armenia
faces gentrification, its Armenian residents migrate to the San Fernando Valley, and Harout
nearing retirement age, Sahag’s may be at risk should there be no succession planning. Another

107
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, Certificate of Occupancy
1988LA92438; Arianna Sikorski and Hannah Luc, “The Lure of Basturma in Little Armenia.”
108
Arianna Sikorski and Hannah Luc, “The Lure of Basturma in Little Armenia.”;Anna Beth Corson, “Preserving the
Personal: Armenian American Visitors Reflect on Festival Memories,” Smithsonian Folklife Festival, October 14,
2021, https://festival.si.edu/blog/armenian-american-visitors-reflect-2018.

55
significant basturma shop is Garo’s Basturma at 1082 Allen Avenue in Pasadena (extant) which
opened in 1980. [Figure 3.4] Although the original owner died in 1999, Garo’s Basturma
continues to supply Pasadena’s Armenian community. In addition to basturma, both delis are
known for other deli products that include soujouk, a middle eastern dried sausage, and chi
kofte also known as Armenian steak tartare.

Figure 3. 4 Garo's Basturma at 1082 Allen Avenue. Source: Photo by Author

Bakeries
The Su-Beoreg and Monta Factory is a multi-generational specialty food shop located at
1531 East Washington Boulevard in Pasadena (extant). Opened by husband-and-wife Evelina
and Grant Yegiazaryan, the Su-Beoreg and Monta Factory has been wholesaling Armenian
comfort food for decades.
109
As the shop’s name suggests, the Yegiazaryans specialize in two

109
Joshua Lurie, “This Tiny Pasadena Shop Serves Affordable Armenian Comfort Fare,” Eater, April 21, 2016,
https://la.eater.com/2016/4/21/11456260/su-beoreg-monta-factory-cheap-eats-los-angeles.

56
items. Su-Beoreg, a baked lasagna like dish made with dough, feta, mozzarella, and chopped
parsley, and sini-monta, or manti, beef filled dumplings served with tomato sauce and yogurt.
Both are beloved Armenian dishes. Evelina, now with her son Sarkes, makes over 2,000 monta a
day. In the 2010s, Sarkes seeing a business opportunity convinced his parents to add a to-go
service for general customers.
110

Lahmajune, meaning “meat with dough” in Arabic and known to many Anglo-Angelenos
as Armenian pizza, is a popular dish in the Middle East, particularly in Turkey and the Levant.
Lahmajune shops dot the landscape in Los Angeles’s Armenian enclaves. In 1948, Abraham
Partamian opened Los Angeles’s first lahmajune bakery at 5410 West Adams Boulevard (not
extant) to serve West Adams and Inglewood’s growing Armenian population.
111
In the 1970s,
Abraham passed the bakery to his son Leon who operated the business until his unexpected
death in 2006 at the age of 73. Without a written will, the fate of the bakery was unknown to its
longtime customers. However, the Partamian family agreed the bakery would pass to his two
longtime bakers, Francisco Rosales and Jose Gonzales, who had worked in the shop since the
1970s after emigrating from Zacatecas, Mexico. Following the ownership change, the bakery
was renamed F & J Bakery. In 2019, the business closed, and the building torn down as part of a
redevelopment project.
Some three decades after Partamian opened his bakery, Old Sasoon Bakery at 1132
Allen Avenue in Pasadena (extant) became Pasadena’s first lahmajune shop catering to the
burgeoning Lebanese and Syrian Armenian community. Haroutioun Geragosian began working
at a bakery in Aleppo, Syria at age 13.
112
In 1948, Geragosian opened the first Old Sasoon
Bakery in his home city. In 1986, he relocated the bakery and his family to Pasadena. When it
first opened, Old Sasoon sold only lahmajune and beoregs but has since expanded the menu to
include other baked goods including manaiesh, thirteen different kinds of beoregs, and

110
Jenn Harris, “The Family Behind Monta Factory Makes Manti from Scratch. Are These Dumplings Better Than
Grandma’s?” Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2016, https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-monta-factory-20160312-
story.html.
111
Bob Pool, “Keeping a warm legacy alive,” Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2008,
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-15-me-armenian15-story.html.
112
Joshua Lurie, “Old Sassoon Bakery: Celebrating Stellar Syrian Flatbreads,” Food GPS, August 12, 2008,
https://foodgps.com/old-sasoon-bakery-pasadena/.

57
khachapuri. Today, Haroutioun’s son Joseph runs Old Sasoon and works alongside his sister
Caroline and mother Archalous.
At Los Angeles’ many Armenian pastry shops patrons purchase delicious cakes and
traditional middle eastern desserts like baklava, pronounced paklava in Western Armenian,
kadaif, similar to baklava but with shredded phyllo dough, gata a sweet bread and nazook a
rolled cookie-sized version of gata. Sarkis Pastry (1983) at 1111 South Glendale Avenue (extant)
was Glendale’s first Armenian pastry shop. In the 1990s, Sarkis Pastry expanded into Anaheim
and Pasadena.
113
In 1991, Panos Pastry opened at 5150 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood
(extant) quickly becoming a beloved pastry shop within the community. However, Panos closed
in 2016. Other significant pastry shops include Paradise Pastry at 1825 West Glenoaks
Boulevard in Glendale, which sells its lavash at Armenian markets throughout Los Angeles; Art’s
Bakery at 1122 East Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale; and Flor de Café Bakery a cornerstone of
the Persian Armenian community at 537 East Colorado Boulevard in Glendale (all extant).

Restaurants and Eateries
Armenian restaurants are in many ways at the public heart of the Armenian enclave.
These are spaces where Armenian families come together to celebrate birthdays, graduations,
and engagements, among other life milestones. The meals at Armenian restaurants are often
eaten family style with multiple courses of mezze, followed by plates of kebab and pilaf, and
finished off with a strong cup of Armenian coffee. Today’s Armenian restaurants build on a
legacy of Armenian run restaurants in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Restaurants like Haji Baba’s
at 1730 Centinela Avenue in Inglewood (business closed, building extant) and Har-Omar at 8795
Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood (business closed, building extant) catered to Armenians
and Anglos alike. These businesses were significant for their roles in introducing Anglo
Angelenos to Southwest Asian culture and as an employer of Armenian musicians and dancers.
One of the most important Armenian American musicians of the twentieth century, Guy
Chookoorian regularly played at Haji Baba’s. While his oud may have sounded exotic to Anglo

113
“About Us,” accessed February 15, 2022, https://sarkispastry.com/pages/about-us.

58
patrons, his lyrics connected the old and new world for Armenians in the audience.
114
These
spaces both orientalized Southwest Asian culture while at the same time making it comfortable
for Anglos who often held prejudices against Middle Eastern peoples.
In 1984, husband and wife Krikor and Vartohi (Rose) Tcholakian opened Carousel at
5112 Hollywood Boulevard in Little Armenia (business and building extant). [Figure 3.5] After
fleeing the Lebanese Civil War in 1978, the Tcholakians began making soujouk and selling it to
local markets before opening their restaurant.
115
Carousel serves traditional Lebanese-
Armenian fare and, every Friday night, hosts belly dancing. In 1998, Carousel opened a larger
location at 304 North Brand Boulevard in Glendale (business and building extant).
116
Another
significant Lebanese Armenian restaurant in Little Armenia is Marouch, which opened in 1982
at 4905 Santa Monica Boulevard (business and building extant).
117

114
Randall Roberts, “Guy Chookoorian was the novelty record king of Armenian L.A. His death marks the end of an
era,” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-02-
23/guy-chookoorian-armenian-american-novelty-records-dies.
115
Alene Tchekmedyian, “Armenian immigration to Southland: Struggle, soujouk and the ‘survivor generation,’”
Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2015, https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-armenian-
immigration-to-glendale-struggle-soujouk-and-the-survivor-generation-20150424-story.html.
116
Patrick Kuh, “The Kuh Review: Carousel,” LA Magazine, December 2, 2014,
https://www.lamag.com/digestblog/kuh-review-carousel/.
117
Brant Cox, “Marouch: Lebanese in East Hollywood,” The Infatuation, accessed February 20, 2022,
https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/reviews/marouch.

59

Figure 3. 5 Carousel Restaurant at 5112 Hollywood Boulevard. Photo by author.
In Glendale, Raffi’s Place, located at 211 East Broadway (building and business extant) is
an iconic Persian Armenian institution. Opened in 1993, by Rafik Bakijanian with his wife Gohar,
Raffi’s serves authentic Persian and Middle Eastern food. Today the restaurant is centered
around a courtyard creating a unique indoor/outdoor dining experience. When first opened,
Raffi’s occupied a 1,500 square foot commercial space and was staffed by the husband and
wife. As the restaurant became increasingly popular, Raffi’s took over all the neighboring
businesses surrounding the courtyard and is now staffed by over eighty employees.
118

While the restaurants listed above cater to a finer dining experience, small
neighborhood eateries are important for providing quick, accessible meals to the working class.
Restaurants like Zankou Chicken at 5065 Sunset Boulevard (business and building extant) and
Falafel Arax at 5101 Santa Monica Boulevard (building and business extant) in Little Armenia
have filled that gap for decades. Zankou Chicken might be Los Angeles’s most well-known

118
Jenn Harris, “The story behind Raffi’s Place, and some of the best koobideh kebabs in Glendale,” Los Angeles
Times, March 21, 2018, https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-re-raffis-place-20180321-story.html.

60
Armenian restaurant. Having entered the Angeleno zeitgeist, Zankou has been referenced in
music and film.
119
Like many Lebanese-Armenian businesses in Los Angeles, the first Zankou
Chicken opened in the heavily Armenian populated Bourj Hamoud neighborhood in Beirut in
1962. In the early 1980s, the Iskenderian family immigrated to the United States fleeing the
Lebanese Civil War. In 1984, they opened Los Angeles’s first Zankou Chicken at 5065 Sunset
Boulevard (business and building extant) and in 1992 they opened a second location in
Glendale.
120
Today Zankou operates twelve locations across Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
The story of Falafel Arax at 5101 Santa Monica Boulevard (business and building extant)
is similar. Tucked away in a nondescript strip mall between a Thai restaurant and an eye doctor,
Falafel Arax is an institution in Little Armenia. Opened in 1982 by the Ohanessians, Lebanese
Armenian immigrants who escaped the civil war, Falafel Arax is a no-frills dining experience.
121

With three tables, the eatery serves primarily takeout. Notable dishes include falafel,
shawarma, soujouk, and lebni sandwiches.

119
A few references include the Beck’s “Debra” off his critically acclaimed album Midnight Vultures which has over
23,000,000 plays on Spotify Music. The episode “Charmageddon” in the hit series Charmed, and in 2009’s Funny
People Seth Rogan wore a Zankou Chicken t-shirt.
120
“About Us,” accessed February 20, 2022, https://zankouchicken.com/timeline/.
121
Liana Aghajanian, “Where to Eat Armenian Food in L.A.,” Eater, accessed February 20, 2022,
https://www.eater.com/a/mofad-city-guides/la-armenian-restaurants.

