Goddard Chapel (Tufts University)
Goddard Chapel, built in 1883, is the main religious building at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The chapel serves as a vibrant center for spiritual and ethical life in the university.
History
In the early days of the college, the Coolidge Room on the second floor of Ballou Hall was known as the College Chapel. In 1882, Mary Goddard also known for finding Goddard College contributed $25,000 towards the chapel's construction in honor of her late husband, Tufts trustee Thomas Goddard. Additional donations were made by Tufts alumni with the expectation that it would serve as a memorial chapel. In total, construction costs exceeded $40,000.[1]
Architecture
The building was designed by J. Phillip Rinn, who also designed the Barnum Museum of Natural History and part of Metcalf at Tufts. The edifice was designed in the Lombardic Romanesque Style for the chapel's hundred foot bell tower and its cloister, a porch on the east side of the building. The blue-gray slate was quarried locally from Somerville. Originally, Rinn planed the chapel to be covered with ivy to soften the austerity of the stone-work. The interior design also follows Romanesque motifs with the incorporation of the ribbed ceilings, arched woodwork, and stained-glass. The pews, pulpits, and ceiling ribs are made of cherry. The floors are made of oak while the paneling is made of spruce. Today all of the original woodwork is intact. In 2002, the chapel underwent a major restoration. The project returned the chapel ceiling which was painted blue to its native wood.[2]
