Wesleyan Memorial Chapel

Wesleyan Memorial Chapel
View of the Wesleyan University Memorial Chapel and the Zelnick Pavilion in 2012
Map
General information
Architectural styleMid-19th-century Gothic Revival
Address221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Coordinates41°33′21″N 72°39′22″W / 41.5557°N 72.6561°W / 41.5557; -72.6561
Construction started1867
Completed1871

The Wesleyan University Memorial Chapel is a Gothic Revival brownstone building at 221 High Street in Middletown, Connecticut. Its architect is unknown. More recent alterations have been from architects J.C. Cady[1] and Henry Bacon.[2] It stands as one of the only religious buildings known to have been constructed in Connecticut as a Civil War Memorial.[2]

Architectural Significance

As a brownstone Gothic Revival religious structure, it sits in a row of Wesleyan University buildings west of High Street in the center of campus. It was built as a memorial to Wesleyan University alumni and undergraduates who died in the Civil War.[2][3]

On the south side, the second window from the back honors Wesleyan alumni and students who died from years 1861 to 1865. Eighteen names in upper and lower case are recorded although it is thought to only list half the number who actually died in service.[4]

References

  1. ^ "A Forgotten Architect of the Gilded Age: Josiah Cleaveland Cady's Legacy. Kathleen A. Curran". The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. 88 (1): 112. March 1994. doi:10.1086/pbsa.88.1.24304588. ISSN 0006-128X.
  2. ^ a b c "CHS: Civil War Monuments of Connecticut: Memorial Chapel, Middletown". chs.org. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  3. ^ "HISTORICAL ROW: A CHAPEL FOR ALL SEASONS – Wesleyan University Magazine". 2002-09-04. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  4. ^ David B. Potts, interview, January 6, 1994.