LYNN — The Rhodes Chapel, located in the middle of Pine Grove Cemetery, was opened to the public once more Sunday afternoon in an effort to expand interest in the historic building and the huge restoration and revival process that it will soon be undergoing.
The Chapel was built in 1891 and was closed off in the 1960s before it was finally reopened to the public for a walk-through this June. Pine Grove Cemetery Commission Chairman Arthur Dulong said the Chapel was opened to the public for a second time to allow more people to see the place and to keep generating interest.
“We’re just trying to keep the interest, keep people asking, let people walk through,” he said.
The Chapel, which has an area of 1,100 square feet, was built for 10,000 dollars as a gift to Lynn by Amos Rhodes in honor of her late husband. Now with the chapel reopening in 2022, there will be a lot more money involved this time around. The renovation project will require around $2.5 million in order to add a new heating and fire suppression system, handicap-accessible bathrooms, and air conditioning. The Chapel will also be getting new windows and doors after decades of deterioration.
Dulong has been on the board for 24 years and for 14 of those, he has been fighting for the reopening and renovation of the Chapel.
“For 14 years I’ve been fighting to start it. Now, they’re starting to catch on that there is something special,” Dulong said.
Those that walk up to the Chapel are immediately greeted by three archways that lead to a double-door entrance. Inside, rows of eight pews line each side of the walkway. Up front, there are two organs up against the walls on each side. Both organs that were found in the Chapel were the originals from when it was in operation. One of the pianos was put together by the company Mason and Hamlin, a piano building company that started in 1854 and is still in operation today. According to Dulong, both organs will need quite a bit of work done on them, but they can be restored to be fully playable again.
Ultimately, the renovation project will set out to do two things. One, to refurbish and restore the Chapel so that it can continue to be a significant part of the rich history of the city, and two, so that it can become a space that can be rented out and used by the public for a number of different events.
“We want it so that it virtually runs on its own. People can use it for public events, they rent it from the cemetery itself. We can’t let this go,” said Dulong.
The plans cannot move forward until the master plan is finalized by the Spencer Preservation Group but once that is completed, Dulong will be able to collect donations to help cut the costs of the refurbishing. He expects the project to be done in roughly three to three and a half years.
“We have a vision going forward of what we’re going to do with what we have now, which has been stagnant on the commission for years, where it was just to maintain, now we’re looking to develop,” said Dulong.