61

Figure 3. 6 Falafel Arax at 5101 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 2. Source: Photo by author.

Art and Culture
Art and cultural businesses such as bookstores, record stores, and non-profits are
important to maintaining identity in the diaspora. In addition to their roles as cultural
resources, these businesses often provide services and outreach within the community as a
means to help maintain tangible community connections. One of the most important
organizations in the international Armenian community is the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU). Founded in 1906 in Cairo, Egypt, the AGBU is “the world’s largest non-profit
devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural, and humanitarian

62
programs.”
122
Since moving from Fresno in the 1980s, the AGBU Western Region headquarters
has been located at the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Center at 2495 East Mountain Street in
Pasadena (extant).
Another significant organization is the international Armenian General Athletic Union
and Scouts, more commonly known as the Homenetmen. In 1968, the first Chapter in the
Western United States organized in Los Angeles. Today there are seven different chapters
within Los Angeles County. They are the Los Angeles chapter (1968) at 1559 North Kenmore
Avenue in Little Armenia (extant), Montebello (1974) at 420 Washington Boulevard (extant),
Pasadena (1977) at 2242 East Foothill Boulevard (extant), Glendale (1978) at 3347 San
Fernando Road (extant) , San Fernando Valley (1979) at 20953 Osborne Street (extant), Burbank
(1995) at 75 East Santa Anita Avenue, and North Hollywood (2011) with no official address.
123

[Figure 3.7] In 1975, the first annual Navarstian Games were held at East Los Angeles College.
The games are an eight-week athletic event that today, attract 300 teams with 6,000 athletes
from across the country.
124

122
“About,” accessed February 20, 2022, https://agbu.org/about/.
123
Accessed February 20, 2022, https://www.homenetmen.net/#.
124
Accessed February 20, 2022, https://www.homenetmen.net/#.

63

Figure 3. 7 Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter. Source: Photo by author.
Abril Bookstore is one of the most important Armenian bookstores in the United States.
For over forty years, Abril has specialized in Armenian books, music, videos, cards, posters, and
gifts, as well as publishing and printing services. Abril first appeared in 1977 with the
publication of the first Armenian language magazine with the same name in Los Angeles.
125
The
magazine reported on local issues as well as international politics, culture, and economics in
Armenia and Lebanon. In 1978, Abril opened its own print shop to produce its magazine. This
eventually led to Abril Printing offering printing services to the community at 5450 Santa
Monica Boulevard (extant).
126
[Figure 3.8] In 1979, Abril opened the bookstore next door
where it stayed until 1998 when the business moved to a new location at 415 East Broadway in

125
“About Us,” accessed February 20, 2022, https://www.abrilbooks.com/about-us.
126
Ani Duzdabanyan, “Abril Bookstore’s New Chapter: Will the Almost Half Century Old Cultural Center Survive?”
August 23, 2020, https://mirrorspectator.com/2020/08/23/abril-bookstores-new-chapter-will-the-almost-half-
century-old-cultural-center-survive/.

64
Glendale. It remained at this location until 2020 when it relocated once again to its current
location at 1022 East Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale.

Figure 3. 8 Former site of Abril Bookstore and Publishing at 5450 Santa Monica Boulevard in Little Armenia. Source: Photo by
author.
Parseghian Photo and Records at 4900 Santa Monica Boulevard (extant) is the site of
one of the most significant recording studios for Los Angeles’ Armenian community. [Figure 3.9]
For decades, the front of the house sold Armenian records and passport photos while the back
housed its recording studio. Legendary Armenian artists such as Harout Pamboukjian and Paul
Baghdadlian were signed to Parseghian Records and recorded here. Today, the shop operates
as Parseghian Productions specializing in audio and video equipment.

65

Figure 3. 9 Parseghian Records at 4900 Santa Monica Boulevard. Source: Photo by author.
Media
Armenian news outlets provide both local and international news to Los Angeles’
Armenian community. Armenian print news outlets have been in California for as long as
Armenians have been living here. Many of the early newspapers began in Fresno and moved to
Los Angeles in the 1970s as demographics shifted. Many of the newspapers have some
affiliation to one of the international Armenian political parties. The first Armenian newspaper
to establish itself on the west coast was Asbarez in 1908, when “the eyes of the community
were on the fragile condition of the homeland. Weighed down by revolution within the
Ottoman Empire, Armenians were grappling with new realities.”
127
Asbarez’s first office was

127
“Humble Beginnings to a Bright Future: Celebrating 95 Years in Print,” Asbarez, August 14, 2022,
https://asbarez.com/humble-beginnings-to-a-bright-future-celebrating-95-years-in-print/.

