Holden Chapel on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Holden Chapel is a small building in
Audio tour of Harvard
from the university's website, including
tour map
and brief details abou
Holden Chapel
The Holden Choirs
from the university's website Harvard University buildings Churches completed in 1744 University and college chapels in the United States Colonial architecture in Massachusetts 1744 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest part of the Harvard University campus, its historic center and modern crossroads. It contains most of the freshman dormitories, Harvard's most important libraries, Memorial Church, seve ...
on the campus of Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. Completed in 1744, it is the third oldest building at Harvard and one of the oldest college buildings in America.
Early history
In December 1741, Mrs. Samuel Holden, the widow of a formerGovernor of the Bank of England
The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...
, offered Harvard a 400 pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
donation towards the construction of a chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
on campus, prompted by a suggestion from Thomas Hutchinson. After additional funds were raised, the chapel opened in March 1745. From 1744 to 1772 (except for 1767–68) the chapel housed morning and evening prayers for the Harvard student body, as well as providing space for some secular uses such as lectures. After the 1783 establishment of the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...
, the building was used by its founder, John Warren, on a regular basis for 19 years, and intermittently by him and others thereafter until 1825.
20th/21st century
In the 1930s, Holden Chapel (andHollis Hall
This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system.
Apley Court
South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stree ...
) were chosen by the Historical American Buildings Survey Commission as two of the finest examples of early Colonial architecture
Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations. Colonists frequently built settlements that synthesized the architecture of their ...
in Massachusetts
For much of the 20th century, Holden Chapel housed the student offices of the Harvard Glee Club and later the Radcliffe Choral Society
The Radcliffe Choral Society (RCS) is a 60-voice treble choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1899, it is one of the country's oldest soprano-alto choruses and one of its most prominent collegiate choirs. With the tenor-bass Harvard ...
and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, which collectively came to be known as the Holden Choirs
The Harvard Choruses are three choral ensembles at Harvard University, consisting of the Harvard Glee Club, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum (respectively a men's, a women's, and a mixed chorus.) Each y ...
. The chapel was remodeled in 1999 to serve as both a classroom and a musical rehearsal and performance space. Though no longer housing the Holden Choirs' offices, Holden Chapel now serves as their primary rehearsal space.
References
{{reflistExternal links
Audio tour of Harvard
from the university's website, including
tour map
and brief details abou
Holden Chapel
The Holden Choirs
from the university's website Harvard University buildings Churches completed in 1744 University and college chapels in the United States Colonial architecture in Massachusetts 1744 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies