THE LITTLE BROWN CHURCH WAS OPENED IN 1939

BUILDING A GREAT MUSEUM FOR THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

The Little Brown Church Studio City - 1939 - historic postcard - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gary Fredburg 2014.  (click on image to enlarge it.)

Three years before the San Fernando Valley found itself part of the Second World War, a tiny Protestant chapel was established in Studio City. Today, the historic structure is primarily a wedding site but still houses a small and devoted congregation. The wedding place of President Ronald Regan and his wife Nancy, the modest chapel has been host to many celebrity marriages.

CELEBRITY MARRIAGES AT THE LITTLE BROWN CHURCH

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY        2012

Our Museum Ally, Mary Mallory shares this great list of notables who were married in the Little Brown Church in Studio City.   Thanks Mary!

The list of celebrities.

Cliff Arquette/Darlene Sammons March 1946
Janis Paige/Frank Martinelli December 27, 1947
Mary Beth Hughes/David Street April 29, 1948

Marjorie Hunt/Arthur Pierson June 1950
Ronald Reagan/Nancy Davis March 4, 1952
Herbert Yates/Vera Hruba Ralston March 12, 1952
Jack Carson/Lola Albright August 1952
Frank Westmore/Ginger Clayton August 1952
Tom Tully/Ida Johnson June 1954, director Don Siegel was Best Man
Bud Westmore/Jeanne Shores April 1, 1955

A. C. Lyles/Martha Schaefer May 4, 1955
Frank C. Westmore/Johnnie Fay Rector June 1955
Doye O'Dell/Joan Barton August 1955
Julie Van Zandt/Robert Rains February 14, 1958
Ty Hardin/Audra Martin August 30, 1958
Gil Stratton/D'Arline Marie Norvas March 1961
Charles Chaplin Jr/Marta Brown April 1962
Thelma England Blount/Tom Wilck June 1962 (she was Walt Disney's secretary and he gave her away)
Cissy Wellman/Bob Donner December 12, 1965
Patty Duke/Harry Falk Jr. November 26, 1965

Maggie Wellman/Mike Conway September 6, 1969

Richard Roundtree/Karen Clemia August 30, 1980


Boxer James Jeffries memorial service was held here on March 7, 1953.

In an article about Yates and Ralston getting their marriage license, their addresses were listed as:
Yates--14050 Valley Vista
Ralston--3683 Dixie Canyon

THE LITTLE - VERY LITTLE - BROWN CHURCH IN STUDIO CITY

2010  THE YEAR OF VALLEY ADVENTURES.
Here's hoping you join us tomorrow on our 3rd Annual Walk It Off historic walking tour adventure - this time in the Van Nuys Civic Center.
This last Tuesday, the 23rd, your Museum's Phyllis Hansen and Jerry Fecht took two very bright administrative assistants from Assemblymember Mike Feuer's office on a tour of the San Fernando Valley section of the Assemblyman's district. Our goal was to show these young women, some of the secrets they might not know about our area of California.
One of our stops was at the historic Little Brown Church in Studio City where Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan were married. The Little Brown Church may just be the smallest house of worship in the San Fernando Valley, but exploring the site, Phyllis Hansen may have found one even smaller!

 The Little Little Brown Church in the Valley

Photo by Phyllis Hansen for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley.

(click on image to enlarge)

I wonder how many of you, like me, were fans of the great little bank, They May Be Giants. If you are then you might remember one of their lyrics that reminded us to "Make a little birdhouse in your soul."

Thanks Phyllis for this elevated view of the Little Brown Church.

IOWA ROOTS FOR THE VALLEY'S BURNET BROWN

The Little Brown Church in the Wildwood, Nashua, Iowa. Made famous in song, this beloved Little Brown Church in Iowa influenced the building of the Little Brown Church in Studio City, California where Ronald and Nancy Reagan were married.

At one time there were so many "transplanted" Iowa people in Southern California that there were great annual Iowa Picnics held in Long Beach. In Nashua, Iowa (the home of the famous Little Brown Church in the Vale) a small museum holds an Eagle Scout's rock collection that belonged to Kenneth Brown. His son, Burnet Brown is an adviser to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley.