Gienapp Architects was excited to attend the Town of Norwood’s re-dedication ceremony for the Chapel of St. Gabriel the Archangel at the Town’s Highland Cemetery. Anna and Lewis Smith-Day built this historic chapel in 1903 as a tribute to both of their parents. They donated it to the Town for the use of all town residents for funeral services, regardless of religious belief.
A focal point of the cemetery, the chapel has been a town landmark for over a century. The Neo-Gothic style of the chapel provides an elegant contrast to its simple surroundings. The chapel’s exterior is Weymouth seam-faced granite with limestone accents, while the interior is granite, limestone, and white marble.
The Town held a ceremony last weekend (May 18th) to re-consecrate and re-dedicate the chapel. Gienapp Architects has designed the repair of this chapel to restore this building to its former glory. Work mainly involved identifying the source of ongoing water infiltration and developing an aesthetically appropriate solution that would keep the building’s historic profile. In addition to this, Gienapp Architects also designed repairs to the damaged stonework. Separate elements of the project included restoration of stained-glass windows and repair of a storm-damaged copper lantern.
A town landmark and an architectural gem, this chapel is now ready to serve the Town’s needs for decades to come.