Lakewood Church

With no disrespect to the spirit in the sky ('cause that’s where I’m gonna go when I die'), Lakewood Church is a successful event space that draws more than 45,000 weekly attendees to its theatrical presentations. Lakewood, a non-demoninational Christian church, is the largest megachurch in the U.S. The church spent about $75 million to transform the former arena for the Houston Rockets into a supersized soul palace, featuring two waterfalls, three gargantuan television screens, a state-of-the-art lighting system, an orchestra pit that rises and recedes into the floor and a $25 million children’s amusement center designed by former Disney staffers.

The pulpit for pastor Joel Osteen stands near the spot where Hakeem Olajuwon helped his team win two consecutive NBA titles.