Packer Memorial Chapel

Packer Memorial Chapel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Packer Avenue, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°36′27″N 75°22′41″W / 40.60750°N 75.37806°WCoordinates: 40°36′27″N 75°22′41″W / 40.60750°N 75.37806°W
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1885
Architect	Addison Hutton
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference #	79003234[1]
Added to NRHP	November 20, 1979

Packer Memorial Chapel (also known as Packer Memorial Church) is a historic church on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton, and built in 1885 when the university was affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It was donated by Mary Packer Cummings in memory of her father, Asa Packer. The cornerstone was laid on "the seventh Founder's Day, October 8, 1885" and the consecration took place "Two years later, on the ninth Founder's Day, October 13, 1887".^[2] The chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Packer Memorial Church is currently an Episcopal church on campus. On Sundays, Roman Catholic mass is usually held at 9:00 pm in the chapel. It is also available for weddings in which at least one of the parties is a Lehigh University student or alumnus. It used to be the location of the freshman convocation which is held during orientation at the beginning of each school year, however due to the growing class size, in 2007 convocation was moved to the larger Baker Auditorium in the Zoellner Arts Center. "The Catacombs", was named on February 1, 1969 for a coffee house in the basement of the church. It soon became disused and was later a social meeting place for graduate student.^[3] Asa Packer, on the other hand, was buried in Mauch Chunk Cemetery, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where his mansion was located.^[4]

Gallery

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  Interior in 1896.

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  Above an entrance to Packer Memorial Church

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  Packer Chapel Entrance

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  Packer Chapel Rear Detail

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  Packer Chapel Side Detail

References

1. Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Edmund M. Hyde, Ph.D., L.H.D., The Lehigh University. A Historical Sketch, http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/eb/supp/3439/index.pdf
3. W. Ross Yates, Sermon in Stone, http://www.lehigh.edu/~incha/yates.html
4. Asa Packer profile, politicalgraveyard.com; accessed April 16, 2015.