St. Mary's Student Chapel, 1924-25
Creator: Rousseau, Albert J.

The building was designed in 1924 by Albert J. Rousseau, professor of architecture at the University of Michigan from 1917 to 1931. Rousseau was trained in his native city of Quebec and at the Ecole Nationale et Speciale des Beaux Arts in Paris. Basically an innovator, Rousseau made no attempt to camouflage with fake buttresses and arches the modern construction methods used in the chapel. The half-story basement contains rooms for social and recreational use, while the main floor houses a plain auditorium. The present fittings of the chapel are not original. The exterior has a strong Art Deco flavor, note particularly the large stone crosses and windows. Rousseau was also the architect of the facade of the Land Title Building at 106 North Fourth Avenue, as well as one of the architects of Ann Arbor's Art Deco Masonic Temple, demolished in 1975, which had similar brick work and decoration.

The Student Chapel was established for students and faculty in 1919 under the direction of the Reverend Michael Bourke, who was also chaplain of St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital. The first chapel, which was independent of the St. Thomas parish, was in a home on South State Street where the University of Michigan Administration Building now stands. When Father Bourke sold the old chapel to the University and bought the property at 331 Thompson, he had the building designed and the contract let. The day before construction was to begin, Father Bourke learned of a diocesan plan to block the plans. He hurriedly got out contractor Pipp at 11 o'clock at night, had him move a big shovel to the lot and dig out a shovel full of dirt. The next day, Father Bourke attended the diocesan meeting and informed the members that construction had begun. In 1928 St. Thomas and the Student Chapel were consolidated under Father Carey. In 1940 St. Mary's again became a separate parish for Catholic students attending the University.

Keywords: