#REPOST @thebullsofdurham with @get__repost__app 🐂The architect of @DukeChapel was never allowed to enter it & his name went virtually unknown until 1986 with an “only in Durham” twist of fate. His name was Julian F. Abele, 1881 - 1950. Construction of #DukeChapel began in 1930 & ended in 1932. At the time of completion, the costs of the build totaled $2.3 million, which would be upwards of $42.3 million now. This stunning Collegiate Gothic building is 210 ft tall, which makes it one of the tallest buildings in Durham. It’s also one of the tallest college campus bell towers in the world. It was the last original building completed on Duke’s West Campus. The building was formerly dedicated in 1935. It wouldn’t be until 1986 until it became public knowledge & then another 30 years before Duke would name the quad in Abele's honor in 2016. In 1986, Duke students were protesting South Africa’s apartheid & Duke’s investments in the country. The demonstration took the form of building a shanty village outside Duke Chapel in the quad. A woman wrote in to the school paper stating the shanties were against the rights of students to a beautiful campus. Another young woman by the name of Susan Cook responded in the newspaper saying that her great uncle Julian Abele wouldn’t have minded the shanties in front of the chapel because he "was a victim of apartheid in this country" & despite that, @DukeUniversity campus was an example "of what a Black man can create given the opportunity." This came as a surprise to everyone at Duke. Administrators didn’t even know the architect’s grandniece was attending Duke. Susan Cook set everyone straight. Not only did Abele design Duke Chapel, but he also designed many of the buildings on campus - the football stadium, gym, library, medical school, religion school, hospital & faculty house. He designed 30 of the buildings on the quad that now bears his name. Sadly, all this came 36 years after Julian Abele had passed away. He was never allowed to step foot on the campus he designed due to segregation. This is a mini-excerpt from @TheBullsOfDurham book. 📸 @dustin.foto #ThisIsDurham #BullCityHistory IS https://www.instagram.com/p/CZgY8tfOra-/?utm_medium=tumblr
