National Register of Historic Places

Packer Memorial Chapel

Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Listed
November 20, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79003234

About this property

Packer Memorial Chapel, also known as Packer Memorial Church, is a historic church on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. The chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Packer Memorial Chapel 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". Asa Packer was buried in Mauch Chunk Cemetery in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where his mansion was located. Currently non-denominational, the chapel is operated by the Office of the University Chaplain. On Sundays, Roman Catholic mass is usually held at 12:10 pm and 9:10 pm in the chapel. On Fridays, Muslim prayers are held at 1:10 pm. The Church is also available for weddings in which at least one of the parties is a Lehigh University student or alumnus. It was also formerly the location of the freshman convocation, held during orientation at the beginning of each school year; however due to growing class size, convocations were moved to the larger Baker Auditorium in the Zoellner Arts Center, beginning in 2007. "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. Asa Packer was buried in Mauch Chunk Cemetery, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where his mansion was located.

Location

Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
40.60765, -75.37764

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

South Bethlehem Downtown Historic District
Modern
0.4 mi
Gosztonyi Savings and Trust
Industrial
0.5 mi
Fountain Hill Historic District
Listed
0.5 mi
Bethlehem Steel Lehigh Plant Mill #2 Annex
Industrial
0.5 mi
Lehigh Valley Railroad Headquarters Building
Industrial
0.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Packer Memorial Chapel listed on the National Register?

Packer Memorial Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Packer Memorial Chapel?

Packer Memorial Chapel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Packer Memorial Chapel?

The period of significance for Packer Memorial Chapel is recorded as the industrial era.

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