Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society facts for kids

The Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society is a Unitarian Universalist church in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California; holding services the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at 17622 Chatsworth St. Its former home in North Hills is a distinctive building known as the Onion, designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #975 in 2010.

History

The present-day Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society was founded in 1943 as the United Liberal Church of the Valley. It later became the People's Church of the San Fernando Valley and then in 1956 the Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

In the early 1960s the congregation found itself in need of a larger space and bought a five-acre ranch property in North Hills. They chose Frank Ehrenthal, a Universalist and contemporary of Richard Neutra, to design the new building. After talking with and observing the members of the congregation, Ehrenthal designed a round building where people could face each other on an equal footing. “The Onion” was completed in 1964 and is built of glued laminated timber beams that curve from the foundation to the flat point at the top of the roof. The entire building is covered with composition (originally wood) shingles.