President Locklin on the Dedication Day of Loveland Chapel at Springfield College, 1981

Mr. Loveland was a 1924 graduate of the College and had served as a member of the Board of Trustees. From 1946 till their deaths, Mr. Loveland in 1965 and Mrs. Loveland in 1968, a sum of $275,000 beqeust was made to the “chapel” fund. Under the leadership of President Wilbert E. Locklin, it was decided that the chapel should be built on the East Campus. Groundbreaking took place on September 15, 1980 and the chapel was completed in June of 1981. The Dedication was actually held on May 30, 1981. A number of features in the chapel were donated, including the Allen Organ, donated by W. Haines Kent and a couple of stained glass windows, including one in memory of Norman and Ruth Loveland, by Mrs. Vera Brown, and one depicting the Springfield College triangle, by Philip W. Breux, Class of 1938. The gates at the entrances are actually the original Pratt Field Gates. The building was visualized as “an academic chapel” or non-denominational chapel. Built of wood and stone, the 5,000 sq. ft. structure blends into the woodland setting and utilizes natural materials that incorporate environmental awareness in terms of energy efficiency. Its open floor nave could accommodate 150 people. In 1988, under the leadership of President Frank Falcone, Loveland Chapel became the Child Development Center which remains its use to this day.

The photograph is taken at the dedication of Loveland Chapel at the East Campus of Springfield College., May 30, 1981. President Wilbert E. Locklin, standing behind the podium, is telling the audience the Loveland story. A lady next to the President is sitting behind a piano, a bottle of flowers is on top of the piano. In 1946, Norman and Ruth Loveland established a fund for the construction of a chapel at Springfield College in order to help maintain the spiritual character of the College.