Wayfarers Chapel, also known as "The Glass Church" is located in

Rancho Palos Verdes, California Rancho Palos Verdes ( Spanish for "Green Sticks Ranch") is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, neighboring other cities in the Palos Verdes Hills, including Palos Verdes Esta ...

. It is noted for its unique

organic architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furn ...

and location on cliffs above the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. It is part of the

Swedenborgian Church of North America The Swedenborgian Church in North America (also known as the General Convention of the Church of the New Jerusalem) is one of a few Christian sects that draws its faith from the Bible as illuminated by the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1 ...

and serves as a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

to the 18th century scientist and theosopher,

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had a ...

History

The church was designed by

Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. (March 31, 1890 – May 31, 1978), commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American architect, active primarily in Los Angeles and Southern California. He was a landscape architect for various Los Angeles projects (192 ...

(son of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

) in the late 1940s and was built between 1949 and 1951. Wright departed from the tradition of using masonry in order to "achieve a delicate enclosure that allows the surrounding landscape to define the sacred space". Additions were built in later years, including a tower and a visitor center, the latter of which had been lost in a landslide during the 1960s.

Architecture and design

As with many of Wright's buildings, the chapel features geometric designs and incorporates the natural

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

into the design. The Wayfarers Chapel is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Because of its scenic location, the church is popular for weddings.

In popular culture

The church was featured in the Fox teen drama television series ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...

'', as the site of weddings and funerals. It was also featured briefly on the American science fiction television series ''

Sliders Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

'',The O. C. Filming Locations
/ref> and in an episode of

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

(2 Into 5.56 Won't Go). In addition, the chapel was part of the final marriage scene in '' Innerspace'', and two episodes in season four of 90210. The chapel was featured in one of the final scenes in the 2014 movie ''Endless Love'', as well as being featured in the ABC television series ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

''. It was featured in The Rockford Files season 2 episode 10. Marina and the Diamond's ''

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

'' music video's wedding scene was filmed at the chapel, and The CW show, ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

''. Pentatonix's video for the song Amazing Grace was filmed at the chapel.

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

and Mickey Hargitay were married there in 1958.

Image gallery

Image:PalosVerdesWayfarersChapel01.jpg, Entrance to the Wayfarers Chapel. Image:PalosVerdesWayfarersChapel02.jpg, The chapel grounds feature fountains and gardens. Image:LordsPrayer.jpg, The

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

on the altar and dais inside the Wayfarers Chapel.

References

External links

WayfarersChapel.org
(Requires Adobe Flash) * Chapels in the United States Churches in Los Angeles County, California Swedenborgian churches in California Palos Verdes Peninsula Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Churches completed in 1951 20th-century Swedenborgian church buildings Modernist architecture in California {{LosAngelesCountyCA-NRHP-stub