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A large blue building. A sign on top of the building reads: Scientology. Corbis via Getty Images

Mapping Scientology’s impressive LA real estate empire

Here are 16 prized properties

By Pauline O'Connor Updated
28 comments / new
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By Pauline O'Connor Updated
28 comments / new
Corbis via Getty Images

With a portfolio of properties reportedly worth $400 million in Hollywood alone (paid for in cash no less), the Church of Scientology is undeniably a formidable player in the real estate game.

It’s known for collecting historic buildings, but the CoS isn’t averse to erecting brand-new behemoths, such as its 185,000-square-foot Dissemination and Distribution Printing Center in Commerce, or parts of its massive campus at Sunset and Catalina in East Hollywood, two of 16 prize properties featured in this selective map of Scientology’s Los Angeles empire.

(If you’re hungry for more, a fairly exhaustive compilation of the organization’s holdings can be found in the Xenu Directory.)

— Curbed reporter Elijah Chiland also contributed to this piece.

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The Braley Building

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This Nationally Registered building in Old Town Pasadena was built in 1906 as a bicycle factory. Purchased for $10 million, it became one of the group’s Ideal Orgs in 2010.

35 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
The exterior of the Braley building in Pasadena, California. The facade is tan and there are green awnings over the windows on the ground level. Google Maps

Château Élysée 

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Scientology’s jewel in the crown is the Celebrity Centre. It’s housed in the old Château Élysée, a seven-story 1929 French Normandy Revival chateau in Hollywood’s Franklin Village, which the church purchased in 1973 for $1.5 million.

5930 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028
The exterior of the scientology celebrity center, Chateau Elysee in Hollywood, California. The facade is white with a brown roof and many windows.
Celebrity Centre.
By Kilmer Media / Shutterstock.com

El Cadiz apartments

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Designed in 1936 by Milton Black, the historic Spanish Revival complex was acquired by the church in 2004. David Miscavige is rumored to have a unit here.

1721 North Sycamore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028
The exterior of El Cadiz apartments in Los Angeles, California. The facade is white and there is a brown roof. There is a fence and trees in front of the building. Google Maps

Hollywood Guaranty Building

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Designed in 1923 by John C. Austin, the historic twelve-story former bank is now home to the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition.

6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
The exterior of the Hollywood Guaranty Building in Los Angeles, California. The facade is red brick and there is a flat roof. There is a sign on top of the building that reads: scientology. By meunierd / Shutterstock.com

Hollywood Congregational Church

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Built in 1925, this former Protestant church now serves as the offices for the Association for Better Living and Education International, a CoS-affiliated nonprofit.

7065 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Hollywood Savings & Loan building

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Built in the 1940s, this former bank now contains a library of L. Ron Hubbard’s novels and short story collections, and it hosts public readings of his pulp fiction.

7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

The former Christie Hotel

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Designed in 1920 by Playboy Mansion architect Arthur Kelly, the Christie was Hollywood’s first luxury hotel. Now you can get a stress test at the historic property.

6724 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
The exterior of the former Christie hotel. The facade is red brick and there is a sign on the front of the building that reads: scientology.
Scientology Testing Center, originally the Christie Hotel.
By oneinchpunch / Shutterstock.com

New Church of Scientology

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Designed by architecture firm Gensler, the new church is part of a campus sprawling from Sunset to Fountain between New Hampshire Avenue and L. Ron Hubbard Way.

4810 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The exterior of the New Church of Scientology. The facade is blue with multiple windows. There is a sign on the building that reads: American Saint Hill Organization. Google Maps

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum

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This disconcerting museum in Hollywood is also the headquarters of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organization founded by the Church of Scientology in the 1960s. The Sunset Boulevard building is owned by one of the church’s real estate divisions.

6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-4242
(323) 467-4242
The exterior of the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum in Los Angeles. The facade is white and there is a sign that reads: citizens commission on human rights. Google Maps

KCET Studios

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On a 4.5-acre lot, the historic studio and longtime base of public television station KCET was sold to the CoS in 2011 for a reported $42 million. It’s now home to Scientology Media Productions.

