Historic 1920s era Los Angeles building burns

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fire has ravaged a vacant Los Angeles church that had been on the city’s list of historic and cultural monuments since 1993.

The Fire Department says it took more than 130 firefighters to battle the blaze which raged for hours Thursday morning near downtown and still smoldered early Friday.

The structure combining Spanish Colonial and Mission architecture was built in 1924 as the Pierce Brothers Mortuary, allowing undertaking services and memorial services in a single establishment.

It later served as a house of worship for various congregations for many years.

The Fire Department says the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but a task force on church arson cases was notified because the building had been a house of worship.