City of Ten Thousand Buddhas – Ukiah, CA

Ukiah, California
In 1974 The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association purchased the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to establish an international center located in Northern California..
Originally the site housed the Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane (later renamed the Mendocino State Hospital), founded in 1889. There were over seventy large buildings, over two thousand rooms of various sizes, three gymnasiums, a fire station, a swimming pool, a refuse incinerator, fire hydrants, and various other facilities. A paved road wound its way through the complex, lined with tall street lamps and trees planted during the asylum’s initial construction. The connections for electricity and pipes for water, heating, and air conditioning were underground but centrally controlled..

During my visit, I met thegroundskeeper. He arranged a private tour of the old Asylum that is normally closed to the public.