Historic Wayfarers Chapel To Relocate Due To Landslide Movement

The historic Wayfarers Chapel is looking to move from its location in Rancho Palos Verdes to elsewhere on the peninsula due to unprecedented landslide movement.

The chapel's executive director, Dan Burchett, told LAist Friday that they can't rebuild on the current site after the property sustained significant damage from the shifting land.

"It's too risky,” he said.

Burchett said they are looking for a location with the same iconic Pacific Ocean views where they can reconstruct the chapel without the worry of land movement.

The chapel is situated within the Portuguese Bend landslide complex, which has seen unprecedented movement recently. In March, the city’s geologist told LAist that the land had moved almost two and a half times faster than it did when the city last assessed movement in January.

What will relocation mean for the iconic structure

Burchett said they are looking to “deconstruct to save, not deconstruct to demolish.”

The hope, he said, is to use much of the material — like the iconic steel and wood beams — from the current structure, but with some new additions like tempered UV glass.

“Hopefully when you enter, it will look identical to what we have now, just upgraded in more modern glass that will provide greater UV protection for people who are inside,” Burchett said. “We're hoping that there will not be any difference when you are in the chapel, that you will readily identify with the original structure that was built and finished in 1951.”

The chapel’s leadership is working with a firm to preserve the architectural significance of the chapel, allowing visitors the illusion of being among the redwoods from inside the chapel.

“We are a place where they could come in and feel one with nature and investigate and evolve from a spiritual perspective without having a structure or a membership of a chapel affect the freedom of their ability to evolve spiritually,” Burchett said.

How much will all of this cost

To restore the chapel at the current location, officials had estimated it would cost $10 million. But to reconstruct and relocate to a new site has pushed the cost significantly higher.

“The estimate that we're throwing around now is about $15 million to reconstruct, but that's loosely based on restoration figures, which is not the same,” he said.

That number does not include the costs of acquiring a new parcel of land.

Burchett said they have identified sites on the peninsula and are exploring the possibility of swapping their current land for a new plot.

“We've had offers in Northern California outside San Jose, we've had another offer in the central coast to rebuild in another location, but those offers, as generous as they are, will not be our first choice,” he said. “We'd rather stay on the peninsula.”

Wayfarers Chapel is still actively raising donations via GoFundMe.

National Historic Landmark status

Wayfarers Chapel was designated a National Historic Landmark in December. Typically, if a landmark is moved off a property or deconstructed and rebuilt, landmark status is not automatically re-granted.

But Burchett said because the situation is “unique,” the committee that oversees the designation will work with them to ensure that any changes associated with moving the building would not jeopardize its designation.