Old Post Chapel

Old Post Chapel. . God of our fathers, whose almighty hand / Leads forth in beauty all the starry band / Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies / Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise. , United States Army Hymn / Lyrics by Daniel C. Roberts, music by George W. Warren, 1888, This Gothic Revival chapel built in 1864 was the first house of worship built by the U.S. Army at the Presidio. It was built with the assistance of the San Francisco Episcopal Diocese and the Book of Common Prayer was used at its services. In the nineteenth century, many officers were Episcopalians. The troops were often evangelical Protestants or Roman Catholics. In 1862, the Army authorized the first Jewish chaplains., A larger chapel, today the Interfaith Center, was built in 1932 near the National Cemetery a half mile west from here. This chapel then became the Roman Catholic Chapel of Our Lady. In 1952, the building was lengthened and in the 1970s it was remodeled to accommodate changes in Roman Catholic ritual that had the priest face the congregation when saying Mass. A cross in the patio commemorates the dedication of the Presidio by Spanish Franciscan priests on September 17, 1776. No longer a Catholic church, the chapel is available for weddings, memorials and meetings., Captions , Top row, left to right: , . The Gothic Revival post chapel about 1868. Park Archives, Eadweard Muybridge , . For many years the wood chapel was covered with ivy. Robert W Bowen Family Collection , . At an unknown date stained glass windows were added to the board and batten chapel. Park Archives , . The Catholic chapel at Easter time before remodeling. The wall behind the altar was replaced with a large window looking out into the forest that allows natural light into the chapel. Park Archives , Right: Chapel Expansion , . The chapel undergoing expansion in 1952. Park Archives , . Reflecting modern California indoor-outdoor living, a glass wall and door were added to the west side of the building facing an enclosed patio for after-Mass socializing. This "opened up" the previously closed box of the Victorian chapel. Charity Vargas