Randolph Chapel 1 a popular wedding spot

May 5, 2015

Author: Alyssa Holroyd

If San Antonio is "the mother-in-law of the Army," as the old saying goes, she witnessed a lot of those nuptials at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph’s Chapel 1.

That’s the deceptively plain-Jane name of the exuberantly romantic structure completed in 1934 to serve as the first purpose-built chapel of what was then Randolph Field, "the West Point of the Air," where pilots were trained for the Army Air Corps. The planned "air city" near Schertz that opened in 1930 was "the largest construction project undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers since the Panama Canal," according to the Handbook of Texas. But it lacked one thing.

Randolph - then home to about 3,500 military personnel and their families - was "the only post not provided with a chapel," says the San Antonio Express, Feb. 5, 1932. Religious services led by civilian clergy first were held at the base in July 1931, says 502d Air Base Wing Historian John M. "JB" Baker. Randolph borrowed the services of a Catholic chaplain from a church in Selma, and the first Protestant military chaplain was assigned to Randolph in the spring of 1932. By the time of the Express article, religious services were held in the post theater. Many Randolph residents chose to attend churches in Schertz or San Antonio, which could be a time-consuming trip in those days before expressways and interstate highways.

A group of local officials headed by then-Bexar County Tax Collector Maury Maverick, a future member of Congress and San Antonio mayor, pressed the federal government to fund the proposed chapel, asking for an appropriation of $75,000 to $100,000. At first rebuffed with the suggestion of funding the building by public subscription, Congress awarded the project $64,500 "for a chapel to be located close to the Administration Building," says a 1955 chapel history written by then-Wing Historian Sue Compton, referring to the "Taj Mahal" tower at the center of the planned community.

picture: QueenieBridal chiffon wedding dress

Preliminary sketches by architect Marvin Eickenroht - later known for other military commissions as well as religious architecture that included St. John’s Lutheran Church — show a structure strongly influenced by San Antonio’s Spanish Colonial missions, most notably Concepción and San José (towers, buttresses, sort-of rose windows). The design was simplified and completed by architects of the Army’s Quartermaster General’s office. Constructed of "concrete, tile and cypress, with stucco walls, tile roof and cast-stone trim," says the Express, April 15, 1934, the chapel was predicted to be "a monumental addition to the fine group of buildings at Randolph Field."

The mission style was chosen because it was in keeping with the Spanish Colonial Revival style of the rest of Randolph’s original buildings. That it referenced, in the case of the chapel, a specifically Catholic tradition does not seem to have been a point of contention; local Protestant ministers had advocated for the chapel and seem not to have objected to the denominational bias of its design.

In fact, the chapel’s Sept. 2, 1934, dedication was an ecumenical affair. Representatives of the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas participated; the Travis Park Methodist Church, (it wasn’t "United" then) choir sang; a Presbyterian minister led a responsorial psalm; and Rabbi Ephraim Frisch of Temple Beth-El read the dedication scripture. Most of the 90-minute ceremony was held outside, because more than 2,000 people showed up, and the chapel only seated 400.

From then on, the Randolph Field Post Chapel, as if first was known, was a church home to those who sought one, providing regular services, Christmas pageants and a place for rites of passage, such as weddings and funerals.

Especially just before and during World War II, "Couple weds in Randolph Chapel" was a frequent headline on the society pages of local newspapers, as women from San Antonio, Floresville, New Braunfels and beyond became the brides of "flying lieutenants" and others stationed at Randolph. Many of the brides were local, but some, like many of the grooms, came from all over the country. They were marrying their hometown sweethearts or solemnizing whirlwind romances, while they still could. Often, the announcements concluded with the grooms’ next duty station, with no mention of a honeymoon.

Some of the chapel’s most striking features were installed during and after the war. Six memorial stained-glass windows - several in memory of fallen comrades - were dedicated in 1942 and 1943. The last was presented by the enlisted personnel of Randolph Field, says the 1955 history, with an inscription "in memory of their buddies who have given their all for the cause of freedom." A $6,000 altar "evidencing the highest type of carving by skilled woodworkers" — replaced the "temporary" original one in 1947.

Otherwise, the chapel has changed little since its completion 81 years ago. A $1.4 million renovation in 2011 updated its heating and cooling systems, electrical wiring, light fixtures and windows. Now known as Chapel 1, the venerable building still hosts Catholic and Protestant services and is the venue for about 100 weddings each year. "Most are not conducted by chaplains assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, but by other chaplains or civilian clergy," says Public Affairs Chief Marilyn C. Holliday. To be eligible to have a ceremony there, "Either the bride or groom must possess a valid ID card and can be an active-duty or reserve military member, family member or retiree."

Valerie and Kenneth Hughes chose the chapel for their Nov. 4, 2006, nuptials because it was "beautiful and simple, (and) as intimate and personal as our wedding was," says Valerie Hughes, whose father D. Perry Sell II served from 1995 to 2001 at Randolph with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The mission-style bell towers held "a romantic appeal" for the bride, who remembers hearing the bells ring at the close of the ceremony. "Not a lot of churches have them anymore, and it was a memory I will cherish always." Out-of-state guests from her side of the family "were just in awe of how pristine the chapel was."

On the eve of the chapel’s dedication, an editorial writer called the "beautiful chapel.... a monument to man’s religious nature, which certainly extends to his conquest of the air," in the Express, Sept. 2, 1934. Considering its use by people of different faiths, the writer concludes that "This example of comrades dwelling together might be commended to the denominations’ leaders."