Dimnent Memorial Chapel on the campus of Hope College in Holland,
Michigan is a community landmark. The cornerstone, engraved with
the college motto Spera in Deo (Hope in God), was laid on October
12, 1927.
The
architect was William K. Johnston of Chicago, Ill. who earlier
had designed nearby Graves Hall on the Hope campus. It was constructed
by Frank Dyke & Co. of Holland, Mich. The construction cost
was $404,000.
The building was dedicated as Hope Memorial Chapel on June 7,
1929. It was renamed Dimnent Memorial Chapel in 1959 to honor
Dr.
Edward D. Dimnent, fifth president of Hope College who spearheaded
the effort to construct the building despite difficult economic
times. Dr. Dimnent saw the need for a larger chapel building
because of growing numbers in the student body. He envisioned
a chapel whose size and beauty might typify the place of religion
on campus and could serve community gatherings. It would become
the fourth chapel for student worship since 1857 and continues
to serve those purposes today.
The building is located at the corner of 12th
Street and College Avenue in Holland. It is of modified
American Gothic architecture (absent gargoyles). It is of steel
construction and is built
of gray Bedford stone. It is approximately 170 feet long and
65 feet wide. The height of the tower on the southwest corner
is 108 feet. The chapel seats approximately 1,150 people.
There
are two organs in the chapel, a four-manual Skinner organ in
the chancel and a Dutch classic tracker organ in the
balcony, built by Pels and Van Leeuwen in the Netherlands and
installed in 1971. The Skinner organ with its 2,932 pipes was
installed in 1929 and restored
in 2006 by the A. Thompson-Allen
Company. Westminster chimes ring
from the bell tower every 15 minutes.
The hand-carved pulpit, constructed of solid rosewood, was made
in the Reformed Church Industrial School in Katpoudi, India.
The lower level of the building contains classrooms.