Old Chapel, formerly known as the Old Chapel Library is a former library on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Old Chapel was originally constructed in Richardson Romanesque-style between 1884 and 1887 at a cost of $ (equivalent to $ in today's dollars), to serve as a library, museum, and assembly hall. The building was designed by Worcester architect

Stephen C. Earle Stephen Carpenter Earle (January 4, 1839 – December 12, 1913) was an architect who designed a number of buildings in Massachusetts and Connecticut that were built in the late 19th century, with many in Worcester, Massachusetts. He trained in ...

, and is a roughly square stone structure with a tower at its southeast corner. It is made primarily of granite, with sandstone trim and a slate roof. The tower features an open belfry with rounded arches, above which are gabled peaks with clock faces, and a diagonally set four-sided steeple at the top. According to the school, John F. Kennedy supposedly spoke at the Chapel during his 1952 U.S. Senate campaign, although this has never been confirmed. The chapel's original bell, "Old Aggie," was added in 1892, but has since been replaced by 44

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

bells. Although the tower underwent a $1.65 million renovation in 1999, Old Chapel has been uninhabited since 1996, when the

University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (UMMB) is the marching band for the University of Massachusetts Amherst known for its drum corps style and nationally renowned percussion section. The Minuteman Band is also known for its us ...

moved out due to unsafe conditions within the structure. Since then, a movement amongst alumni was created to further renovate the interior of the building so that the structure could be used again. Restoration of Old Chapel began in 2015 after a 2013 campaign by Chancellor

Kumble R. Subbaswamy Kumble R. Subbaswamy is the 11th and current chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He formerly served as the provost of University of Kentucky. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and also an elected f ...

to restore and repurpose the interior of the structure. This included a nomination by Preserve UMass to place the structure on the National Register of Historic Places, which occurred on May 11, 2015.

References

{{University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Massachusetts Amherst buildings University and college chapels in the United States Romanesque Revival church buildings in Massachusetts Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Churches completed in 1884 19th-century churches in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Libraries in Hampshire County, Massachusetts

History

See also

References