Lombard's Maple Street Chapel seeking donations for sprinkler system

Maple Street Chapel is covered in wood.

Long warm-colored panels stretch up near the entrance and around the stained glass windows, forming Gothic-style arches.

Worn wooden pews - dating to the chapel's opening in 1870 - are divided into three sections, creating two aisles in the worship space. Dark red cushions line the seats and old blue Bibles fill the back slots.

Wood lines the walls, covers the ceiling and peeks out from under the carpet on the floor. With each step or gust of wind, it creaks.

By the grace of God, some might say, there has never been a fire at the historic landmark in downtown Lombard.

Ken Bohl realizes how lucky that is. He also knows, as the facility manager and vice president for the Maple Street Chapel Preservation Society, that doing something to prevent a fire from destroying the 145-year-old chapel is necessary - and overdue.

So, the society started a fundraising effort to purchase a sprinkler system for the chapel. The estimated cost is $150,000.

"Usually fire sprinklers are about saving lives. This is about saving the building," Bohl said.

There are not regularly scheduled services in the chapel. The First Church of Lombard, which owns the building, hosts special services there several times a year, on holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Concerts, weddings and funerals occasionally take place in the space, too.

More often than not, however, the building stands empty.

That doesn't mean it isn't loved by people in the village. The chapel, complete with a tall, white steeple, is part of Lombard's heritage, and the oldest public building in the village, Bohl said.

Thousands of people pass the corner where it stands each day, as they drive down Main Street or walk toward the Metra station. In a way, Bohl added, it "stands as a symbol of the hardworking people that built this town."

The chapel originally was on the opposite corner of the present-day intersection of Main Street and Maple Avenue. The same year it opened - 1869 - it caught fire and burned to the ground. The new chapel opened a year later.

Bohl said he became increasingly concerned about the threat of fire after talking with a historical restoration engineer who managed the costly and lengthy repair of a New Jersey church. Shortly after the project was complete, the church was destroyed by fire.

"I got very emotional about it," Bohl said.

The Lombard chapel already has a fire security system with 25 sensors that would directly call the fire department, should a blaze occur.

But by the time firefighters arrive, it would likely be unsafe for them to enter, Bohl said. It is estimated a fire would double in size every minute in a wood structure like the chapel.

Anyone interested in taking an inside look at the chapel this summer is welcome to take a tour from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 14, July 19 or Aug. 16.

The preservation society's float in this year's Lilac Parade will feature a model of the chapel, with flames hanging from the roof and toy firetrucks around it. Bohl said he hopes it will raise awareness about the fire sprinkler fundraiser and encourage residents to get involved.

In addition, a fundraiser banquet for the sprinkler system is being planned for September.

About $50,000 has been raised so far. That includes an anticipated donation from the preservation society's president, who is matching individuals' donations.

Bohl said the goal is to get the system installed as soon as possible, perhaps before the end of this year. Donations can be mailed to the chapel or submitted online, at www.maplestreetchapel.org.

"It's the landmark of the town, by far," he said. "To lose it would be to lose our most precious legacy of the people before us."