Historic Tuskegee chapel getting major renovation
Reading time: 2 minutes
One of the most historic spaces at Tuskegee University is getting a major renovation.
Work is underway on the chapel, which was built in 1969 in the heart of the HBCU campus. The university said it hopes the fresh look + modern features can better serve students and the community while preserving the legacy of the chapel.
Tuskegee University Chapel
The Tuskegee University Chapel has long served as the primary venue for religious, intellectual, and cultural gatherings.
The original chapel was built between 1896 and 1898. It was designed by Robert R. Taylor, director of Tuskegee Institute’s Department of Mechanical Industries and the first African-American graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The Chapel was constructed almost entirely of student labor, using 1,200,000 bricks made in the Institute brickyard of Alabama clay. Upon completion, it was the first building in Macon County to contain interior electrical lights, which were installed by the instructor and students of the electrical division.
That original building was destroyed by a fire on January 23, 1957.
The current chapel was constructed between 1967 and 1969, on the same location as the first with hopes of matching the awe-inspiring architecture. And it delivered.
The architects were Paul Rudolph of New York and the African-American firm of John A. Welch and Louis Fry (both Welch and Fry were former Tuskegee Institute Faculty members).
The present chapel is studied by students of architecture throughout the United States because of its unique and distinguishable design, having no right angles. The “Singing Windows” from the original chapel were reproduced and installed in the current chapel.
Guest speakers for both the original as well as the present chapel have ranged from U.S. Presidents, foreign heads of the state, and other persons of note, such as Mary McLeod Bethune and Martin Luther King , Jr. Currently, the Chapel serves as the home of the famed Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir.
Subscribe to The Bama Buzz Newsletter to get the latest updates delivered right to your inbox.
