John Wesley Raley Chapel - Shawnee, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 21.605 W 096° 56.046
14S E 687700 N 3914934
This is the signature building on the Oklahoma Baptist University campus.
Waymark Code: WMA5Z2
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 11/21/2010
Views: 4
Located on the campus of OBU, between W. MacArthur and W. University streets, is this jaw-dropping chapel named after John Wesley Raley who was President of OBU from 1934 to 1961, the longest tenure of any OBU President.
President Raley had the pleasure of seeing this magnificent building erected. Ground was broken in February 1959, and the chapel was dedicated on February 23, 1962. President Raley passed away in 1966 and was given a place in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, as well as the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame. Standing in front of this chapel will take your breath away.
The chapel is 20 stories high (200 feet from ground level to the lighted spire). It is 248 feet from east to west, and 188 feet from north to south, with 61,692 square feet. The large stairway at the front entrance has steps of granite and its lobby is floored with escallete marble from the Pyrennes Mountains in southwestern France. There are Memorial windows along the east and west sides of the building. The spire has 4 clock faces.
To the south of the chapel is an area with a large cross and a granite base, dedicated by the OBU Class of 2001. This highlights "The Walk," a symbolic tradition of OBU students over the years. A quote is etched in the granite: "New Beginnings. In life what sometimes appears to be the end is really a new beginning."
This chapel is a long-awaited dream of Oklahoma Baptist University and the Oklahoma Baptist Convention.
Date Built: 02/23/1962
Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source
Website: [Web Link]
Church Address:
OBU Campus
South of W. MacArthur, North of W. University St.
Shawnee, OK US
74801
Service Times: Not listed
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