220 Jackson Avenue
JAPANESE METHODIST CHURCH 1907 | POWELL STREET UNITED CHURCH 1942 | VANCOUVER BUDDHIST TEMPLE 1954
The Vancouver Japanese Methodist Church was built in this location in 1907, and later became the Powell Street United Church in 1925. The building was a comfort and a landmark for the Japanese community. The church hall contained a gymnasium and a swimming pool.
In 1954, when some members of the community returned to Powell Street, the Vancouver Buddhist Temple purchased the building. A new temple was completed on the site in 1979.
"I attended kindergarten at the United Church, where the Buddhist Temple is now. The congregation was mostly Japanese and the teachers were Caucasian." - Mary Nakashimada Kawamoto
The Vancouver Japanese Methodist Church was built in this location in 1907, and later became the Powell Street United Church in 1925. The building was a comfort and a landmark for the Japanese community. The church hall contained a gymnasium and a swimming pool.
In 1954, when some members of the community returned to Powell Street, the Vancouver Buddhist Temple purchased the building. A new temple was completed on the site in 1979.
"I attended kindergarten at the United Church, where the Buddhist Temple is now. The congregation was mostly Japanese and the teachers were Caucasian." - Mary Nakashimada Kawamoto
Artist Comments and Additional Information
A simple line of eager Powell Street United Church kindergarten graduates pose before the Church's building. The United Church offered various kinds of cultural activities for Japanese Canadian children before the war. An archival photo of a Buddhist celebration rises as a moon, behind the watermark illustration of the Church. Today, the Vancouver Buddhist Temple (as it now known) offers various cultural and spiritual services to the community.
The Vancouver Buddhist Temple: http://vancouverbuddhisttemple.com
