A Landslide and a Masterpiece: The Disassembly of Lloyd Wright’s Wayfarer’s Chapel

In the late 1920s, leaders of the Swedenborgian church envisioned a place of exquisite beauty on a coastal bluff where wayfarers could stop, rest, and give thanks. It would take more than twenty years for this dream to come to fruition, ultimately by the hand of architect and landscape architect, Lloyd Wright. His vision of a “tree chapel” aligned with the Swedenborgian emphasis on harmony between God’s natural world and the inner world of mind and spirit. The cornerstone was laid in 1949, the chapel completed in 1951, and the bell tower, colonnade, annex building, and designed landscape completed a few years later.  

Shortly after construction, an ancient landslide was discovered, causing limited land movement beneath the chapel–just a few inches per year. In 2023, the landslide began to move at an unprecedented and alarming rate, causing the chapel’s glass and stone cladding to crack, and the earth to buckle underneath it. In May 2024, with the earth moving six to nine inches per week, a team of preservation architects, engineers, and contractors mobilized to disassemble the chapel much in the way it was assembled, one piece at a time, with each documented and labeled to ensure accurate reassembly.

The future of the chapel remains hopeful as Wayfarer's leadership worked to secure a new location to rebuild. The Chapel's disassembly is a case study of preservation action in the face of an immediate climate-related disaster.

Katie Horak is a Principal at Architectural Resources Group, the firm overseeing the disassembly and relocation of the chapel to a safe location. ARG has been working with Chapel leadership for nearly a decade, beginning with the preparation of a Historic Structures Report in 2015 to guide the preservation and maintenance of the complex. In 2018, ARG initiated the nomination process for Wayfarers Chapel to become a National Historic Landmark (NHL), a process that was completed in 2023. ARG's extensive experience with the Chapel has enabled them to efficiently and effectively manage the complexities of this project.

https://www.argcreate.com

$15

1.0 AIA LU (Pending Approval)

Things To KnowAges 13 and older
This is an indoor activity
Wheelchair accessible
Parking and handicap parking available
Seated activity
Restrooms are available
No smoking or e-cigarettes

Important InformationModernism Week Theater is located at the south end of the hotel’s central atrium.
Ample free public parking is available. Enter underground parking at Hyatt on Palm Canyon Drive or in the multi-level public garage across from the Palm Springs Art Museum.
The organizer of this event is Modernism Week CAMP Theater Activity.

Check-in Location Modernism Week Theater At CAMP
Hyatt Palm Springs
285 N Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262View Map

Photo Credits: Architectural Resources Group, Wayfarer Chapel Archives {"locationAddressVisibility":"visible"}