Navy chapel study

The Eternal Father of the Sea nearly didn't make it.

A few years ago, the extensive termite damage and compromised structural integrity threatened to put an end to the old chapel's presence at the Charleston Navy Yard. It had been built in 1941 and early 1942 to provide military personnel, civil servants and others with a place to worship. Since then, it has been the site of church services, weddings and performances. By mid-2006, all activity ceased.

In June 2007, the city of North Charleston spent $143,890 to repair the support structure of the nave and replace windows.

On Tuesday, graduate students in a historic preservation program offered jointly by the College of Charleston and Clemson University were examining the space in preparation for the structure and feasibility reports they will prepare as part of their coursework. Instructor Jeremy Wells led the entourage through the chilly space, pointing out leaks and structural damage and explaining the requirements of the assignment.

First, they would have to document the history of the building and identify its defining features. Then they would consider and describe the options: demolition, preservation as a chapel or radical modernization.

"Whatever use the building gets put to, it's got to be economically sustainable," Wells said.

Strewn along the hardwood floor were paint chips that had detached from the underside of the roof because of temperature changes that expanded and contracted the wood. Pews were stacked in the choir and sanctuary and by the robing room. Upstairs in the chaplain's office, amplifiers rested heavily by a screen that allowed sound to be projected into the nave.

A small electric organ sat idle along one wall, and an enormous multimedia painting with a religious theme, made with washers, screws and other pieces of hardware, hung in an adjacent room. Wells asked the students to figure out who made the work, what it meant and why it was part of the Eternal Father of the Sea.

The chapel is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Andy Chandler, National Register coordinator and architectural historian at the State Historic Preservation Office in Columbia.

But it must be nominated. The process is formal and lengthy, Chandler said. First, the long application form is reviewed by his office. A field visit might be required, he said. Then it goes before the state Board of Review, which meets three times a year. Then, if it's approved, it goes to the National Park Service for a final review.

The new truss and beams installed about a year ago have reinforced the structure, which sits on a masonry slab, Wells said. And the "weather envelope" — i.e., roof — has done a pretty good job of keeping water out, he said.

The church sits on property controlled by the Clemson University Restoration Institute. The restoration is a priority for the institute, according to Peter Hull, its public information director. Hull said the organization hopes to raise money to save it and put it to use again. It will be part of the institute's new campus project, an effort to build or refurbish several facilities in the area.

Students and faculty eventually will use the research campus to study renewable energy solutions, restoration ecology, advanced materials and historic preservation, all with the goal of developing environmentally and economically sustainable solutions that adhere to the mission of the institute, Hull said.

The Navy base has two historic districts that are included on the National Register: the Charleston Navy Yard Historic District and the Charleston Navy Yard Officers' Quarters Historic District.

And the Eternal Father of the Sea, already part of Charleston's past, might soon make history.

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com.