66
Room 14 of the Short Building located on J Street in Downtown Fresno.
128
Early on, Asbarez was
subsidized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) or Dashnaktsuytyun one of the
political parties. Originally published as an all-Armenian newspaper, Asbarez published its first
English section on May 1, 1970. Soon after, the newspaper moved to its current location at
1203 North Vermont Avenue in Little Armenia (extant). [Figure 3.10] Asbarez continues to be
one of the most widely read Armenian newspapers in the United States.
Shortly after the founding of Asbarez, Kaghakatzy began printing in Fresno in 1922. Soon
after it was established, Kaghakatzy re-invented itself as Nor Or meaning “new day.”
129
Like
Asbarez, the newspaper has political affiliations - Nor Or is linked to the Armenian Democratic
Liberal Party or Ramgavar Party. In the 1960s, Nor Or moved from Fresno to Altadena. Today,
the paper is headquartered in the Tekeyan Cultural Association building at 1901 Allen Avenue
(extant).
In 1959, George Mason and Reese Gleghorn started the first all-English Armenian
newspaper in the United States. The California Courier was marketed to first- and second-
generation Armenian Americans whose primary language was not Armenian.
130
Unlike other
newspapers, The Courier was never aligned with any political party and acted more as a “social
newspaper.”
131
In 1983, The Courier was purchased by Harut Sassounian, a Syrian-Armenian
immigrant and the paper moved to Los Angeles from Fresno in 1988.
Nearly two decades after Armenian newspapers set up shop in Los Angeles, the first
Armenian television network was formed by the ARF. In 1989, Horizon Television started as an
hour-long news program on KSCI TV and eventually became the first 24-hour Armenian
television network in America and headquartered at 1203 North Vermont Avenue (business and
building extant).
132
[Figure 3.10] The role of Horizon cannot be overlooked. The station was the
first to bring video footage of Soviet Armenia into the homes of Armenian Americans, including

128
J Street was renamed Fulton and the Short Building torn down to create the Fulton Mall as part of an urban
renewal project.
129
Asbarez, “Celebrating Humble Beginnings,” August 14, 2002.
130
Esther Schrader, “Little Newspaper That Could: Armenian Weekly Survives, Thrives.” Los Angeles Times, March
9, 1989, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-09-gl-1273-story.html.
131
“True to the past,” Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2010.
132
“The 20
th
Anniversary of Revolutionary Media – Horizon TV,” Asbarez, May 29, 2009, https://asbarez.com/the-
20th-anniversary-of-revolutionary-media-horizon-tv-2/.

67
the aftermath of the Spitak Earthquake, Karabakh Movement, and the massacres against
Armenians in Baku and Sumgait in Azerbaijan.
133
As the station grew larger, it became an
important resource to rally financial and political resources from the diaspora by promoting
national pride during challenging times.

Figure 3. 10 Asbarez Newspaper and Horizon Television headquarters. Source: Photo by author.
This chapter explored significant types of Armenian businesses and organizations in Los
Angeles. Whether it is newspapers, television, music, books, markets, or restaurants, each
business or organization works to preserve Armenian culture in the United States. While these
businesses are important to recognize, there are many other businesses that may be equally
significant to protect.

133
Asbarez, “20
th
Anniversary.”

68
Chapter 4: Conservation Solutions
As with many minority groups in Los Angeles, Armenian heritage as expressed in the
built environment is underrepresented in terms of identification of historic resources,
designation, and protection. In fact, to date, there are no designated landmarks within the
County of Los Angeles connected to Armenian heritage and very few sites identified through
historic resource surveys. For a community that has existed in the County for more than a
hundred years, it may be hard to believe that not one site in connection to Armenian heritage
has been designated. Furthermore, there have been few Armenian heritage sites formally
identified as eligible for designation through historic resources surveys. From 2010 to 2017 the
City of Los Angeles conducted SurveyLA, the country’s largest historic resources survey to date,
in which just five Armenian related resources were identified. These were four churches and
one rug shop.
134

Conventional Solutions
Context Statements
Historic context statements, especially those dealing with ethnic and cultural groups,
could be an important tool for preserving Armenian heritage sites. In the broadest sense,
historic contexts are documents that provide a framework for identifying and evaluating
historic resources. Many cities with newly passed historic preservation ordinances conduct
context statements to establish the groundwork for identifying significant sites within its
boundaries. Contexts make it significantly easier for individuals to nominate historic sites for
historic designation as they can link the site’s significance to the framework of the context

134
These are the United Armenian Congregational Church, Holy Martyrs Apostolic Church, Our Lady Queen of
Martyrs Catholic Church, and the Arax Carpet Company. All sites have been identified in Previous Chapters;
Historic Places LA, Accessed February 12, 2022,
http://historicplacesla.org/search?page=1&termFilter=%5B%7B%22inverted%22%3Afalse%2C%22type%22%3A%2
2string%22%2C%22context%22%3A%22%22%2C%22context_label%22%3A%22%22%2C%22id%22%3A%22armeni
an%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22armenian%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22armenian%22%7D%5D&temporalFilter=%
7B%22year_min_max%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22filters%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22inverted%22%3Afalse%7D&spatial
Filter=%7B%22geometry%22%3A%7B%22type%22%3A%22%22%2C%22coordinates%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%2C%22
buffer%22%3A%7B%22width%22%3A%220%22%2C%22unit%22%3A%22ft%22%7D%2C%22inverted%22%3Afalse
%7D&mapExpanded=false&timeExpanded=false&include_ids=true

69
statement. The City of Los Angeles leads the County with more than seventy context
statements. There are ten major context themes ranging from the Spanish Colonial and
Mexican Era to Industrial Development. One theme of note is the Ethnic-Cultural Contexts.
Through this theme, the City has published contexts for African American History of Los
Angeles, Asian Americans in Los Angeles, Jewish History of Los Angeles, Latino Los Angeles,
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) in Los Angeles, and Women’s Rights in Los
Angeles. These contexts have proven to be a valuable tool for identifying, designating, and
saving threatened historic sites connected with these groups. To date, there has been no
Armenian context statement written for any city in the county.
Due to the geographic sprawl of the Armenian community throughout the County of Los
Angeles, a single city conducting a context on its Armenian community would not adequately
grasp the significance of the community and the sites connected to Armenian heritage. For this
reason, it would be best for the State of California’s Office of Historic Preservation to produce a
statewide historic context statement. With significant Armenian heritage in the San Joaquin
Valley and San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to Los Angeles County, it is important to
document these histories statewide.
There is precedent for statewide contexts in California. In 1988, the Office of Historic
Preservation published Five Views, a statewide survey of properties associated with ethnic
communities in California.
135
Five Views was the first statewide survey of its type and
successfully raised public awareness for heritage sites connected to Indigenous, African
American, Chinese American, Japanese American, and Mexican American communities. The
project had a lasting effect and twenty-seven years later the Office of Historic Preservation
published Latinos in Twentieth Century California to recognize the contributions of Latinos in a
more recent history of California.
136

