27 Chestnut Street

“In 1916, Boston University, for the first time ever in its history, did something that it had never done before and would not do again until the late 1930s. It constructed a building from scratch that was intended to exclusively serve a University purpose. That building was Robinson Chapel here at 27 Chestnut Street. Constructed in the Gothic style, it served as a place of worship and practice for the School of Theology.

“Does the design of this building remind anyone of anything? In many ways it bares an uncanny resemblance to another diminutive chapel that would be built along Commonwealth Avenue in the late 1940s known as Marsh Chapel.

“At this point, our tour of BU’s historical late 19th century/early 20th century campus is completed. Population and enrollment booms taking place both before and after World War I necessitated new space for the University, and it would eventually find it upon the freshly-filled mud flats of the Back Bay in Copley Square. That’s where we’re headed now.”