Howard Greninger
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — In addition to Scripture teachings, some attending historic Allen Chapel will soon be uplifted from a more earthly means — a new wheelchair lift.
Workers on Tuesday pushed and wiggled in parts of a wheelchair platform lift capable of hoisting 750 pounds up a 14-foot shaft constructed in the back of the church. The lift, from Amco Elevators of Indianapolis, had to be disassembled into parts to fit into the space, said Tony Major of MSI Construction, the Clinton-based general contractor for the project.
“This project posed a lot of challenges. The 2-foot-thick concrete base for the lift had to be made by wheeling in the concrete to fill it in. Then, since this is a lift, all the walls that were built have to be perfectly plumb and square, which is a bit of a challenge working in a corner of an old building that is plaster, block and brick,” Major said.
The lift will have a full-size door at its base and a half-door at the sanctuary level, Major said. In addition, a Plexiglas enclosure will surround the exterior of the lift “mainly for safety for children or anything from being thrown or dropped over” into the lift shaft, he said.
In addition to the lift, two new restrooms are being constructed. The restrooms are at the bottom of an interior wheelchair ramp, built in 2007, Major said. That ramp connects to an exterior ramp at the chapel.
“[This project] will meet all ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] requirements and we expect to have this completed mid-March,” Major added.
Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1870 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. A large portion of the chapel’s upper section was rebuilt in 1913 after a fire, said Joy Sacopulos, president of the Friends of Historic Allen Chapel, a not-for-profit community volunteer organization formed in 1997 to preserve the chapel.
Since 1997, the chapel has been tuck-pointed, had masonry repaired, had soffits and fascia refurbished, had new guttering and roofing and two pairs of new exterior doors. Other work includes a new heating and cooling system, total rewiring of the building’s electrical system and installation of a fire and security alarm. A new kitchen and handicapped restroom has also been added adjacent to the fellowship hall.
Also, lower-level windows have been restored, and restoration of stained-glass windows was completed in May 2006.
Sacopulos said restoration work will next move into its final stage, Phase VII, to include interior repair and restoration.
“For this part of the project, it was $87,000,” Sacopulos said. “We did the ramp two years ago with a grant from the Wabash Valley Community Foundation.”
“We are really excited about this lift. This was hard because it was in the corner, in a area that had been a coal bin and a boiler room, with a dirt floor,” she said.
“Now we have one final phase. That will be the fun part, when we actually refurbish and fix up the interior of the church,” Sacopulos said.
Friends of Historic Allen Chapel has received grants from several agencies, according to Char Minnette, a member of the organization. In addition to the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, other grant sources include Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, the Hulman Public Building Trust, the Indiana Chemical Trust, the Lilly Endowment through the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Efroymson Foundation of Indianapolis.
Other significant gifts have been given by First Financial Bank, the Fort Harrison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Martha P. Sharp.
<i>Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.</i>
