Cornell landmark being restored

An iconic building on the Cornell College campus in Mount Vernon soon will be restored, thanks to a state historic preservation grant.

In mid-July, the college received $50,000 from the Department of Cultural Affairs to repair and reface the King Memorial Chapel Clock Tower.

King Chapel, built in the early 1880s, is one of the tallest buildings in Linn County. The chapel serves as a rehearsal space for musicians and hosts concerts, speakers and cultural events.

Workers will address masonry deterioration issues and provide structural reinforcement through the replacement of rotted rafters, framing, roof sheathing and floor joists.

Workers also will repair water damage and re-shingle the roof to prevent future water intrusion, replace decaying and missing decorative metal pieces that surround the clock, and replace the tower lookout guard railing, according to the Department of Cultural Affairs.

The latest work is part of an ongoing chapel restoration project, according to Jamie Kelly, Cornell's digital news director.

Cornell received a $100,000 grant for the restoration of the chapel in March 2010. That money helped repair the chapel's roof, walls and masonry as well as repointing attic walls and replacing roof tiles.

The college was required to raise $137,000 to contribute to the project.

Kelly anticipated the clock tower repair and refacing work will be complete by November 2017.

'It's been a centerpiece of campus since it was built,” Kelly said. 'It was very important up to the '60s when there was daily chapel.”

Peter Hoehnle, a graduate of the university who used to work in archives, said the chapel has been a prominent part of the Mount Vernon skyline for 130 years.

'It's the first thing you see as you come into town from either direction. It's a sign that you are home again,” Hoehnle said.