The home at 301 Station Ave. in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, is being sold for $2.4 million as a single-family residence, but that wasn't how this property began its life.
What's now a one-story house started as the Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, home of parishioners for the Church of Christ Scientist. The building operated as a church as recently as 2018, but the current owner bought it that year and made changes.
"This is by far the most unique property we've ever listed in terms of its history as a church (and) the renovation work that's been done," the property's co-listing agent, Amanda Johnston, told Homes.com.
The house has the original windows, arches and woodwork from when it was a church — another feature that makes the property special, Johnston, an agent at Compass, said. Its interior design "gives a nod to its history without making it feel like you're living in a church," she said.
The Church of Christ Scientist — which many know today as Christian Science — is a religious denomination that began in Boston in 1879. The church also runs a weekly nonprofit newspaper called the Christian Science Monitor.
A commemorative plaque posted on the home's facade by the Haddon Heights Historical Society confirms that 301 Station was built initially for the church. Construction began in 1925, led by New York City architect Bernhardt Muller, according to the society.
"Muller's design included a unique English cottage aesthetic," according to the plaque, which also noted that the building was designed in two phases.
"The first phase involved building a Sunday School complex for 150 individuals at a cost of $35,000, while the second phase comprised the main church building with a capacity of 300 individuals at a cost of $45,000," the historical society plaque reads.
The property has four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms across 4,725 square feet. Inside, there's an unfinished basement and beamed ceilings. Outside, there's a three-car garage and a patio.
The current owner has spent years converting the church into a single-family home.
For example, the backyard space that once held the church's parking lot has been demolished and turned into a lazy river, a shallow type of in-ground pool where the water current flows in one direction, allowing swimmers to sit on an inflatable raft and be gently pushed around the structure in a continuous loop.
The space that originally held the pulpit is now the open concept kitchen.
Potential buyers who have visited the home have been wowed by the main room — which once served as the church's sanctuary, Johnston said.
"It's a big space, but the way it's laid out, there are sitting areas and a big breakfast area," she said. "Everything is in that one space and it's a great room."
Haddon Heights is a small suburb where the housing stock offers a wide range of American architecture — including Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, American Foursquare and Craftsman. Film director Steven Spielberg, born in Ohio, spent his childhood in Haddon Heights. Many residents commute to work in Philadelphia or New York City, Johnston said.