The National Historic Landmark-designated Wayfarers Chapel which sits on a hillside in Rancho Palos Verdes has closed down due to accelerated land movement by the area.
Closure of the chapel and the surrounding property was effective immediately, and confirmed reservations will be refunded, according to the chapel's website.
The chapel hired a geologist who says an ancient landslide underneath the property has been reactivated.
"The recent rains and even I'm told the rains from last winter have totally saturated very deep parts of the earth," said Dan Burchett, executive director of the Wayfarers Chapel. "We have been able to measure over five inches of movement in one 30-day period between the end of November and the end of December."
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According to Burchett, the structure at the back of the property has slid more than two feet and will have to be demolished.
Lloyd Wright, the son of acclaimed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the Wayfarers Chapel, which has stood on the rocky peak overlooking the Pacific Ocean since 1951.
After Sunday, the chapel will close indefinitely and more than 175 weddings will have been cancelled. Some couples were only a week out from their big day.
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One bride, who chose to not be identified, received the email and said she was devastated to hear she would not be having her wedding at the venue of her dreams.
"We had heard there had been issues with erosion and the cliff but we had been reassured that everything would be OK," said the bride. "Now it’s a mess because you have to move to a Saturday, you have to find another church in the same area, my guests are coming from overseas. I'm going to lose guests."
The iconic open-space chapel was one of 16 new National Historic Landmarks that were inducted in December of 2023.
Since its inauguration, the Wayfarer Chapel has hosted hundreds of weddings and events.
A possible reopening date of the chapel remains unclear, as many of the surrounding areas of Palos Verdes were affected by the heavy downpour over the last month.
