Since opening its doors in 1932, the Duke Chapel has served as the spiritual and physical heart of West Campus. The magnificent space has been the site of convocations, inaugurations, musical performances, lectures, and more. The quad outside the Chapel has been a frequent place of community gathering, whether to celebrate a triumph or protest an injustice.

We know that the Chapel was designed by Julian Abele of the Horace Trumbauer firm, and Abele is now commemorated with the naming of Abele Quad outside the Chapel. But what are the stories of the workers who built the Chapel? Many of the names and faces have been forgotten, but they can be rediscovered in old ledgers and memos, in photographs and reports. Stone By Stone: Who Built the Chapel? (SBS) is a Story+ project that sought to resurface these names, faces, and stories, which are essential to both Duke and Durham history. Students researched primary source materials to identify as many names as possible and created a website that looked at wage variance, dimensions of race and class, and the social and cultural world of these workers.