Los Feliz : Monument Status Weighed

The headquarters of the Philosophic Research Society, an eclectic religious organization, is under consideration for monument status by the city of Los Angeles.

Designed by architect Robert Stacy-Judd, the complex of pale pink Mayan Revival buildings was constructed between 1935 and 1959 at the behest of Manly Palmer Hall, the late founder of the society.

Hall delivered thousands of lectures and wrote more than 200 books and monographs on mysticism and esoteric sciences before his death in 1990. During his travels, he also amassed a large collection of unusual books and artifacts, including a Japanese Buddhist sutra written in blood and 3,000-year-old Chinese oracle bones.

The cluster of buildings, which overlooks the junction of Los Feliz and Griffith Park boulevards, houses a 50,000-volume library, a bookstore, a museum and two lecture halls.