[Ongoing censorship of critical views in the comments section, as confirmed by a Seattle Times official: "Dear readers, As many of you have noticed, many comments have been suppressed in this comment thread. This has not been due to an editorial decision by The Seattle Times, but rather has been due to other readers reporting and flagging abuse. I have gone into the problem queue and unflagged all appropriate comments. Nikolaj Lasbo Online News Producer seattletimes.com"] —– For the Rev. Ann ...

L. Ron Hubbard's footprint is growing — in Seattle and beyond. Want proof? The writing is on the western slope of Queen Anne in Seattle. The block letters on the side of a five-story brick building paint a pretty clear picture: "SCIENTOLOGY." Seattle's new Church of Scientology regional headquarters opened its doors last weekend. The streets around the building at 300 West Harrison St. were closed Saturday for a grand opening attended by more than 1,500 parishioners. The next morning, they ...

SCIENTOLOGISTS are planning to spend £2.5million on renovating the Royal Fleet Hotel and employ 150 staff to run it. In a detailed interview with The Herald, Church of Scientology members also said they expected 'tens of thousands' of people to visit the Devonport site each and every year. It follows news earlier this month that the church had bought the historic 110-year-old Morice Square site for £1million. Graeme Wilson, a Church of Scientology public affairs director, said people in Devonport had ...

DEVONPORT'S iconic Royal Fleet Hotel has been sold to the Church of Scientology. The Herald has learned agents representing the hotel's owner — Midlands-based businessman Kailash Suri — completed the sale of the historic building on Friday. Last month, Mr Suri announced the hotel was set to close, 18 months after he bought it promising a multi-million-pound makeover. He claimed the Morice Square building was losing money "drastically". But yesterday, Mr Suri, the Church of Scientology and property consultants King Sturge ...

Objectif: soigner l'image du mouvement pour stimuler le recrutement [Picture / Caption: Le porte-parole de l’Église de scientologie de Montréal, Jean Larivière, devant l’édifice que le mouvement vient d’acquérir au centre-ville de Montréal. Un projet de 10 millions après rénovations] L'Église de scientologie prépare une offensive majeure au Canada. D'ici deux ans, cette organisation controversée compte construire d'attrayants lieux de culte à coups de millions dans les grandes villes du pays. Une opération charme sans précédent visant à recruter de plus ...

A BIZARRE religious cult which believes humans are trapped alien souls has announced plans to open a centre in Trafford to serve as its north west HQ. The Church of Scientology, which bills itself as the fastest growing religion in the world, announced on its website plans to take over the former Duckworth’s Essence Distillery factory on Chester Road in Old Trafford. The movement’s website has started advertising the building as one of several across the globe it plans to open ...

[Picture / Caption: In four to six months, the former Science Museum of Minnesota will be transformed into the regional headquarters for the Church of Scientology, which has ambitious plans for growth in the Twin Cities—part of a global effort to expand, which an official says has resulted in the Church doubling its worldwide size in the last five years. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)] The Church of Scientology has ambitious plans for growing in the Twin Cities area, hoping to double ...

Workers are busily transforming the old Science Museum of Minnesota in downtown St. Paul into the new local headquarters for the Church of Scientology—thanks to a $3 million renovation. The Clearwater, Fla.-based denomination, which claims more than 8,000 churches and adherents in 165 countries, has been headquartered in the Twin Cities at 1011 Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis since 1991. That will change when the renovated, three-story, 80,640-square-foot building at 505 N. Wabasha St. in St. Paul reopens as a Scientology “Ideal ...

CHICAGO (RNS) The windows are boarded-up and there's a "Keep Out" sign in the windowsill. Many in the Printer's Row neighborhood are unaware that the vacant brick building is slated to become Illinois' new welcome center for the Church of Scientology at the end of the year. The $4-million purchase of the seven-story structure is part of a nationwide push by Scientologists to open a host of new church buildings and draw new members into the faith. In all, more than ...

The former Science Museum of Minnesota is being transformed into the largest Church of Scientology in the Midwest. Renovations started this week on the vacant downtown St. Paul building that the church bought three years ago. It appears to be the church's first foray into St. Paul and its largest footprint in Minnesota. The building will serve followers from across the state, according to a video on the Scientology website. Church officials did not return a message seeking comment on Thursday. ...

