To avoid ‘catastrophic loss,’ beloved Wayfarers Chapel

Faced with imminent destruction, historic Wayfarers Chapel will be deconstructed beginning this week as the land continues to move at a pace not seen in decades in areas of Rancho Palos Verdes and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

It was 73 years to the day, said Wayfarers Executive Director Dan Burchett at a May 13 press conference, that the glass and redwood place of worship and city icon opened on Mother’s Day.

“The accelerating destruction of Wayfarers Chapel, caused by the Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex is a looming tragedy that is felt by many,” said Burchett at the press conference, adding that their hearts go out to nearby neighbors whose homes are also in danger.

Their commitment, Burchett said, is to preserve the Frank Lloyd Wright Jr.-designed church “exactly as it has always been.”

“We have never varied from that commitment in any way,” Burchett said.

But because of the unprecedented land movement, the priority now is to dismantle the chapel, which has been a wedding destination and filming site for decades because of its unique architecture and views of the Pacific Ocean.

Burchett said the first choice is to rebuild at the site.

“We have never wanted to move off of this site,” Burchett said.

But the land movement makes that impossible, he said, and they are looking for a similar site in the area.

“We feel very committed to the community,” Burchett said.

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Katie Horak, the principal of the Architectural Resources Group spoke during the press conference. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Megan Turner was hired by the chapel to oversee the deconstruction. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Wayfarers Executive Director Dan Burchett spoke during press conference. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Megan Turner was hired by the chapel to oversee the deconstruction. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Broken panes of glass are visible around the closed church. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Wayfarers Executive Director Dan Burchett spoke during press conference. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The administration building for the chapel was red tagged by the city. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Wayfarers Executive Director Dan Burchett, RPV Mayor John Cruikshank and Katie Horak, the principal of the Architectural Resources Group, are scheduled to speak during the 9 a.m. press conference. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Broken panes of glass are visible around the closed church. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Wayfarers Chapel and Rancho Palos Verdes officials provided an update on Monday morning, May 13, 2024 on efforts to preserve the historic Wayfarers Chapel which shuttered in Feb. because of damage caused by ongoing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The administration building for the chapel was red tagged by the city. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Expand

While the dismantling process could take approximately four months, it could take upwards of four years to reconstruct and reopen a new Wayfarers site, officials said.

Katie Horak, a principal at Architectural Resources Group, said at the Monday press conference, the “only way to preserve this building is to move it to a temporary safe location.”

Horak said the chapel can not be moved in one piece due to the “nature of its structure,” so they are studying Wright’s original drawings and historic photographs from the time of its original construction. Then new technology, a 3-D model, will help in putting the chapel back together.

“Only once we understand how the building was constructed, can we take it apart in such a way that it ensures a faithful reconstruction using as many original materials as possible,” Horak said. “Retention of original material is paramount if National Historic Landmark status is to be retained.”

Wayfarers was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in December 2023.

Horak said the “most delicate components of the chapel will be disassembled first including the massive redwood beams, the network of steel and glass and the blue roof tiles.

Construction manager Megan Turner, from S. L. Leonard & Associates, said “we are on the urgency to deconstruct this chapel so as to avoid any catastrophic loss,” as the chapel land is moving inches a week and “affecting the structural elements.”

Turner said the chapel’s “hallelujah” tower will be part of a “phase 2” of the deconstruction project while the cornerstone, dedicated in 1949, will be part of the first phase of deconstruction.

“The tower is embedded in the ground two full stories and is firmly anchored into the hillside,” according to Wayfarers website.

“The chapel is in the best hands in order to proceed with the deconstruction and temporary storage so that we can plan for the rebuild,” Turner said.

Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank said rain has been the catalyst for the land movement occurring, which currently has no end in site.

The city, he said, is working on short and long term solutions, including funding assistance, in the effort to at least slow the process of the land movement that has gone unabated for decades, but not nearly at this magnitude.

Wayfarers received approval from the National Park Service last week and the city issued the necessary permits so that disassembling of the chapel could begin as soon as possible, Cruikshank said.

The city is assisting Wayfarers at identifying a temporary storage location for the disassembled chapel, potentially on city property or off site, Cruikshank said.

“While this assembly and storage are the current focus, we are committed on working with Wayfarers to ensure the chapel can quickly be rebuilt on a geologically safe location somewhere within our city if possible,” said Cruikshank, adding this is in the “very early stages” and “we have not identified any sites.”

Currently, Cruikshank said, the Wayfarers administration building and two homes in the city’s Seaview neighborhood are the only structures in the city that have been red tagged due to land movement following the 2022 and 2023 winter rains.

City Manager Ara Mihranian said at the press conference the land in some of the landslide areas is now moving as much as 9-inches a week.

Wayfarers, Mihranian said, has seen most of the significant damage over the past four to five months, as land there has been moving six to seven inches a week. The chapel was voluntarily closed in February to the public even though it was not red tagged.

“We’re experiencing significant consequences of this land movement, and one of them is what’s happening here on this property,” Mihranian said.

Burchett said the financial cost at this time for having to find a new site has not been calculated since their priority now is to keep the church intact as much as possible before the deconstruction.

“We are going to be hiring someone who will be tasked with fundraising because we do not have the funds successfully deal with this without community involvement, without other people who have a real heart connection with this place,” Burchett said.

Earlier this year, a GoFundMe page was set up to help to raise funds. As of May 13, nearly $70,000 has been raised out of a goal of $250,000.

News |

Use solar power, kill a tortoise? Climate change solution carries environmental costs

News |

LA County lifts 2 beach warnings amid sewage spill; 8 remain in place

News |

Outdoor party celebrates expansion of San Gabriel Mountains National Monument

News |

Photos: See rare sight as solar storm brings northern lights to Southern California

News |

Construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 is apace