It’s a amazing how much history is around us and how much of it we don’t even realize is there. We currently live a few miles from the City of Irwindale and we frequently drive down Arrow Hwy. I’ve always seen a small cobblestone building but never paid too much attention to it… until today. I noticed that the entire building is locked down and looks like no one has been there for quite some time, however, a small statue of the Virgin Mary directly to the left of it’s entrance, dusty stained-glass windows lining it’s walls, a large cross on the edge of the roof and a seemingly broken bell in the small tower are some of the remaining elements that show that this was once an active chapel. A small plaque outside the structure reads:

Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mission Church
First Catholic Church
In Irwindale Area
Established 1917

After a little online research I found that the last service was held in 1988 and has passed through the hands of many in the city who want to demolish it and others who want to declare it a historical landmark. Although I’m not sure of it’s contents, I can tell you that as I walked the around the building it looks structurally sound, especially considering that it’s now 6 years short of is centennial anniversary. The last piece of info I could find establishes that the city was in the process of purchasing the church from the archdiocese to preserve and declare it a historical landmark. I hope they succeeded.