Lake Shrine’s Windmill Chapel Reopens

By JACQUELINE PRIMO | Reporter

Following a nearly two-year voluntary seismic upgrade project, the Windmill Chapel at Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Retreat in Pacific Palisades has reopened and it opened its doors to the public for a hosted viewing last Sunday. A second public viewing will take place this Sunday afternoon, Aug. 9.

“Earthquakes are no threat to that windmill anymore,” Brother Ritananda told the Palisadian-Post during a tour of the property on a warm afternoon in late July.

“Once the work is complete, you’ll hardly be able to tell anything has been done. This is such a sacred space, and we’re working hard to preserve the ambiance of the spiritual setting,” Rob Brigham, director of lake operations, told the Post in January 2014.

The 16th-century Windmill Chapel was overhauled with new gas lines, water lines, a new furnace, new electrical lines, and new retaining walls made with Santa Barbara stone that will soon be covered in scarlet red ivy.

Even the windows are brand new, including frames made of old-growth redwood from a logger who cut the wood from a fallen redwood 20 years ago, Brother Ritananda told the Post.

Outside engineers and contractors were hired to complete a bulk of the repairs, while SRF monks who are skilled carpenters and craftsmen did some detailed work.

Despite how thorough the upgrades have been to the Windmill Chapel, Brother Ritananda said visitors to the Retreat over the past two years would not have noticed much going on because all of the work was “hidden” inside, so as not to disturb the tranquility of the property.

As of July 27, the Windmill Chapel is open during public hours for individual meditation and prayer (Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) with a special Sunday afternoon hosted viewing on Aug. 9.

Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the chapel’s second story, which used to be monks’ quarters on Aug. 9.

Visitors are reminded that the property is a meditation and prayer garden, not a park, and no food or drink should be brought onto the grounds. Phones should be silenced, and visitors should dress and behave as they would in a temple, Brother Ritananda said.

For more information, visit lakeshrine.org/windmill-chapel.