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What You Didn’t Know About Olympic Valley’s “Potato Chip” Church
Olympic Valley Chapel’s (OVC’s) award-winning design was the first of its kind and it quickly became known as the “potato chip” church because of its resemblance to a Pringles potato chip. This is the story behind its unusual design, why it was built, and the chapel’s connection today with the Olympic Valley community.
Whether you’ve seen it riding by on a bike, or during a stroll through Palisades Tahoe, the design of OVC with its colorful panoramic stained-glass windows looks as if it’s in a perpetual state of lift-off, inviting you and your friends up for a ride.
This beloved landmark, built in 1959 as a non-denominational church for the athletes and visitors of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games, is a key to Olympic Valley’s architectural character and its social and spiritual history.
Wayne and Sandy Poulsen, the first to move into the valley with the dream of developing the area into a world-class ski resort, provided the land for the church. The front faces Poulsen’s Peak and the back faces KT-22, in honor of the couple.
