Lanterman Family Collection of the Church of the Lighted Window

Title: Lanterman Family Collection of the Church of the Lighted Window

Dates: 1924-1987

Collection Number: CLW

Creator/Collector: Lanterman, Roy S., 1869-1948. Lanterman, Emily Constance, 1873-1949. Lanterman, Frank. Lanterman, Lloyd Stanley, 1897-1987. Lanterman family. Church of the Lighted Window (La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.).

Extent: 4 Document Cases and 2 Rolled Document Boxes

Repository: Lanterman House

Abstract: Consists of documents, photographs, programs, and architectural drawings collected by the Lanterman family as a founding family of both the Church of the Lighted Window and La Cañada-Flintridge. Throughout the Lantermans’ time in La Cañada, different family members were active on the church’s Board of Trustees and were an integral part of its development.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open to the public for research. Use is restricted by rules intended to protect and preserve the materials in good condition for the future. Contact the Lanterman House Archives at least 48 hours in advance to ensure access to the materials. For additional information, please contact the Lanterman House Archives.

Use of the materials is governed by applicable copyright law. The Lanterman House and Lanterman House Archives reserve the right to restrict any materials from reproduction at any time. Property rights reside with the Lanterman House. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. The Lanterman House’s physical ownership of the materials in its collection does not imply ownership of copyright. It is the user’s responsibility to resolve any copyright issues related to the use and distribution of reproduced materials. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Lanterman House Archives.

Lanterman Family Collection of the Church of the Lighted Window. Lanterman House

On April 21, 1987, the City of La Cañada Flintridge purchased the family papers and the furnishings of the Lanterman House from the Church of the Lighted Window, which had inherited them from the last surviving member of the Lanterman family.

Four members of the Lanterman family were among those who signed the original charter of the church in 1897. Prior to this, local families gathered at the Lanterman home for informal worship. For the first fifty years of its existence, the church was the only church in the entire valley and was a center for social services and community gatherings. The original building was built in 1897, then rebuilt in 1924. The Lanterman family provided the initial property as well as other significant donations to the church over the years, including stained glass windows, an organ, additional land, and a parsonage. The original name of the church was the La Cañada Congregational Church; however, its popular name, “Church of the Lighted Window,” originated from a Tiffany window given in memory of Jacob and Ammoretta Lanterman. California Poet Laureate Stephen McGroarty described the memorial as “a lighted window that shines out upon the lonely night…” The name of the church has changed several times, from La Cañada Congregational Church (1897), La Cañada Valley Community Church (1898), Church of the Lighted Window (1954), and back to La Cañada Congregational Church (2008). The church is a designated state historical landmark (HLA n-007). The Lantermans are one of the founding families of La Cañada Flintridge. Jacob and Ammoretta Lanterman brought their family to California in the 1870s. Along with their children and grandchildren, they established the local church, school district, and developed the land. Their grandson, California State Assemblyman Frank Dexter Lanterman, championed water rights for unincorporated areas as well as reforms in the treatment of the developmentally disabled.

The Lanterman family collection of the Church of the Lighted Window consists of papers the family created and collected over a sixty-three year period between 1924 and 1987. Board minutes, architectural drawings, church histories, church bulletins, and photographs document church and local La Cañada activities. Frank and Lloyd Lanterman were particularly active as members of the Board of Trustees and the Building Committee, participating in efforts to remodel the church, preventing it from being destroyed by the 210 Freeway, and other church building projects. The collection is organized into the following series: 1. Buildings and Grounds (Box 1) 2. Governance (Box 2) 3. Publications (Box 3) 4. Gifts and Commemorative Materials (Box 3) 5. Photographs (Box 4) 6. Architectural Drawings (Boxes 5-6)