| The Wesleyan Chapel was the site of the first
women's rights
convention. The design for restoration was chosen in a
competition sponsored by
the
National Endowment for the
Arts. As there
were no images available portraying the Chapel as it looked
in 1848, a design
was chosen that avoids conjecture and clearly presents the
remaining original
portions,enclosed in a new protective structure.
|  |
 | Shown
here before the restoration project began are the many changes made to the
chapel
over the years, including the removal of the original front and rear
walls. Tops
of windows were rounded when the site was converted to an opera
hall. Before
acquisition in 1985, the site also housed a movie theater, an
automobile
dealership, and finally, a laundromat. |
|
The
competition for the design of the Chapel project was won by Ann Marshall and
Ray
Kinoshita.They are pictured here with their model of the finished site,
which
includes the First Assembly of God Church, Visitors Center, Declaration Park,
and the
remains of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. |
 |
| Details about the Chapel Project are included
in a videotape entitled "The Wesleyan Chapel - Birthplace of Women's
Rights". Copies of the tape are available in the Visitors Center Library |
