Onlookers do a doubletake when former chapel is spotted floating up the Indian River

Do you think you saw a church — yes, a church — floating up Indian River last week?

Well, your eyes weren’t deceiving you.

Many Space Coast residents took to social media to report the unusual structure they saw slowly moving up Brevard’s waterways Friday. Former County Commission Curt Smith was one of them.

“I’ve seen lots of different stuff out there, but this was a first,” Smith told FLORIDA TODAY.

He spotted the picturesque white structure complete with slanted blue roof, steeple and stained-glass windows while on his jet ski between the Pineda Causeway and Melbourne Causeway.

Here’s what we know about the building.

Chapel by the Bay is a former wedding venue that was located on Florida’s West Coast

Known as Chapel by the Bay, it was originally designed as a floating wedding chapel and underwent a $1.3 million renovation transforming it into a livable houseboat, according to an Architectural Digest.

It’s been docked in Palmetto on Florida’s west coast. That is until recently.

Chapel by the Bay sold, moving to new location

The unusual house went on the market earlier this year for just under $700,000.

It was listed with Special Finds, which has “unique homes for sale.” The price dropped significantly before it recently sold for $250,000.

The 1,800-square-feet building no longer resembles a church on the inside. The pews are gone, replaced with two bedrooms, a modern kitchen and a spiral staircase leading to a loft area.

Remnants of the church remain with the stained-glass windows and a 30-foot steeple. The sale price included all the furnishings.

If the new owners want to move, not a problem. They can just fire up the home’s two Cummins Diesel engines and off they go.

Who bought Chapel by the Bay and where is it going?

The former floating chapel is headed to Palatka in Putnam County.

It’s journey from west to east coast went south to Fort Myers, across Lake Okeechobee, up the intracoastal to Jacksonville and then south to Palatka. The trip is expected to take about 20 days and cost roughly $20,000.

It’s expected to be parked at Crystal Cove Marina & RV Resort by Labor Day. Mary Costello, a professional executive search recruiter living in New Smyrna Beach, is the boat’s new owner.

She’s renamed it The Archangel and plans to turn it into a floating bookstore where she can offer story time for children. There also are plans to host wellness renewal retreats for “mind, body and spirit.”

There is interest in people wanting to stay in the home, especially by couples who were married in it when it was a chapel. Costello said she will likely offer it as a rental home at some point.

While Costello enjoys water, she told FLORIDA TODAY she is “not a boat person at all.” She found the unique dwelling when she was helping her pastor search online for a church.

“This whole process has been a bit overwhelming, but the Lord put it on my heart to buy this boat, so I did,” Costello said. “God is on the move.”

Spitzer is a Trending Reporter. She can be reached at MSpitzer@Floridatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Onlookers do a doubletake when former chapel is spotted floating up the Indian River