Sacred Heart church is the first suburban church of Los Angeles. The church was established in several temporary buildings in August, 1887. The cornerstone of the present church was laid on February 10, 1889.
In the winter of 1884 – 1885 disastrous floods washed out the bridges leading to downtown Los Angeles keeping many devout Catholic families who lived on the east side of “Rio Porciuncula", the Los Angeles River, from attending Mass. The two to three mile journey to participate in Sunday mass at either the Placita Church or Saint Vibiana’s Cathedral was already a hardship to the pioneer families and rancheros.