135
“Preserve Latino History,” accessed February 20, 2022,
https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27915#:~:text=In%201988%20the%20California%20Office,Japanese%20Americ
ans%2C%20and%20Mexican%20Americans.
136
“Preserve Latino History,” accessed February 20, 2022,
https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27915#:~:text=In%201988%20the%20California%20Office,Japanese%20Americ
ans%2C%20and%20Mexican%20Americans.

70
Through context statements, both tangible and intangible heritage may be documented
and synthesized. In 2003, at UNESCO’s General Conference, the Convention for Safeguarding of
Intangible Cultural Heritage was passed.
137
Through the convention’s framework, safeguarding
and protecting intangible heritage includes “…identification, documentation, research,
preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, transmission, particularly through formal
and non-formal education as well as the revitalization of the various aspects of such
heritage.”
138
Research and the creation of inventories are the first step in a process that should
ultimately create policy to safeguard intangible heritage. Historic contexts statements fit within
this framework.
Outside of heritage conservation professionals, little academic research has been
dedicated to the Armenian experience in Los Angeles. Despite the community’s size and
significance as the largest population of ethnic Armenians living outside the Republic of
Armenia, few academics pay attention to Armenians in Los Angeles. Both the University of
Southern California (USC) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have Armenian
Studies programs but focus on the larger Armenian context. Each program has been a resource
for this thesis through conversations with members of the departments and archival materials.
In a similar vein, the Shoah Foundation received the Richard Hovannisian Armenian
Genocide Oral History Collection which contains more than 1,000 interviews of genocide
survivors primarily here in California. In 1969, Hovannisian taught a UCLA course on oral history
with a focus on early Armenian migration to Los Angeles. Following his initial course,
Hovannisian introduced a new course that conducted interviews with genocide survivors for
several decades. Most of these recordings are in the Armenian language and were not used for
the purpose of this thesis. Recently, USC’s Armenian Studies Department encouraged

137
“The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible and Cultural Heritage,” UNESCO Office in Santiago: UNESCO
Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, accessed February 12, 2022,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/santiago/culture/intangible-heritage/convention-intangible-cultural-heritage/;
“Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization, October 17, 2003, accessed July 16, 2018,
https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention.
138
“Article 2 – Definitions,” Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, October 17, 2003, accessed July 16, 2018,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/santiago/culture/intangible-heritage/convention-intangible-cultural-heritage/.

71
Armenians across Los Angeles to conduct amateur oral histories by interviewing family
members about their lives here in the county.
139
These histories were then submitted to the
department, with some being published on the department’s YouTube channel.
140

A recent UCLA graduate, and one of the only contemporary scholars to research the Los
Angeles Armenian experience is Daniel Fittante. His academic articles include “The Armenians
of Los Angeles: Rethinking Americanization,” “Glendale’s Ethnopolitical Entrepreneurs:
Suburban Immigrant Incorporation,” and “The Armenians of Glendale: An Ethnoburb in Los
Angeles’s San Fernando Valley,” which are critical to contextualizing and interpreting the
Armenian experience. Through these resources, we can better understand the community’s
history and context. However, there is much more work that can be done in this area and a
wider group of scholars is needed to research the extensive geographic region.

Local, State, and National Designation
Ordinances
The most straightforward approach to conserving Armenian heritage sites is historic
designation and landmarking. Designation may occur at the local, state, or national levels.
While listing on the National Register of Historic Places has the most prestige, it is local
designation that offers the most protection. Each level has its own designation criteria although
the National Register and California Registers mirror each other. The criteria are:
A/1: That are associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
B/2: That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our
past; or
C/3: That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or
method of construction, or that represent the work of a master,
or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant
and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual
distinction; or

139
“My Armenian Story,” accessed on February 16, 2022, https://armenian.usc.edu/myarmenianstory/.
140
“USC Institute of Armenian Studies,” accessed on February 19, 2022,
https://www.youtube.com/c/USCInstituteofArmenianStudies/featured.

72
D/4: That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information
important in prehistory or history.
141

Listing of resources in the National and California Registers requires owner consent. If
the owner opposes the nomination, the resource will instead be formally recognized as an
eligible resource for designation. With that recognition, the resource may trigger certain
regulatory procedures such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), should it be
threatened with demolition as part of a discretionary project.
142
Listing in the state and national
registers is in many respects honorific unless a local jurisdiction links the designations to the
local planning process. If a city does not have a historic preservation program in place, project
review for proposed alterations moves along through city planning and building departments as
any other property would. Without qualified preservation professionals at the municipal level,
historic resources can be overlooked. State and national designations can be the only option
when there is no local preservation ordinance.
Local designation requires a preservation ordinance to be passed. Within the County of
Los Angeles there are eighty-eight incorporated cities plus the County of Los Angeles for a total
of eighty-nine local government jurisdictions with potential for historic preservation programs.
As of 2022, forty-four of the eighty-nine cities have preservation ordinances or have policies
that provides similar protections. Criteria for local designation vary depending on the
jurisdiction; often these ordinances are tailored towards local needs. However, many of the
larger and more effective preservation programs in the county, such as the City of Los Angeles,
mirror the California and National Registers. A local jurisdiction that uses the same criteria as
the two higher level registers creates greater ease for applicants to apply for all three
designation levels should they wish.
In addition to the criteria discussed above, local ordinances have the ability create a
stronger or weaker preservation program. One of the most important aspects of an ordinance is

141
National Register of Historic Places criteria is listed alphabetically while the California Register of Historical
Resources uses numbers. Should include a source for this as it is a block quote.
142
A discretionary project is one that requires the exercise of judgement or deliberation by a public agency in
determining whether the project will be approved, or if a permit will be issued.

