Letters to the Editor: Here’s hoping the Wadsworth Chapel will be restored to its former elegance

To the editor: Thank you for the article about the Wadsworth Chapel by senior writer Doug Smith (“A rehab may be in the works for this 125-year-old landmark in West L.A.,” April 3).

Sometime during the year of 1978, my brother spent time outside of the Wadsworth Chapel on the grounds of the Veterans Affairs campus in Westwood, sketching the chapel for a watercolor he painted that still hangs in his home today.

Our grandfather spent time at the VA in the 1950s for a surgery and temporary housing following the operation. He is now buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Every time I drive along Wilshire Boulevard past the chapel, even now when it is in such disrepair, I am grateful for the care he received. It has been more than 50 years since the chapel was closed and I am hopeful that this recent attention on the goal of restoring it to its former elegance will finally bear positive results for our veterans.

Christine Savage, Santa Monica

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To the editor: I had to double check to make sure I was reading correctly. $11.8 million to rehab the VA chapel? That is a stunning number. You could probably build two chapels on the campus for that much money.

I should not be surprised. Anything that has to do with any government entity costs four times what it would cost in the private sector.

Ronald Theile, Santa Monica