Chua Tu Hieu Temple and Buddhist Cultural Center Expanding on Fillmore

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Housed in the old Buffalo Police Eighth Precinct at 647 Fillmore, the Chua Tu Hieu Temple and Buddhist Cultural Center will be expanding its footprint.

From WIVB:

A new Buddhist cultural center is coming to Buffalo’s Broadway Fillmore area.

The leaders and members of the Chau Tu Hieu Temple on Fillmore are building it. Once it’s constructed, they said it’s meant to be a place for anyone to come.

Dr. Bang Tuan Pham translated for Reverend Thien Tam. “It’s an opportunity to find your inner self and enjoying just a relaxing area” said Dr. Pham.

The $100,000 dollar cultural center will have four stone pillars, an archway, garden and Buddha sculpture.  The sculpture will represent Quan Yin, the goddess of mercy.

“For the Vietnamese community many of them have been refugees who have been in great dangers. Many of them have turned to Buddha Quan Yin to pray for their safe travel to reach the new homeland” said Dr. Pham.

The statue will be erected is December. The rest of the cultural center is expected to be built by next summer.

Read full story on WIVB—>

This is great news for the neighborhood and the Fillmore Avenue corridor.

Here are some pics from a few years ago of the temple:

(click here for full view of pics)

From BFA Friend Greg Witul:

Greg Witul, a local historian said “this is just continuing the East Side’s history of pulling in all these different ethnic cultures and settling in this neighborhood”

Witul explained that during the early 1900’s the Broadway Fillmore area was home to large Polish community. But throughout the years it’s become a melting pot.

“You still have remnants of German, Polish, Ukrainian, Slavic, and Russian. You also you also have Polish Catholics, Ukrainian Catholics, Baptists, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists so you have about a dozen different cultures, ethnicities and religions all influencing this neighborhood” said Witul.

Alive!


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