Day 289: Wat Thai, Los Angeles, California

📌APIA Every Day (289) - Located just outside of Los Angeles’ Thai Town (APIA Every Day 36), the Wat Thai was the first Thai Buddhist temple established in the United States in 1979. Thai immigrants had been settling in Southern California since the 1950s, primarily coming to pursue education at American universities. In the 1980s, as more working-class Thai immigrants settled in Los Angeles and opened businesses, the Thai community established more permanent roots in the city. The Wat Thai played an important role in fostering Thai Town's cultural development and providing a central space for community members to gather. 

The Thai community's desire to establish a Buddhist temple in L.A. led to the incorporation of the Thai-American Buddhist Association in 1970. The following year, Buddhist monks were invited from Thailand to help organize efforts to found a temple. Shortly after, two committees—one based in L.A. and one based in Bangkok—formed to fund the burgeoning project. In July of 1971, a single family home was purchased by the committees to serve as both a residence for monks and a temporary worship space, marking Wat Thai's unofficial beginning.

Later in 1972, the site for a more formal temple was purchased on Cantara Street. The property encompassed 2.2 acres of land and a plan was set out to develop a temple monastery complete with worship space, living quarters, and other sacred buildings. That year, construction began with the placement of the foundation stone for the traditional Thai-style main hall, the Uposatha-Sala. The building's completion was marked in 1979 with a ceremony to mount its gable spire, attended by the Sangharaja Somdej Phravanarat—the head of the Thai Buddhist community. In 1982, the Sangharaja returned to consecrate the main hall, officially establishing the Los Angeles temple as a monastery under the Sangha (the Buddhist monastic order). During this time in the ‘80s, the temple community also initiated its ongoing tradition of organizing an outdoor food court for visitors each weekend. 

Since its founding, the temple has maintained its role as a cultural center, celebrating annual Thai festivals, operating a Buddhist Sunday School, and offering meditation and vocational training to community members. The Wat Thai also remains a source of pride for Thai Americans, recently hosting a visit from Thailand's current prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in 2024. While not yet registered as a historic site, the temple was included in the 2018 Los Angeles Historic Context Study on Thai Americans as a potential local nomination property.

Written by Avneet Dhaliwal

LEARN MORE:

History of Wat Thai

City of LA Dept. of Planning: LOS ANGELES CITYWIDE HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT Context: Thai Americans in Los Angeles, 1950-1980

Pattaya Mail: Prime Minister warmly welcomed by Thai community during visit to temple in Los Angeles

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