73
the ability to designate a site without owner consent to ensure threatened resources can be
designated. Other aspects of preservation ordinances include the ability to deny demolitions,
district designation, formation of historic preservation commissions, and the ability to
designate resources that are not buildings. Additionally, ordinances provide the framework and
processes for how resources are designated and monitored. A city’s preservation program is
only as strong as its ordinance. Jurisdictions with a weak or nonexistent ordinance pose serious
challenges to the conserving Armenian heritage sites.

Issues of Integrity in Traditional Designations
In the United States, the field of heritage conservation has proven much more adept at
working with architectural elements in the built environment rather than the country’s cultural
heritage. UNESCO defines intangible heritage as “traditions or living expressions inherited from
our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social
practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
or knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.”
143
Since its inception at Mount Vernon,
heritage conservation in this country has primarily focused on the tangible.
In the twentieth century, the Department of the Interior adopted the seven aspects of
integrity that continue to be used to assess whether a particular historic resource adequately
conveys its significance. These are
1) Location – the place where the historic property was constructed
or the place where the historic event occurred:
2) Design – the combination of elements that create the form, plan,
space, structure, and style of a property;
3) Setting – the physical environment of a historic property… refers
to the character of the place in which the property played its
historical role;
4) Materials – the physical elements that were combined or
deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular
pattern or configuration to form a historic property;
5) Workmanship – the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular
culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory;

143
“What Is Intangible Heritage,” accessed February 20, 2022, https://ich.unesco.org/en/what-is-intangible-
heritage-00003.

74
6) Feeling – a property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense
of a particular period of time;
7) Association – the direct link between an important historic event
or person and a historic property.
144

As is evident from the seven aspects of integrity above, no aspect successfully addresses
aspects of cultural heritage. While some aspects, such as feeling may be esoteric in nature, they
are all grounded in the physical environment. With no standards from the National Park Service
for intangible heritage, local governments in the United States must look to the international
heritage conservation community for answers.

Designation in Practice
The properties discussed throughout this thesis range in use and typology. Some
properties lend themselves to a more straightforward preservation approach. These may be
institutional properties and sites significant for their associations with individuals or businesses
that are no longer present. Despite their straightforward approach, some may lack integrity or
exist in buildings with unremarkable architecture. These attributes tend to make it more
difficult for designation as individuals outside the community may find it hard to understand
why these places matter.
Institutional properties such as churches or schools would be the most likely candidates
for nominations as historic landmarks. Armenian churches, such as the Saint James Apostolic
churches at Adams Boulevard and Slauson Avenue or the former Armenian Gethsemane Church
on Oxford Avenue are significant for both their affiliation with Armenian congregations as well
as for their architecture. Despite their ease in meeting designation criteria and issues of
integrity, certain state and federal laws may pose significant challenges to designating these
properties. One such law is the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of
2000 (RLUIPA) that is meant to protect individuals, houses of worship, and other religious
intuitions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws. RLUIPA makes it more difficult to

144
“National Register Bulletin: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation,” U.S. Department of the
Interior National Parks Service Cultural Resources, 1995, page 44-45.

75
enact zoning and landmarking laws that substantially burden the religious exercise of churches
or other religious assemblies or institutions absent the least restrictive means of furthering a
compelling government interest.
145
In 2009, this law was used successfully by the property
owners to stop the landmarking of St. Johns United Methodist Church in San Francisco. When
the City of San Francisco initiated the landmark designation of the property, the congregation
and developer of the property sued the city citing exemptions to landmarking under RLUIPA
and won that case.
146

Throughout the County, many Armenian heritage sites exist within buildings that have
been altered or do not rise a level of significance under the architecture criteria. Often, these
sites are unremarkable utilitarian buildings. For example, Bezjian’s Grocery on Santa Monica
Boulevard is the former location of one of Little Armenia’s oldest neighborhood markets. The
building is a simple stucco box with a door and two windows. While not impossible to
designate, the nomination may face challenges similar to that of the Historic-Cultural
Monument designation of the Sister Corita Kent Studio on June 2, 2021.
147
In this instance, the
building that housed the studio at 5518 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood is a very modest stucco
commercial building that has been significantly altered over time. When the landmark
nomination was first heard by the City of Los Angeles’ Cultural Heritage Commission, the
nomination was met with skepticism by a several commissioners and the city staff report
recommended against the nomination.
148
The skeptical commissioners could not grasp the
cultural significance of the place and could not see past issues of integrity despite the City of
Los Angeles’s ordinance that does not include standards for integrity. At the nomination’s
second hearing, testimony by dozens of community members and former students of Sister
Corita were able to convey the site’s significance enough for the commission to recommend the
nomination to the City Council.