When the Church of Scientology bought the Stevens Building in 2008, it told tenants to vacate when their leases ended. Most of them did. Now the Portland building is 42 percent vacant, another 20 percent is used for storage, and the church no longer plans to move in. “It would be nice to have it back to where it was in 2006 - about three-quarters full,” said Steven Ballinger, who has maintained a Princeton University Press sales office in the building ...

(Québec) Les deux déléguées de l'Église de scientologie internationale qui ont été envoyées à Québec pour inaugurer une nouvelle église, rue Saint-Joseph, Wendy Beccaccini, à gauche, et Erin Banks, au centre, viennent de repartir en Californie après avoir supervisé l'ouverture de l'immeuble de Québec, la plus importante église de scientologie au Canada, à ce jour. Un investissement de 4,5 millions $. Elles sont photographiées avec Karine Bélanger, qui est la responsable des affaires publiques à Québec. Saviez-vous que cette église a ...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Raised as Scientologists, Christie King Collbran and her husband, Chris, were recruited as teenagers to work for the elite corps of staff members who keep the Church of Scientology running, known as the Sea Organization, or Sea Org. They signed a contract for a billion years — in keeping with the church’s belief that Scientologists are immortal. They worked seven days a week, often on little sleep, for sporadic paychecks of $50 a week, at most. But after ...

LAS VEGAS - The First Church of Scientology in Las Vegas dedicated a new building on Saturday. The relentless rain didn't stop Saturday's dedication. "We have opened new churches in cultural epicenters before, but talk about center stage, planet earth," exclaimed Ecclesiastical Leader David Miscavige. "This one stands in a town so bright you can even see it glowing from deep space." Several public officials attended the grand opening, including Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. "As the mayor of the fastest ...

Out of Jo'burg's more dubious architectural landmarks – Montecasino and Ponte come to mind – none is as peculiar as the Kyalami Castle. Built in the 1990s by Greek tycoon Demos Dinopoulos and perched on a hill amid the area's horsey smallholdings, the faux medieval castle's previous incarnations have included a family mansion and a wedding and conference venue. But now it might have found its true calling. Since March 2008 the castle has belonged to the Church of Scientology. It's ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A Nashville building on the National Registry of Historical places is getting a multi-million dollar makeover. Construction crews are working everyday bringing new life to the old Fall School building. "People are excited to see it returning to its former glory," says business neighbor William Walter. Walter admits the group moving in has raised curiosity. "They're just redoing the whole thing - doors, walls, windows. They took down the fixtures, so that should be a pretty impressive building ...

Controversial religion wants more visibility in Nashville By Chris Echegaray Gannett Tennessee The Church of Scientology is expanding in Nashville, opening what the religion calls a "celebrity centre" at the historic Fall School Business Center on 8th Avenue South and Chestnut Street. Renovations are under way at the 36,000 square-foot building, with an opening expected before summer, said Gaetane Asselin and Wendy Beccaccini, who are overseeing the project. The current location at 1204 16th Ave. S. will close when the new ...

Tous les mois depuis un an, le groupe Anonymous manifeste devant les locaux actuels de l'Église de scientologie, rue Papineau à Montréal. La manifestation a attiré une vingtaine de personnes, hier. Le groupe qualifie le mouvement de «secte» et l'accuse de commettre des abus envers ses membres Photo: Robert Skinner, La Presse Le projet d'expansion de l'Église de scientologie à Montréal a du plomb dans l'aile. Son déménagement au centre-ville, prévu initialement pour 2008, n'aura pas lieu avant la fin de ...

Church of Scientology goes for zoning change Printers Row residents worry about parking, solicitation By MICAH MAIDENBERG Editor Church of Scientology members, Printers Row residents and 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti tussled Tuesday evening over a church Scientologists want to establish at 650 S. Clark. The group is seeking to change the building's zoning from DX-12, a downtown mixed-use district, to DR-10, a downtown residential classification. The change would allow the church to develop their religious center in the empty building ...

