Dismantling of Iconic Wayfarers Chapel Wrapping Up; Future Uncertain

The weekslong dismantling of the famed Wayfarers Chapel, a popular spot for weddings and receptions for decades that was damaged due to land movement during a barrage of winter storms, neared completion Monday with the removal of the structure’s final support beams.

Owners of the Rancho Palos Verdes chapel announced in May that they had decided to take down the facility in response to the devastating ground movement that left the property unsafe. The 100-seat, glass chapel opened in 1951 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2023.

The natural sanctuary made of Palos Verdes stone, redwood, and glass was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright Jr., a son of the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, as a tree chapel that helps people feel a connection to God and nature, according to the chapel’s website.

The chapel is described as “an ecumenical ministry of the Swedenborgian Church and the national memorial to Emanuel Swedenborg,” the 18th-century scientist and theosopher.

With the land movement threatening the structure, the owners opted to dismantle the facility — at an estimated cost of $20 million — in hopes of rebuilding in another location, which has not yet been announced.

“Wayfarers is committed to preserving our iconic chapel exactly as it has always been, either on the current site or a similar site close by in Rancho Palos Verdes,” Wayfarers Executive Director Dan Burchett said at the time. “We are taking immediate action to carefully disassemble the chapel’s historic materials as a necessary step in the preservation of the chapel for generations to come.”

Burchett told the Daily Breeze that the structural beams and other materials are being placed in storage, pending a decision on rebuilding.

Parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula have been experiencing land movement of up to 12 inches per week, worsening with winter rains.

A GoFundMe page working to raise money to save the chapel has raised more than $75,000 as of Monday.

–City News Service