145
“Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act,” accessed February 20, 2022,
https://www.justice.gov/crt/religious-land-use-and-institutionalized-persons-act.
146
“Court Exempts Church from Historic Landmark Process,” California Planning and Development Report, July 9,
2009, https://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-2363.
147
“Save Corita’s Studio,” accessed on February 12, 2022, https://www.corita.org/action.
148
Los Department of City Planning, “Recommendation Report: Historic-Cultural Monument Application for the
Sister Mary Corita Studio,” December 17, 2020, https://planning.lacity.org/odocument/c0b587b2-2b44-4154-
a45e-2c8555ef0f8b/CHC-2020-5630-HCM_SisterMaryCorita_(12-17).pdf.

76
Non-Traditional Preservation
Legacy Businesses
Maybe the most important aspect of preserving Armenian historic sites in the County of
Los Angeles is the preservation of the community’s legacy businesses. In 2015, the City of San
Francisco became the first city in the country to pass legacy business legislation. It considers
legacy businesses to be those that have been in operation for over thirty years and have
contributed to a neighborhood’s history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood or
community.
149
While San Francisco uses thirty years as a threshold, other communities and
organizations that advocate for legacy businesses often use a lower threshold of twenty or
twenty-five years.
150
Establishing a legacy business program is a relatively new concept in the
United States and shows a broadening of the field to incorporate cultural heritage. San
Francisco’s adopted policy was aimed at assisting important small businesses that were facing
skyrocketing rents by creating incentives for landlords to enter long-term leases with
commercial tenants.
151
This was initially achieved through city grants of $500 per full-time
employee per year and giving landlords $4.50 per square foot of space leased when a lease is
extended for ten years. The landlord grant was capped at $22,500 annually, while the legacy
business grant was capped at $50,000 a year.
152

Shortly after San Francisco, the City of San Antonio adopted its own legacy business
program. However, unlike San Francisco, San Antonio’s program was established solely to
acknowledge the contributions of businesses to the city’s culture and economy.
153
This program
does not provide financial incentives to the legacy business owners. In 2020 and 2021, many
local preservation non-profits began advocating for legacy businesses in response to the COVID-

149
“Legacy Business Registry,” San Francisco Planning, accessed February 12, 2022,
https://sfplanning.org/project/legacy-business-
registry#:~:text=A%20%22Legacy%20Business%22%20is%20defined,determined%20meets%20the%20following%2
0criteria%3A&text=The%20business%20may%20have%20operated%20in%20more%20than%20one%20location.
150
“Curating the City: Legacy Business,” accessed February 12, 2022, https://www.laconservancy.org/curating-city-
legacy-business.
151
David Weible, “Seven Tips for Protecting Legacy Businesses,” National Trust for Historic Preservation, November
17, 2015, https://savingplaces.org/stories/seven-tips-for-protecting-legacy-businesses#.YghsYu7MIeY.
152
J.K. Dineen, “Prop J: Measure to help save longtime ‘legacy’ businesses passes,’ SFGate, November 3, 2015,
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Prop-J-Initiative-to-preserve-longtime-6609193.php.
153
“San Antonio Legacy Business Program,” accessed February 12, 2022,
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/74f995c768374ba9970fc52ac6e97303.

77
19 pandemic that forced many businesses to close their doors to the public. Prior to the
pandemic, the Los Angeles Conservancy began actively promoting legacy businesses through
their “Curating the City: Legacy Business” campaign that has promoted more than 100
businesses, including several Armenian owned businesses, through social media and on their
website.
154
Additionally, the organization has been actively working with the City of Los
Angeles’s Office of Historic Resources to create a legacy business program. Similarly, Long
Beach Heritage began advocating for legacy businesses and has recently partnered with the City
of Long Beach to create a Legacy Business registry. Through Long Beach’s registry, businesses
will be formally recognized by the City Council and receive a certificate and window decal to
promote their status.
155
As the concept of legacy business registries gain ground and more
cities craft policies with financial assistance, heritage conservation in the United States may
become more comfortable with concepts of preserving intangible heritage.
Mapping & Tours
Mapping is a powerful tool for raising awareness and saving heritage sites. The
informality of mapping lends itself to ease the barriers of entry that public policy can place on
traditional landmarking. When done right, maps successfully educate and inspire. There are
many examples of successful interactive maps across the internet. The City of Los Angeles’s
“Historic Places LA” is a powerful mapping tool that houses all the information from SurveyLA.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, community driven mapping initiatives more effectively
identify and document resources for ethnic and cultural groups. One such mapping database is
Queer Maps, a project of the Fulcrum Arts, a non-profit organization that has proven to be an
important resource for identifying and documenting LGBTQ+ sites throughout the County of Los
Angeles.
156
Other examples of mapping include Village Preservation in New York City and Urban
Archive.
157

154
“Curating the City: Legacy Businesses,” Los Angeles Conservancy, accessed February 12, 2022,
https://www.laconservancy.org/curating-city-legacy-business.
155
“Legacy Businesses,” Long Beach Heritage, accessed February 13, 2022,
https://www.lbheritage.org/legacybusiness/.
156
Queer Maps, accessed February 21, 2022, https://queermaps.org/about.
157
Village Preservation, accessed February 21, 2022, https://www.villagepreservation.org/about-us/,
Urban Archive, accessed February 21, 2022, https://www.urbanarchive.org/cities/nyc.

78
After mapping, tours may be the logical next step to get individuals out on the streets to
experience historic places. Often heritage conservation-based tours are led by non-profit
organizations such as the Los Angeles Conservancy, Pasadena Heritage, or Long Beach Heritage.
These organizations generally have regular tours they conduct, with larger tours once or twice a
year. However, the nuances of Los Angeles’s Armenian Community may be better served by a
community organization that partners with a preservation organization. Without community
leadership, a tour-based approach may easily transition into outsiders coming into community
space unwelcomed. For many years tours have acted as the best approach to raising awareness
of endangered heritage. With food being such an important part of the Armenian identity, food
tourism in Armenian enclaves may serve as an accessible option when first developing tours.
Connecting people to place is a powerful instrument to gain support and motivates individuals
into action.

