Photo Gallery: Notable Moments from Marsh Chapel’s 75-Year History
Images capture the central role the chapel has played at Boston University
Photo Gallery: Notable Moments from Marsh Chapel’s 75-Year History
Images capture the central role the chapel has played at Boston University
Blueprint of Boston University’s Marsh Chapel. The building was designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram, completed in fall/winter 1949, and dedicated in spring 1950.
Photo by Boston University Photography
The Boston University Glee Club filing out of Marsh Chapel in 1951.
Photo by Boston University Photography
BU seniors and alumni gather for a Senior Breakfast on Marsh Plaza, May 13, 1953.
Photo by Boston University Photography
Marsh Plaza, May 25, 1956. Behind the chapel are buildings and quonset huts later removed to make way for the School of Law and Alpert Mall.
Photo by Boston University Photography
Civil rights activist and 1964 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59) with Boston University President Harold Case (STH’27, Hon.’67) on the steps of Marsh Chapel, 1957.
Photo by Boston University Photography
Howard Thurman (Hon.’67), dean of Marsh Chapel from 1953 to 1965 in a photograph taken March 6, 1959. Thurman, the first Black dean to serve at a predominantly white University, was a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59).
Photo by Boston University Photography
Crowds gather for a memorial service on Marsh Plaza April 5, 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59) on April 4.
Photo by Boston University Photography
Boston University students organize a “Vietnam Commencement” on Marsh Plaza, May 18, 1968. Noted historian Howard Zinn (in jacket and tie), then a College of Arts & Sciences professor of political science, is near the chapel doorway, talking to students.
Photo by Boston University Photography
Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59), addressing a youth rally at Marsh Chapel April 7, 1973.
Photo by Boston University Photography
Chilean sculptor Sergio Castillo working on the sculpture Free At Last, a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59), April 14, 1975. The sculpture was installed on Marsh Plaza that year.
Photo by Boston University Photography
A memorial service at Marsh Plaza, June 25, 1989, for the victims killed in the uprising in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Photo by Kerry Loughman
Members of the Boston University community gather on Marsh Plaza on September 12, 2001, for a prayer vigil for those killed on 9/11.
Photo by Kalman Zabarsky
The BU community celebrating the Terrier men’s hockey team’s victory in the 2009 NCAA Championship Tournament.
Photo by Andrew Reed Weller
Nobel Laureate and BU’s Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities Elie Wiesel (Hon.’74) (left) assists canter Rabbi Joseph Polak with the Grand Menorah Lighting December 6, 2010, with Bena Reiter (CAS’12) at right.
Photo by Cydney Scott
Rev. Robert Allan Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel, leading a vigil service on Marsh Plaza for victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing, April 16, 2013.
Photo by Cydney Scott
A seal marking the burial site of Daniel L. Marsh (STH’08, Hon.’53), president of Boston University from 1926 to 1951. Marsh died in May 1968 and was interred at Marsh Chapel.
Photo by Jackie Ricciardi
The Casavant Organ Opus 2000, designed by Casavant Frères of Quebec, Canada. The instrument, installed at Marsh Chapel in 1950, underwent a significant renovation in 1985 and again in 2004.
Photo by Jackie Ricciardi
Marsh Chapel’s Rose Window was designed by stained glass artist Charles Connick. The window is above the altar.
Photo by Cydney Scott
Boston University President Melissa Gilliam (center) greeting guests at a service of prayer and thanksgiving at Marsh Chapel in honor of her inauguration, September 27, 2024.
Photo by Melissa Ostrow
Marsh Chapel began livestreaming its Sunday services on June 4, 2023. Marsh Chapel’s technical director of media, Sung Jin Choi (right}, overseeing the livestreaming of the November 17, 2024, Sunday service.
Photo by Jake Belcher