Kawaiaha'o among top tourist spots

Dallas Morning News

Kawaiaha'o Church, the oldest church in Hawai'i, attracts visitors year-round. Advertiser library photo

Remember that people may be worshipping even as tourists walk through. Be respectful. Be quiet.

Dress modestly. Touro Synagogue, for example, asks visitors not to wear shorts, sleeveless tops or jeans.

Make at least a small donation, if you can. "There is a certain amount of expense involved just to keep the doors open for tourists," she said.

Where to go

Here are places of worship that attract tourists every year:

Kawaiaha'o Church, Honolulu: The oldest church in Hawai'i; site of coronations, weddings and funerals of Island royalty. It's built of coral blocks.

Beth Shalom Congregation, Elkins Park, Pa.: Built in 1959, this is the only American synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The synagogue is now home to a Conservative congregation.

Christ Church, Philadelphia: Established in 1695, this Episcopal church was a place of worship for 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin is buried in the church's graveyard.

City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Talmage, Calif.: Established in 1974 by the Dharma Realm International Buddhist Association, this 488-acre community is home to followers of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. There's a jeweled hall lined with compartments, each containing a Buddha image — more than 10,000 in all.

Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta: The spiritual home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil-rights movement. Although there's a new sanctuary, the church maintains the Heritage Sanctuary where King preached his first and last sermons. Next door is a memorial park surrounding his crypt. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is across the street.

Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles: This 1929 French Gothic building has appeared in movies and TV shows, including "The West Wing" and "Ally McBeal."

Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe, N.M.: The mysterious story of the chapel's spiral staircase has been the subject of a movie and an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries."

Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.: The best preserved among the California missions, it gives the clearest glimpse of mission life. It's the only mission in California under control of the Franciscans from its founding in 1782 until now.

The Mother Center, Los Angeles: The former home of guru Paramahansa Yogananda is now a shrine and headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship, a movement teaching meditation and yoga. Visitors can tour the garden, chapel and grounds.

Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago: Originally built in 1891 as a synagogue, the building was acquired in 1922 by Pilgrim Baptist and became the birthplace of gospel music in the 1930s.

The Saint Louis Cathedral, New Orleans: Established in 1720, it's the oldest U.S. Catholic cathedral.

Sixteenth Street Baptist, Birmingham, Ala.: Sight of the bombing that killed four girls on a Sunday morning in 1963; home to a civil-rights memorial.