In an age when Philadelphia seems to be losing another former church every month, it warms our hearts to bring you a story about a religious building that's been brought back to life. We were puttering around South Philly last week and stopped dead in our tracks at 6th & Ritner when we happened upon the Preah Buddah Rangsey Temple on the southwest corner. It was immediately evident that the building was originally used as a church and probably dated back at least a century.
Looking at historic maps, we see that this building was previously home to the Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church. According to Hidden City, the building was constructed in 1904 and sat on the market for some time during the early-2000s, perhaps because it was in lousy condition. The Khmer Buddhist Humanitarian Association bought the building in 2003 and spent years rehabbing the interior. Part of the rehab process involved turning a vacant lot at the corner into a breathtaking courtyard. It was the courtyard, as you might expect, which drew our attention to the property in the first place.
Again, per Hidden City, the temple is having tremendous success at this location, attracting members roughly 4,000 members in the last decade. This makes them the largest temple in town. Many members live in the general area, though some folks come from as far away from Harrisburg. Along with providing a space for prayer, the temple also provides social services for the growing Buddhist population in the neighborhood. While this model is probably not replicable for too many other former churches around town, we're extremely pleased that it worked out here and that the former Saint Andrew's will live on for many decades to come.