Vassar College Chapel

The Vassar College Chapel was dedicated on November 4, 1904.  Julia Ward Howe and a great academic procession, probably Vassar's first, helped mark the dedication that day. The choir contributed the music, and students and faculty lined up all over the campus, preparing for the march. The next day, the New York Daily Tribune described the latest Vassar building: "The new Chapel is of the Norman style of architecture, and is built of 'seamed' Cape Ann granite. The trimmings are of sandstone, the brownish color of the granite gives a beautiful warm effect. In the interior decorations, brown relieved by dull gold, is the prevailing tone. There is much beautiful hand-carving in the woodwork, especially in the organ case and choir rails. The organ is one of the finest organs in any college Chapel. It is provided with an Aeolian attachment."  Commemorative Tiffany and Dodge windows were later placed on the east side, John La Farge windows on the west side, and a Tiffany rose window over the north gable in the entrance archways.

Photo by Tamar Thibodeau

Vassar College Chapel Interior

The Chapel was built by David MacLeod of D. C. Weeks, the firm that was then building St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York. The architect was Charles Coolidge.  It has a square, three-story tower on the northwest corner, and a semicircular, two-story wing to the south, with closed belfries on each side. Cloistered porches grace the north and east sides of the building, with five rounded arches and pillars on the north and four on the east. Five wooden double-doors with iron hinges open to the north. After the Chapel was built, the trustees decreed: "Owing to the situation of Main, the Chapel, Rockefeller, and the size of these buildings, the great lawns in front of Main should never be intruded upon by buildings." The trustees' dictum has been observed to this day.

Photo by Tamar Thibodeau

Vassar College Chapel Exterior

The Chapel was (and still is) the largest religious edifice in Poughkeepsie. Although it has been altered, repaired, and acoustically improved, it is one of the few buildings that has not undergone considerable renovation. It can no longer hold the entire college community at one time, but, with the exception of Walker Field House, it remains the largest indoor gathering place on campus. Its use has gradually secularized and it now serves as a location for many types of events on campus from Fall and Spring Convocation to concerts and lectures of visiting luminaries.

Text adapted from Main to Mudd, and More by Elizabeth Daniels

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Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.