One of the doors is gone, but the Memorial Union Chapel is now reopened.

Used for storage space during recent Union renovations, the reopening of the Chapel was delayed about four months after the Browsing Library reopened in October. It officially opened its door, the arch-shaped door which used to be the main door for the Browsing Library, on Feb. 3.

Doug Wandersee, Memorial Union program adviser, said access from a door outside the library was eliminated due to a need for GSB office space. The only entrance now is through the Browsing Library.

He sees some advantages to this. A record of visitors taken by an attendant will monitor the number of people visiting the Chapel. It is also safe from ‘misuse.’

Bill Dee, operations manager for the Memorial Union, was married in the Chapel.

He said it had to be closed early last year because some people were sneaking in alcohol and cigarettes through the auxiliary door and partying in it.

Holding just 30 people comfortably, this small room holds big significance to the Memorial Union and Iowa State.

Wandersee shared the history of the Chapel. Part of the architect W.T. Proudfoot’s original 1920 vision for the Union, the Chapel did not become reality until the 1950s. Strategically placed under Gold Star Hall, it was designed as a living monument to those who died in WWI, and later WWII and the Korean War.

It is no coincidence that it is connected to the Browsing Library either, Wandersee said. This symbolizes the conception, he said, that education and spiritual guidance were needed before going off to war.

Kathy Svec, Memorial Union marketing coordinator, said the members of the Memorial Union staff of the ’50s made the Chapel their own by doing all the carpentry of the pews and cross. An area for stained glass was also constructed, but due to lack of funds, the glass was never installed.

Although Christian-based, the chapel offers solitude and peace for every denomination, Dee said. He says it is not only a place to meditate and pray, but even a place to have a quiet talk with someone.

Hours for the Chapel are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.