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| Original chapel in Old Main, 1894-1918 |
Our campus has always had a chapel, but it has not always
been the beauty of a building that it is today. In the earliest days of the
school, the chapel was a large room on the first floor of Old Main. The pews
were school desks, but it had a lovely pipe organ.
By 1914, enrollment had increased to the point of
overcrowding in classrooms and dormitories. A new building, the Administration
Building (or Meyer Hall as it is known now), was planned to house a new
chapel-auditorium, a faculty room, a reception room, offices, seven new
classrooms, a library, museum, and science laboratories.
The north end of the Administration Building was designated
for the chapel-auditorium, or Aula. It was two stories high with a bank of
beautiful stained glass windows facing Syndicate. The Aula was designed in the
Renaissance style and featured elaborate ornamentation with Greek motifs. It
had a stage, a gallery, and seated an audience of 350. The Aula served as the
school’s chapel from 1918 until 1954.
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| Chapel-auditorium, Aula, in the Administration Building, 1918-1954 |
In 1953, construction began on the Lutheran Memorial Center—a
new athletic facility. This created the opportunity for other remodeling
projects on campus. The Aula was converted into 5 new classrooms and additional
office space. The “old gymnasium” was transformed into the Graebner Memorial
Chapel.
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| Graebner Memorial Chapel dedication service, November 13, 1955 |
As anyone who has been in our chapel can see, the
renovations to the gymnasium made it almost unrecognizable as a former
basketball court! Interior brick walls were added to enclose the vestry and
sacristy; they were oriented to direct visual focus towards the altar. Stained
glass windows and pews were installed.
A new entrance and narthex were added to
create a more “churchly” appearance. A steel bell tower topped with a cross was
built near the entrance to house the old college bell and give it new life as
the new chapel bell.
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| Exterior of the Graebner Memorial Chapel, 1955-2007 |
The addition of the Cross of Christ Fellowship Center and
the slight renovations to the interior of the chapel make it the striking
building that it is today.
As one of the oldest buildings on campus, Graebner Memorial
Chapel has an interesting history. So, the next time you find yourself seated
in the chapel, don’t be surprised if you think you hear the squeak of sneakers,
the thump of a basketball being dribbled, the swoosh of the net, and cheers of
fans…
This is so interesting!! :) I had heard of the current chapel having been a basketball court, but I had no idea about the rest of this! I would love to see floor plans for all this stuff!
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