Class of ’68 Funds Chapel Door Restoration

By CAPT Gordon Peterson ‘68, USN (Ret.)

The Naval Academy Chapel’s massive bronze-cast doors look like new thanks to a comprehensive refurbishment funded by the Class of 1968 as part of its recent 50th reunion gift to the Academy. “Everyone across the Yard was excited,” said Sara G. Phillips, the Naval Academy architect and deputy for facilities and construction, “because it was such an important project to undertake.” In expressing her thanks to the class, Phillips said, “What you did with this project was to reach back 100 years to the Class of 1868.” The doors were a gift from that class when the Chapel was built in 1909.

The doors’ original highly-detailed surface was obscured and degraded by layers of various coatings and inappropriate restoration efforts during subsequent decades. Years of grime and past coatings were first removed. A chemical agent was then used to darken the surface before a final application of wax was applied.

“They’re beautiful,” Phillips said. “We brought out the detail hidden by other coatings in full glory.” Phillips noted that the National Park Service consulted on the project. 
The Class of 1968 raised sufficient funds both for the initial restoration and to maintain the doors’ condition in the future. Phillips, noting that the doors will require periodic recoating to sustain their patina, said it was unusual to include the cost of future repairs for restoration projects as part of such class gifts.

Joseph Conway ’68, who directed the Class of 1968’s 50th reunion fundraising campaign, and Class President Gary Storm ’68 presented Superintendent VADM Walter “Ted” Carter, Jr. ’81, USN, with a check for $1.893M at the beginning of the Superintendent’s homecoming address to alumni 19 October. Of those funds, $157,000 was earmarked for the doors’ restoration and future repairs.

Looking ahead, Conway expressed the hope that the Class of 2018, ’68’s “link class” in the Another Link in the Chain program, would one day assume responsibility for funding the doors’ maintenance as part of its own class gift donations.

The Class of 1968 concluded its 50th reunion with a memorial service for its 170 deceased classmates in the Chapel on Sunday, 21 October. At the end of the service, Deacon Tom Houghton ’68 offered a prayer for the Navy followed by a prayer for the rededication of the Chapel doors. In asking for the Lord’s blessing, he said, “Grant that all who pass through these doors be reminded of the mercy, comfort and strength you bestow; may they be inspired to excellence in life by the scenes the doors portray. Fill us all with courage and wisdom, and grant us the endurance to serve our nation, neighbor and our Navy.”