Community Organizations
To successfully conserve Armenian heritage in Los Angeles, a community organization
needs to take up the cause. Without the desire from within the community, little headway can
be made. It is only the community that can successfully identify what is important to Armenian
Americans, advocate for important resources, and gain community support. Cultural
preservation is an integral component of the Armenian identity. History, language, food, music,
and dance are just a few aspects of culture that Armenians have worked tirelessly to preserve.
However, this has not yet translated to the field of heritage conservation and preservation of
the built environment. More established heritage conservation organizations may serve as a
guide for Armenians in Los Angeles. Latinos in Heritage Conservation as well as Asian and Pacific
Islanders in Historic Preservation (APIAHiP) are valuable resources for Armenian’s interested in
this work. Additionally, Armenians may benefit by banding with other West and Southwest
Asian communities in Los Angeles that are underrepresented in the field. In addition to
Armenians, Los Angeles is home to large Iranian, Arab, and Assyrian diaspora groups. Banding
together, may create a stronger front to advocate for this heritage.

79
This chapter explored potential tools for conserving Armenian heritage in Los Angeles as
well as the challenges. To successfully conserve this heritage, a historic context statement must
be made a priority at both the local and state levels. Through such an initiative, community
outreach to Armenian organizations and individuals may act as a much-needed catalyst for the
community to better understand conservation tools. Conserving heritage sites not only saves
the physical elements of heritage but will allow the Armenian community to control their own
narrative.

80
Conclusion
Los Angeles County is rich with Armenian heritage. For over a century, Armenians have
settled throughout Los Angeles County, growing their community from humble beginnings into
the world’s largest outside the Republic of Armenia. The story of the Los Angeles’s Armenian
community is the story of the entire diaspora. No other region in the United States tells this
story as well as Los Angeles. By studying Los Angeles’s community, the complexities of
Armenian history are revealed. Each diaspora group, whether Armenian Genocide survivors,
displaced persons following World War II, or those fleeing revolution in Southwest Asia, add to
the tapestry of the Armenian experience. Los Angeles’s Armenian community grew out of the
necessity to survive and is a testament to resilience of the Armenian people. William Saroyan
once wrote,

I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small
tribe of unimportant people, whose history is ended, whose wars have all
been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, whose literature
is unread, whose music is unheard, whose prayers are no longer
uttered...Burn their houses and their churches. See if they will not live
again. See if they will not laugh again...See if you can stop them from
mocking the big ideas of the world, you sons of bitches, a couple of
Armenians talking in the world, go ahead and try to destroy them.
158

Further Research and Questions
Due to the scale of Los Angeles’s Armenian community, many aspects of their heritage
were not covered by this thesis. This paper proved to be cursory, with a small sampling of
stories and sites presented. From the onset of this paper, I knew it was not within my ability to
tell a complete history of Armenians in Los Angeles as well as identify the countless sites
connected to this community. Upon completion of the previous chapters, gaps in my research
became increasingly apparent to me. One example is the underrepresentation of enclaves in
Montebello and the San Fernando Valley. This was not done purposely but resulted from time
constraints and limited community contacts. The absence of enclaves in this thesis does not in

158
William Saroyan, “The Armenian and the Armenian,” 1935.

81
any way diminish their significance. In fact, it proves further research is needed to fully
understand enclave formation throughout the county.
In addition to geographic constraints, there are gaps in the many businesses and
industries that are part of Los Angeles’s Armenian economy. These include but are not limited
to food wholesaling, jewelry sales, and the entertainment industry. Since the 1910s, Armenians
played a prominent role in Los Angeles’s agricultural wholesale industry because of their early
connections Armenian farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. Similarly, Armenians who immigrated
to the United States during the second wave of immigration used contacts abroad to build
wholesaling companies specializing in imported products. In downtown Los Angeles, St.
Vincent’s Jewelry Center at 650 South Hill Street (extant) is a significant site of Armenian
heritage with nearly all diaspora groups inhabiting a single building.
Lastly, the Armenian diaspora in Los Angeles is not a homogenous group. Future
researchers must address this community characteristic as I have done and expand on it. The
lived experiences of the diaspora discussed in previous chapters is cursory and deserves further
research. The story of each diaspora group contributes to the complex layers of Armenian
enclave formation and identity in Los Angeles.
In closing, writing, and researching this paper has proven to be immensely gratifying. I
have learned an incredible amount about my own community and gained a greater
appreciation for its contributions to Los Angeles. It’s my hope, that through this paper other
Armenians in the community may feel empowered to use heritage conservation tools to
protect our historic resources.

82
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Appendix A: Complete list of Armenian Heritage Sites

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Asset Metadata

Creator Van Breene, Erik (author)

Core Title Not so Little Armenia: conserving Armenian heritage sites in Los Angeles

School School of Architecture

Degree Master of Heritage Conservation

Degree Program Heritage Conservation

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 04/11/2022

Defense Date 04/11/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Armenian,Armenians,Glendale,Heritage Conservation,Historic Preservation,los angeles,Montebello,OAI-PMH Harvest,Pasadena

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Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Sandmeier, Trudi (committee chair), Drake Reitan, Meredith (committee member), Platt, Jay (committee member)

Creator Email erik.vanbreene@gmail.com,evanbree@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110937264

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