News
Galbreath Chapel Closed To Weddings
By: Cheri Russo
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Ohio University's Galbreath Chapel in Athens is closed to weddings due to problems with the 54-year-old building's ceiling.
Alum Chris Macker sent out a tweet this morning saying he had been notified that his April wedding could not be held at the facility because the ceiling caved in.
“There is a small section of deteriorating plaster in the ceiling of Galbreth Chapel most likely due to water intrusion from the roof," says Associate Vice President For Facilities Harry Wyatt. "Some small pieces of plaster and paint chips have fallen. Roof leaks can be very difficult to track down on roofs that have several sections intersecting with domes and steeples and such. In order to even investigate the deteriorating plaster, the pews needed to be shifted aside in order to get scaffolding in place. With the diagnostics of the problem not yet complete, it is difficult to say the extent of a repair, and the timing of the repair. In any event, it was best to reschedule events such that they would not be disrupted by scaffolding and noise.”
A person who answered the phone at the Galbreath Chapel Staff office says weddings are canceled indefinitely because a hole was discovered in the ceiling and the building was deemed unsafe.
The chapel was built in 1957 and was the gift of John W. Galbreath in memoriam of his wife, Helen.
She was a 1919 alumna who died in 1946.
Many alums get married at the chapel.