The Buddhist Church of San Francisco (BCSF) was built in 1937. Its adjacent neighbor, the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) Headquarters building was built in 1970. Because of the age of these buildings, they do not meet current accessibility standards for the state of California. We ask for your patience as we work on making our buildings more user friendly to all.
At our main entrance on 1881 Pine Street, there is a chairlift available for use. In order to utilize the equipment, the individual must be able to walk up two exterior stairs and transfer to the chairlift either on their own or with limited assistance. If an individual wishing to visit our temple is unable to meet the criteria needed for the chairlift, we have a non-accessible wheelchair elevator on the backside of our building on Austin Street via entry through the BCA. The elevator travels from Austin Street directly to the Hondo level of the BCSF where service is held. Please note, our elevator can accommodate a wheelchair but does not allow the individual to maneuver with the recommended spacing for ADA compliance. Because the elevator is shared with our national organization and requires monitoring, arrangements must be made ahead of time.
Please note, as of now, all of our restrooms do not meet ADA accessibility requirements. Individuals utilizing wheelchairs may find our restrooms difficult to use and will want to take this into consideration when visiting. Services at BCSF last 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the type of service being observed. Plan on a longer visit if coming for Shotsuki Hoyo, our monthly memorial service or special services. BCSF offers a women's restroom with two smaller stalls, a men's restroom with one stall and two floor urinals and one all-gender bathroom.
If you would like to arrange the use of our elevator or you have specific questions about the building, please contact the BCSF office at (415) 776-3158 or bcsfoffice@gmail.com.