Baker Memorial Chapel
Encyclopedia
Baker Memorial Chapel is a building on the campus of McDaniel College
, in Westminster, Maryland
, was dedicated April 20, 1958. The chapel, was built in memory of W.G. Baker, Joseph D. Baker, Daniel Baker, and Sarah Baker Thomas, although when the initial endowment was announced in 1955, both the donor's identity and the identity of the memorialized individuals were unknown. As conceived, the new chapel was to have a capacity of approximately 900, and was "expected to be of Georgian colonial architecture in keeping with the design of other recent buildings on the campus." The organ in the new chapel was given by two alumni, father and son, Roger J. Whiteford, a prominent Washington attorney and graduate in 1906, and his son Joseph S. Whiteford, a graduate in 1943, president of the Aeolian-Skinner
Organ Company, Boston, Mass. The chapel was designed by architects Otto Eugene Adams
and E.G. Riggs, of Baltimore. The Chapel steeple, 113 feet tall, is visible for miles around and was originally topped by a stainless steel cross 6 feet in height. The wood panels of the chancel
were designed to complement the antique organ console which was originally in the Bruton Parish Church
, at Williamsburg
, Virginia
. The organ, with its 2,310 pipes, is held to be the largest in the area. The Whitefords also gave the carillon
installed in the steeple.
McDaniel College
McDaniel College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland, located 30 miles northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College...
, in Westminster, Maryland
Westminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
, was dedicated April 20, 1958. The chapel, was built in memory of W.G. Baker, Joseph D. Baker, Daniel Baker, and Sarah Baker Thomas, although when the initial endowment was announced in 1955, both the donor's identity and the identity of the memorialized individuals were unknown. As conceived, the new chapel was to have a capacity of approximately 900, and was "expected to be of Georgian colonial architecture in keeping with the design of other recent buildings on the campus." The organ in the new chapel was given by two alumni, father and son, Roger J. Whiteford, a prominent Washington attorney and graduate in 1906, and his son Joseph S. Whiteford, a graduate in 1943, president of the Aeolian-Skinner
Aeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...
Organ Company, Boston, Mass. The chapel was designed by architects Otto Eugene Adams
Otto Eugene Adams
Otto Eugene Adams the Architect was born in Baltimore November 1, 1889 to a family with Baltimore and German ancestry. He died in Baltimore County on January 29, 1968.-Family:...
and E.G. Riggs, of Baltimore. The Chapel steeple, 113 feet tall, is visible for miles around and was originally topped by a stainless steel cross 6 feet in height. The wood panels of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
were designed to complement the antique organ console which was originally in the Bruton Parish Church
Bruton Parish Church
Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. It was established in 1674 in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Episcopal parish.-History of Bruton Parish Church:...
, at Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The organ, with its 2,310 pipes, is held to be the largest in the area. The Whitefords also gave the carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
installed in the steeple.