Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace

Who would ever think that just outside the Beltway you could see one of the strangest buildings you have seen? And then for it also to be an abandoned temple, well that just makes it mysterious.

I am talking about the Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace.  Just outside of the beltway and north of West Park Tollway lies the strange temple of the Tien Tao Association of Houston.

The Tien Tao is a universalist religion founded in China at the end of World War II. It is a religion of peace who believe that there is truth in all religions. They believe Jesus, Buddha, Confucius and Mohommed all to have been messengers of Tao (God).

This massive building has been the cause of many disputes in the area between the Tien Tao Association and the residents of the surrounding neighborhood.  And even between the leader of the organization and the federal government. This building has been empty and unused since 2001. This is when the new leader Kwai Fun Wong left the USA to travel back to Hong Kong for a funeral of her mentor in the religion. She had not gained permanent residency in the U.S. before leaving, and did not receive permission to travel to Hong Kong. On her Return she was arrested in the airport and deported. This left the sect without a leader.

The building was a part of a larger 11 acre site that would include shopping and retail. But to date, there is only this one abandoned building.  After searching, I have not been able to find any images of the insides of this building. The building itself is massive and well maintained.  The is a large steel and concrete wall that encloses the building.  A large well maintained parking lot inside the fence and most of the graffiti has been painted over.  And the most creepy, all the doors have large steel bar enclosures around them, with cameras pointed at them.