Old Chapel Library

Construction: 1884-6  Architect Stephen C. Earle, Worcester
Renovation: 1936 Architects Dickenson & Goodwin, Haverhill

Early College religious services were held, without prejudice, in the Chemistry Laboratory, until a few years later when a wooden chapel was built. By the mid-1880s more space was required for religious observances. A second chapel was erected and dedicated in 1886 as the New Stone Chapel and Library Building, now called Old Chapel. It has since served many other purposes: lecture rooms, drill hall, Music Department.

The style is the finest example of the so-called Richardson Romanesque in the Amherst area. Gray Pelham granite and reddish Longmeadow sandstone combine to create a building with considerable charm and a feeling for antiquity and composure.

Architect Earle designed many churches and collegiate buildings in Worcester and other central Massachusetts towns. He was president of the Worchester chapter of the American Institute of architects in 1904.

The bell was presented by Trustee J. Howe Desmond in 1882. Chimes have been installed more recently.