A glassy, faceted modernist structure tucked into a sunny grove of redwoods and perched on a hilltop across from the ocean, architect Lloyd Wright’s Wayfarers Chapel is easily one of the most uniquely beautiful churches in Southern California—and a popular destination for weddings and casual photo ops alike. But its striking Rancho Palos Verdes location has now left the chapel in a precarious position.
Wayfarers Chapel announced on Thursday that it had closed both the chapel and the surrounding grounds to the public due to “accelerated land movement” in an area of PV that’s been subject to landslides. As a result, all weddings and events beyond this upcoming Sunday have been canceled, as well.
The chapel first announced the news on Instagram, where commenters with wedding dates as far out as next year swapped stories of finding out about their cancellations. (The venue is offering refunds for confirmed reservations.) As it turns out, 175 events between now and October 2025 have been canceled—though, to be clear, that’s not a reopening date, as no plans have been announced.
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According to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, the chapel has been raising concerns over land movement for the past several months and requested a city inspection last week. While the city did find damage and signs of movement—as much as five inches between the end of November and the end of December last year—no structures were yellow- or ted-tagged. In other words, the building wasn’t deemed too dangerous to inhabit right now, but the chapel voluntarily decided to close in order to commence repairs, which so far include a request to install a new drainage system that would help mitigate some of the soil saturation.
Part of a small sect of Christianity (the Swedenborgian Church of North America), the glass church was constructed in 1951 by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright and an assistant on L.A.’s landmark Hollyhock House. Like that structure, Wayfarers Chapel has been bestowed with great architectural significance; only a couple of months ago, it was named a National Historic Landmark. The chapel is currently asking for donations for repairs through GoFundMe.