UCLA

This article traces how the creation of a Thai Theravada Buddhist temple, known as the Wat (Temple) Thai Los Angeles, in North Hollywood, California, gave rise to the formation of a Thai community in the greater Los Angeles area in the 1970s. The research examines how the Thai community throughout Southern California came together and formed such a grand project at the time. The paper focuses on the people who created the idea of erecting a temple in Los Angeles. In this study, I present oral history accounts of people who were directly involved in the project highlighting community volunteerism and activism. I examine how religious institutions can serve as the centerpiece of ethnic community formation in the United States.