4401 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The exterior of KCET studios in Los Angeles. The facade is red brick and there is a sign on the building that reads: scientology media productions.
Scientology Media Productions.
By Michael Gordon / Shutterstock.com

Former Cedars of Lebanon Hospital

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Designed by Eastern Columbia architect Claud Beelman, the former hospital was bought for $5 million in 1976 and is now the group's West Coast HQ and Sea-Org base.

4833 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The exterior of the church of scientology building which is the former cedars of lebanon hospital in Los Angeles. The facade is blue and there is a large sign on the building that reads: scientology.
Church of Scientology Building on 4810 Sunset Boulevard.
Corbis via Getty Images

Dissemination and distribution center

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Located in Commerce, and staffed by uniformed Scientologists, the 185,000 square foot facility features a custom-built 121-ton web press.

6130 Sheila St, Commerce, CA 90040
The exterior of the Scientology distribution center in Commerce, California. The facade is tan and there is a parking lot to the side of the building. Google Maps

Inglewood Community Center

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The church purchased this 1930s Art Deco building at 81st and Street and Vermont in 2007. It now features an event hall, classrooms and seminar facilities, and a literacy and tutoring center.

8039 South Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044
The exterior of the Scientology Inglewood community center in Los Angeles. The facade is tan and there is a tower on top of the building. Google Maps

Inglewood Ideal Org Center

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Formerly a jewelry store, this 45,000 square foot space opened as an Ideal Org center in 2011, featuring a public information area, an academy to train auditors, and chapel.

315 South Market Street, Inglewood, CA 90301
The exterior of the Church of Scientology Inglewood. The facade is tan and there are trees in front of the building. Google Maps

Gold Base

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Originally a vacation resort, this 500-acre parcel of land outside San Jacinto is now home to the Church’s international headquarters and media operations.

19625 Gilman Springs Road, San Jacinto, CA 92583
The exterior of Scientology Gold Base in San Jacinto, California. The facade is tan and there is a yard with plants in front of the building. Google Maps

Former Masonic Lodge

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Built in 1931 by W. Horace Austin, who also designed the Bowers Museum, this landmark deco Masonic Lodge reopened as a Scientology church in 2012.

505 North Sycamore Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
The exterior of the Scientology building in Santa Ana. The facade is white and there are red awnings over the windows on the ground level. Google Maps

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The Braley Building

35 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105

This Nationally Registered building in Old Town Pasadena was built in 1906 as a bicycle factory. Purchased for $10 million, it became one of the group’s Ideal Orgs in 2010.

35 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
The exterior of the Braley building in Pasadena, California. The facade is tan and there are green awnings over the windows on the ground level. Google Maps

Château Élysée 

5930 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028

Scientology’s jewel in the crown is the Celebrity Centre. It’s housed in the old Château Élysée, a seven-story 1929 French Normandy Revival chateau in Hollywood’s Franklin Village, which the church purchased in 1973 for $1.5 million.

5930 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028
The exterior of the scientology celebrity center, Chateau Elysee in Hollywood, California. The facade is white with a brown roof and many windows.
Celebrity Centre.
By Kilmer Media / Shutterstock.com

El Cadiz apartments

1721 North Sycamore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Designed in 1936 by Milton Black, the historic Spanish Revival complex was acquired by the church in 2004. David Miscavige is rumored to have a unit here.

1721 North Sycamore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028
The exterior of El Cadiz apartments in Los Angeles, California. The facade is white and there is a brown roof. There is a fence and trees in front of the building. Google Maps

Hollywood Guaranty Building

6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Designed in 1923 by John C. Austin, the historic twelve-story former bank is now home to the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition.

6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
The exterior of the Hollywood Guaranty Building in Los Angeles, California. The facade is red brick and there is a flat roof. There is a sign on top of the building that reads: scientology. By meunierd / Shutterstock.com

Hollywood Congregational Church

7065 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Built in 1925, this former Protestant church now serves as the offices for the Association for Better Living and Education International, a CoS-affiliated nonprofit.

