Status & Rebuilding FAQs

Wayfarers Chapel is a National Historic Landmark, designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. (Lloyd Wright). Wayfarers Chapel began as a dream of Elizabeth Sewall Schellenberg, a member of the Swedenborgian Church who lived on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the late 1920s. The Peninsula was largely open farmland with a two-lane gravel road skirting the shoreline from San Pedro to Palos Verdes Estates. Mrs. Schellenberg dreamed of a small chapel of exquisite beauty and spiritual architecture on a hillside above the Pacific Ocean where wayfarers could stop to rest, meditate, and give thanks to God. Lloyd Wright, the son of the American architectural innovator Frank Lloyd Wright, created a design with an emphasis on harmony between God’s natural world and the inner world of mind and spirit. Wright’s Wayfarers Chapel was constructed in 1951 and has served as a home for the Wayfarers ever since.

Read our disassembly and restoration press release.

Rebuild the Wright Legacy

What is the status of the chapel?

The Wayfarers Chapel was professionally dismantled in May of 2024 due to a cataclysmic ancient landslide, and most of all the materials were meticulously salvaged, numbered, catalogued and are in safe storage. This includes the special bricks with the names of loved ones. The plan is to relocate these and all of the materials to the new campus once it is built.

What are your plans for the chapel?

The church board along with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes has identified a prospective land parcel in Rancho Palos Verdes that has panoramic ocean views, flat stable ground and is about the same size and microclimate as our heritage site. This is important for us as we strive to maintain our National Historic Landmark status and having a similar parcel is the first step in achieving this goal. The Chapel was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, Lloyd Wright and is a national treasure.

What role does the City of Rancho Palos Verdes play?

The leaders and staff at Rancho Palos Verdes are incredibly supportive as are Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office and that of our Congressman, the Honorable Ted Lieu. We have full support from our elected officials as they want to see the church remain as a beacon to the community, for all time.

When will you rebuild?

The path forward is progressing at lightning speed and is going much better than what could have ever been anticipated. The plan is to rebuild in phases with the first phase encompassing the Chapel itself, colonnade, vestry and meeting center. We hope this first phase will commence in 2027.

What is the vision for the New Wayfarers Campus?

The new prospective campus will cast a much wider net as a community hub than it had previously. “Rebuilding the Wright Legacy” is a new fundraising campaign that will make this vision a reality. We are currently working with preservationist architectural firms who have created renderings of a campus that includes not only the Chapel, but also a museum of Palos Verdes history, an archival center, café and numerous native and manicured gardens. It will be a place for all.

What is your fundraising goal?

Current estimates put the rebuilding effort at a cost of $25 million. Wayfarers has assembled close to $3.5 million in saved funds from past wedding services. These “restoration” savings will now be used for the rebuilding, giving us a substantial head start on raising the additional monies. A separate Public Benefit Corporation has been set up where all proceeds raised are utilized only for the rebuilding and new construction of the Wayfarers Campus. A community-based fundraising effort has begun now. There are many avenues to donate on this website and/or call for principal donations or questions to Stephanie Cartozian, Communications Director, cell: 310-847-9330 anytime.

Where are Wayfarers ministries currently being held?

We welcome you to join us for Sunday worship services at 10:15 a.m., currently being held at St. Francis Episcopal Church (small sanctuary), 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274. Worship services are led by Reverend Dr. David Brown, ordained minister of The Swedenborgian Church. Additionally, there are virtual opportunities to join our congregation via Zoom from 12:00 p.m – 1:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Sundays. You may also join Exploring New Earth in-person at the St. Francis Chapel. Please see more details under “Services” on the top menu bar of our website.

How will the Walk of Honor Engraved Paving Stones/Bricks be handled?

As a part of the chapel disassembly process, the bricks are currently being preserved and stored. They will be a part of the chapel reopening.

Watch the LA Conservancy’s discussion “People + Places: The Way Ahead for Wayfarers Chapel” with representatives from ARG, SL Leonard & Associates, and Wayfarers Chapel. The panel discussed how the chapel was disassembled and future plans to rebuild.

View Time Lapse Video of the Disassembly Process

Short Version (Under 3 Minutes)

image shows the Wayfarers Chapel dismanted. Only the stone and trees remain

chapel disassembly was completed in july 2024

2025 Ongoing Site Maintenance

The city of Rancho Palos Verdes Public Works Department had growing concerns with the landslide movement towards Palos Verdes Drive South at the Heritage Site. As a preventative measure, the leadership of Wayfarers Chapel worked alongside with city officials to grade the hillside to a slope that is safe for the public. As a result of grading the hillside to a lower angle, the foundation of the chapel on the heritage site had to be removed.

Even as the landslide continues to reshape the coastline, our responsibility to the heritage site remains unwavering. We have undertaken a comprehensive stewardship effort designed to stabilize, protect and restore the ecological integrity of the land that held the Chapel for generations-now referred to as our Heritage Site, including hydroseeding with native species.

We applied a specialized blend of native grasses selected specifically to be native to the Peninsula as well as their ability to offer erosion control, habitat value and low water dependence. These species help: Knit the soil together; Slow surface water runoff; Aesthetically pleasing to the eye from the drive. To make this undertaking possible, we partnered with engineers and environmental consultants to move the mountains of soil away from the road and where possible we kept the mature trees, their root systems and long-established native shrubs.