THE Church of Scientology has appealed for religious tolerance after its $12 million bid to redevelop its Sydney headquarters sparked fears from neighbours of an increase in "menacing" and "aggressive" recruitment tactics. The church has sought approval from the City of Sydney to add two floors to its five-storey building, Scientology House, on Castlereagh Street. The increased floor space would help turn the building into an "Ideal Org", the name Scientologists give to their most significant churches. But almost 150 people ...

[...] Andy Mills, an agent with the Continental Realty Ltd. brokerage, said there is interest in the central business district buildings north of Capitol Square with the construction of the Broad and High offices by the Casto real estate group. He said the office building he’s marketing for sale at 30 N. High St. also has steady interest for commercial and residential redevelopments even though the seller, the Church of Scientology, has yet to finalize the date of its move to ...

The local chapter of the Church of Scientology is selling its downtown headquarters at 1330 Fourth Ave. and moving operations to La Mesa, where the organization recently purchased a site for $9.3 million, according to the chapter president. The new location off Interstate 8, the former site of La Mesa Bowl and a private college campus, features two buildings totaling more than 64,400 square feet of space and 410 parking spaces for the chapter's 18,000 members, says President David Meyer. It ...

PASADENA - Exactly two years after the Church of Scientology bought the historic Braley Building in Old Pasadena - and went into high gear to get all 22 small-business tenants out - not a single plan for the promised fast-track conversion has been submitted to the city. The deterioration in the historic 1906 building's appearance - and the inability of city staff to contact the owners about it - has been a source of "frustration," said Eric Duyshart, Pasadena's director of ...

The San Diego chapter of the controversial Church of Scientology is moving its focus to La Mesa with the May 21 purchase of a Coleman College campus at 7380 Parkway Drive. The Church of Scientology’s San Diego offices are located at 1330 Fourth Ave. between A and Ash streets. The church purchased the new site for $9.3 million. The two buildings, which are 53,400 square feet and 11,000 square feet, will be used as an educational campus, said the broker on ...

The Church of Scientology plans to move into a former Time Warner building on Dublin Road on the Northwest Side, near Grandview Heights. The church has to move out of its Downtown headquarters, 30 N. High St., because there isn't enough room, said the Rev. John Carmichael, president of the Church of Scientology of New York. The new church will be used for Sunday services, classes and counseling, Carmichael said. Plans call for an opening by mid-2009. The church asked the ...

The Church of Scientology has acquired the famous Johannesburg landmark, the Kyalami Castle, to be the home of its new advanced spiritual retreat. This marks a significant step for the Scientologists who until now had to travel all the way to the US, Australia or England for their higher spiritual progress, said Paul Sondergaard, National Director of the Church’s Public Affairs Office . "For all African Scientologists, this is a dream finally come true," Sondergaard said, adding "It means a lot ...

The Church of Scientology plans to spend up to $10 million to convert a landmark building in the Exchange District into a church and community outreach centre. Rev. Yvette Shank, president of the church's Canadian office in Toronto, said the church plans to undertake a major refurbishing of the 115-year-old Peck Building, which it quietly acquired last March for a previously unheard of price for the Exchange of $2.2 million. "We love it," Shank said of the six-storey, brick-and-stone building at ...

At a conditional use hearing today at the Albuquerque Planning Department, the Church of Scientology of New Mexico and those opposed to its plan to turn a landmark Downtown building into a Scientology center were not allowed to outline their respective arguments. Zoning Hearing Examiner Roberto Albertorio, who presided over the hearing, denied the church an opportunity to present its case, which its attorney, David Campbell, was prepared to do. Albertorio cited jurisdictional problems, saying that any decision he would make ...

THE Church of Scientology is preparing to expand its creed to the north of England by opening a centre in Manchester next year. The church, which has been criticised as a cult, has paid £3.6m for a disused distillery in the city. It plans to turn the five-storey building, near Old Trafford, into “a place of worship and religious instruction”. The move is part of a world-wide expansion strategy by the American organisation, which was founded by L Ron Hubbard, a ...