7065 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Hollywood Savings & Loan building

7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Built in the 1940s, this former bank now contains a library of L. Ron Hubbard’s novels and short story collections, and it hosts public readings of his pulp fiction.

7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

The former Christie Hotel

6724 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Designed in 1920 by Playboy Mansion architect Arthur Kelly, the Christie was Hollywood’s first luxury hotel. Now you can get a stress test at the historic property.

6724 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
The exterior of the former Christie hotel. The facade is red brick and there is a sign on the front of the building that reads: scientology.
Scientology Testing Center, originally the Christie Hotel.
By oneinchpunch / Shutterstock.com

New Church of Scientology

4810 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Designed by architecture firm Gensler, the new church is part of a campus sprawling from Sunset to Fountain between New Hampshire Avenue and L. Ron Hubbard Way.

4810 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The exterior of the New Church of Scientology. The facade is blue with multiple windows. There is a sign on the building that reads: American Saint Hill Organization. Google Maps

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum

6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

This disconcerting museum in Hollywood is also the headquarters of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organization founded by the Church of Scientology in the 1960s. The Sunset Boulevard building is owned by one of the church’s real estate divisions.

6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-4242
(323) 467-4242
The exterior of the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum in Los Angeles. The facade is white and there is a sign that reads: citizens commission on human rights. Google Maps

KCET Studios

4401 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027

On a 4.5-acre lot, the historic studio and longtime base of public television station KCET was sold to the CoS in 2011 for a reported $42 million. It’s now home to Scientology Media Productions.

4401 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The exterior of KCET studios in Los Angeles. The facade is red brick and there is a sign on the building that reads: scientology media productions.
Scientology Media Productions.
By Michael Gordon / Shutterstock.com

Former Cedars of Lebanon Hospital

4833 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Designed by Eastern Columbia architect Claud Beelman, the former hospital was bought for $5 million in 1976 and is now the group's West Coast HQ and Sea-Org base.

4833 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The exterior of the church of scientology building which is the former cedars of lebanon hospital in Los Angeles. The facade is blue and there is a large sign on the building that reads: scientology.
Church of Scientology Building on 4810 Sunset Boulevard.
Corbis via Getty Images

Dissemination and distribution center

6130 Sheila St, Commerce, CA 90040

Located in Commerce, and staffed by uniformed Scientologists, the 185,000 square foot facility features a custom-built 121-ton web press.

6130 Sheila St, Commerce, CA 90040
The exterior of the Scientology distribution center in Commerce, California. The facade is tan and there is a parking lot to the side of the building. Google Maps

Inglewood Community Center

8039 South Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044

The church purchased this 1930s Art Deco building at 81st and Street and Vermont in 2007. It now features an event hall, classrooms and seminar facilities, and a literacy and tutoring center.

8039 South Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044
The exterior of the Scientology Inglewood community center in Los Angeles. The facade is tan and there is a tower on top of the building. Google Maps

Inglewood Ideal Org Center

315 South Market Street, Inglewood, CA 90301

Formerly a jewelry store, this 45,000 square foot space opened as an Ideal Org center in 2011, featuring a public information area, an academy to train auditors, and chapel.

315 South Market Street, Inglewood, CA 90301
The exterior of the Church of Scientology Inglewood. The facade is tan and there are trees in front of the building. Google Maps

Gold Base

19625 Gilman Springs Road, San Jacinto, CA 92583

Originally a vacation resort, this 500-acre parcel of land outside San Jacinto is now home to the Church’s international headquarters and media operations.

19625 Gilman Springs Road, San Jacinto, CA 92583
The exterior of Scientology Gold Base in San Jacinto, California. The facade is tan and there is a yard with plants in front of the building. Google Maps

Former Masonic Lodge

505 North Sycamore Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701

Built in 1931 by W. Horace Austin, who also designed the Bowers Museum, this landmark deco Masonic Lodge reopened as a Scientology church in 2012.

505 North Sycamore Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
The exterior of the Scientology building in Santa Ana. The facade is white and there are red awnings over the windows on the ground level. Google Maps