The steeple of a church in the desert Route 66 town of Amboy, California, will be restored by mid-month, according to the former manager of Roy’s in Amboy.
Carlos Aceves also said by text message last week the roof of the long-closed St. Raymond Church in Amboy also will be repaired this month.
I began traveling Route 66 for about 15 years ago, and the church’s steeple was leaning even then. In fact, it’s impossible to find images of the much-photographed church without its steeple leaning.
According to one online report, the steeple toppled in the spring of 2013 — weeks before the above photo was taken.
Historical information online about the church is scant. But according to longtime California Route 66 aficionado Kevin Hansel in this video, the church was built in the late 1940s, about the time Amboy began to enjoy its peak of postwar prosperity.
The mural above the altar was painted by a Marine in 1960 who served with General Patton’s troops when they trained in the area for desert warfare during World War II. The artist’s name remains a mystery.
The mural indicates the church was named after St. Raymond of Pennafort, Patron Saint of Canonists. There are two St. Raymonds in Catholicism, but the Pennafort Raymond is the likely one because of this part of his background probably is shown on the mural:
Once he went with King James to the Island of Majorca to preach about Jesus. King James was a man of great qualities, but he let himself be ruled by passions. There on the Island, too, he was giving bad example. The Saint commanded him to send the woman away. The King said he would, but he did not keep his promise. So St. Raymond decided to leave the Island. The King declared he would punish any ship captain who brought the Saint back to Barcelona. Putting all his trust in God, Saint Raymond spread his cloak upon the water, tied up one corner of it to a stick for a sail, made the Sign of the Cross, stepped onto the cloak, and sailed along for six hours until he reached Barcelona. This miracle moved the King.
Amboy’s economy — and already-small population — declined rapidly after Interstate 40 bypassed it in 1972. Amboy School closed in 1999. There’s no record when the church closed.
Albert Okura, who bought the town of Amboy about 10 years ago, said in the same video he hopes to eventually open the church to tourists on Sundays. Okura also anticipates a big influx of Chinese tourists in the coming years because of China’s rapidly rising middle class. Tours of the church and other spots in Amboy also are available by appointment.
(Image of St. Raymond’s Church in Amboy, California, in March 2013 by el-toro; image of the St. Raymond’s Church altar mural by jstdadd)