THE CHURCH of Scientology is pressing ahead with plans to convert a Trafford distillery into a "place of worship" for hundreds of followers. The controversial group - whose celebrity members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta - bought the Grade II-listed building on Chester Road for a reported £3.6m. Plans to convert it into a "place of worship and religious instruction" were withdrawn earlier this year when the Trafford council expressed concerns about parking. But the Church of Scientology is planning ...

It has purchased more spacious quarters on Chestnut Street and plans to expand. Retailers, restaurants and other businesses are flocking to Center City. Now comes another flock. The Church of Scientology last month paid just under $8 million for a vacant 15-story office building and an adjoining one-story former toy store in the heart of downtown: the 1300 block of Chestnut Street — across the street from Macy's and next door to the furniture store Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. The ...

The former home of the Science Museum of Minnesota in downtown St. Paul will undergo a $7 million makeover and be unveiled next year as among the largest Church of Scientology centers in the world. Only the spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Fla., and Los Angeles are bigger than the 80,000-square-foot building at Seventh and Exchange streets, said the Rev. Brian Fesler, the church's director of special affairs in the Twin Cities. "We didn't plan it that way, but I'm happy about ...

The Church of Scientology is stepping up its image and presence here, spending $10 million to buy a prominent Auckland building. The church, which is popular with Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, will move around 100 staff into the building perched above the Southern Motorway at Grafton and run courses from there. It will soon leave Panmure's industrial strip for the building now occupied by the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, which has two other campus ...

Pasadena – Before work has even started on the Church of Scientology's new complex in Old Pasadena, members have clashed with the city over sidewalk tables used to distribute church literature and sign up passers-by for "stress tests." Eden Stein, president of the Scientologists' Pasadena branch, said Tuesday that a church lawyer has written to City Attorney Michele Beale Bagneris and the Police Department to complain that code-enforcement officials were "out of line" in citing them for using the sidewalk for ...

Scientology has started a new propaganda offensive in Europe, opening new offices in capitals across the continent. German authorities are responding by increasing their efforts to monitor the controversial organization. At first sight, the building in Berlin's Charlottenburg neighborhood looks like a run-of-the-mill office complex: a functional, seven-story construction covered with glass windows. The young receptionist is dressed in black and wears a futuristic-looking headset. But for Scientologists, the building is a chapel, a place for studying their own doctrine and, ...

The Church of Scientology is moving its offices and worship center to downtown Kansas City and has purchased a historic former bank building at 1801 Grand Blvd. The church plans to occupy the former City Bank Building later this year and then sell its current facility at 39th and Main streets. The global religious organization was founded in the early 1950s by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and includes among its members Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta. The ...

A large insignia engraved on a dramatic backdrop stood in commanding fashion over a red-carpeted stage. In front rested a sculpted wooden podium flanked by a TelePrompTer. Politicians and celebrities sat among rows of filled white seats, as plainclothes security wearing earphones surveyed the crowd. Meanwhile, hundreds of red, white and blue balloons waited to be released. One could have been forgiven for thinking Vice President Cheney was in Buffalo a day early. Instead, it was the grand opening of the ...

Rebuild it and they will come. Volunteers from around the globe have been hard at work in the Church of Scientology's new three-story, two-mezzanine home at 836 Main St., on the southwest corner of Main and Virginia streets. Members have come from as far as Hungary, Lithuania, South Africa and Italy to work on the 23,232-square-foot building's restoration, scheduled for completion in mid-September. Closer to home, Scientologists from Chicago, Miami, New York City and Hollywood, where the church is headquartered, have ...

Buffalo's Church of Scientology, soon to be forced from its downtown church for a new city parking ramp, turned to Erie County prison inmates to help get its new Main Street home ready. A crew of six inmates from the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, dressed in orange prison jumpsuits and guarded by corrections officers, spent the last month helping with interior renovations in the new Scientology Church at Main and Virginia streets. The inmate crew arrived before 8 a.m. ...

Scientologists Plan Move To Main Street Building Buffalo News - Financial Edition December 22, 2002 A historic building in the 800 block of Main Street, which began its life as a religious gathering place, is about to become the new home of Buffalo's Church of Scientology. The Scientologists will move into the former Buffalo Catholic Institute building, at 836 Main St. on the southwest corner of Main and Virginia streets, early next year when they move from their current location at ...