A landmark historic building in the center of the UMass Amherst campus has reopened after more than two decades and a $21 million renovation.
Of the more than 300 buildings on campus none has more sentimental attachment for alumni than the Old Chapel.
Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said when he arrived five years ago he was dismayed to find it dirty, decayed, and in danger of falling down.
" Getting support for getting this renovated was really easy because once I started talking about it everyone said ' Yes, why haven't we done that?'," Subbaswamy said in an interview.
Officially reopened with a ceremony Thursday, the Old Chapel is being used as a multi-purpose space.
A modern glass-enclosed entrance and an elevator were part of the renovations to the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
