Sketch of a portion of SCU's campus near the Mission Church, 1885
Color Drawing Map of Santa Clara University Campus Buildings. Surveyed and platted by Guy Voight on Nov. 23, 1914.
Closer view of map
Santa Clara University Property Map taken from Sanborn Map for San Jose and Santa Clara. Estimated date: ~Before 1920
Closer view of map
Santa Clara University R.C., San Jose, CA, by Sanborn Map Co. for John B Shea, Oct 20 1925
Closer view of map
In later years, Father Kenna turned his attention to improvements during the course of his presidency. He renovated the old Mission church, the Fathers’ garden, and the project which was uppermost in his mind: the erection of a new chapel for the students to replace the temporary wooden chapel constructed after the earthquake of 1868 that destroyed Nobili’s building. To raise the required $35,000, he petitioned the alumni for money, something his predecessors wouldn’t dare to do. This was the first attempt at a fund drive in the history of the school. He managed to net enough funds to begin the construction within a year, but not enough to allow the chapel to be as intricate and beautiful as designed. The chapel was named the Memorial Chapel (other times referred to as the Students’ Chapel or the Boys’ Chapel) as a tribute to the generosity of those “who had spent a part of their lives and owed at least a part of their success in life to Santa Clara”.
By the summer of 1886, he had sufficient funds to start on the foundation. The old wooden chapel was removed to the north end of the yard adjoining the college theater on the west, and ground was broken for the new chapel on a plot just north of the Mission Church.
On October 8, 1888, the new chapel was finally dedicated, Reverend Father Joseph Sasia, S.J., preaching the sermon. The first mass in the new chapel was celebrated on December 8th. Five stained glass windows were also presented by friends to the college and installed.
Although the chapel worked functionally, for several years afterward, it had an interior that revealed portions of unpainted concrete and bare bricks. The chapel was “an eyesore to the College,” “a heartsore to its author,” and a looming reminder of the school’s financial struggles.
