Landslide forces closure of iconic Southern California chapel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son

By STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) — A decades-old landslide that’s rapidly accelerating has forced the dismantling of an iconic Southern California chapel known for its glass frame built among soaring redwoods and sweeping Pacific Ocean views. The earth beneath The Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes is moving an unprecedented 2 feet or more each month. Intended to celebrate the natural world, the chapel is instead being destroyed by it. The chapel was designated as a National Historic Landmark in December 2023 and closed just two months later from the worsening effects of the 1956 Portuguese Bend landslide. Restoration is expected to cost at least $20 million.