Little Sanctuary Project

HEADMASTER JASON ROBINSON

Chapel centers and grounds us, providing a symbol of stability and enduring values that will never change. At the same time, it reminds us to look upwards and outwards, to pursue a life in service to ideals larger than oneself.

Artistic Renderings

Little Sanctuary Update

St. Albans is actively fundraising for the this project. If you would like to support the project or learn more, please contact Executive Director for Development & Alumni Relations Melanie Hoffmann (202-537-2355) or Director of Major Gifts Ted Pelonis (202-537-5790).
The Little Sanctuary project continues apace – and as of February 2025 on schedule! – with hopes that our school community will be back inside for chapel before the end of the school year.

Work began last June, right after Commencement, as we packed up stained glass windows for safe storage, removed pews, secured the organ and other historic architectural elements, and opened up the interior. Outside, once a crane successfully lifted the massive, 12,000-pound sundial, progress began on the new east end.

The team immediately dug a huge hole and poured concrete for the basement and mechanical room and erected the beams to support the structure.

Now the concrete floor is poured, walls are up, the roof is secure, and the new central tower, with characteristic crenellation, overlooks Senior Circle.
Workers now are focused on the details: Over the next few weeks, on the exterior, we’ll see the zinc-covered copper crosses and trim that embellish the roof, the slate roof tiles, and the pebble-dash stucco wall surfaces. (After the stucco is applied to the exterior, pebbles [now in a pile on the Yard] will, literally, be tossed at the stucco.)

Inside the southern yellow pine trusses are in place and dry wall is going up. The new and temporarily removed stained glass windows will be put in place shortly — although they will be protected with plywood until closer to the reopening. Lighting fixtures will be installed, floor tiles laid, and walls and trusses painted.


The school and the construction team have been striving to maintain the beauty of the original building—returning to a Vermont quarry to find tiles that will complement the current slate roof; searching for white- and charcoal-colored ceramic tiles to match the original flooring; re-creating the pebbledash stucco; working with a woodcarver to re-create the distinctive arched trusses that line the interior, and both refurbishing and finding a manufacturer to design matching new pews that will seat an additional 145, allowing our entire Upper School to be seated together in prayer for the first time in decades.
One highlight of the project has been working with skilled artisans to design new stained glass windows for our larger chapel. Many of the original windows incorporate abstract designs. Our chaplains, working with the artists, sought to introduce windows depicting biblical stories that resonate with our boys—Jonah and the Whale, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son—as well as beloved moments in the life of our school and the church, such as the Blessing of the Animals. At this favorite fall chapel in honor of St. Francis, boys are invited to bring their pets; this year, the chaplains blessed dozens of dogs, a few cats, a rabbit, a snake, and a fish.

Music has always been an instrumental part of our chapels, and during this project the tubular chimes in the bell tower are being restored and updated so that they can be played manually or automatically. The historic chimes—a gift to the first bishop of Washington, the Right Rev. Henry Yates Satterlee, from a former parish—remain in working condition, but several of the strikers are being sandblasted, hot-dip galvanized, and powder-coated black—and restored to their original quality so that we may again hear “Men of the Future, Stand,” and other beloved hymns and carols ring out across campus.

Integral to the project are complete upgrades to HVAC, electrical, audiovisual, wireless, and lighting systems. The school will replace and upgrade fire protections and alarms and will bring the building up to applicable code and life safety standards.

The goal of the project, according to architect Cal Bowie ’69, is to expand and bring up to date while ensuring all who return to the Little Sanctuary feel they are returning to a familiar place, the beloved chapel they knew as students. “I want alumni to step inside and say, ‘Wow, this is the Little Sanctuary I know and remember. When are you going to renovate it?’” Noted Headmaster Jason Robinson: “Chapel centers and grounds us, providing a symbol of stability and enduring values that will never change. At the same time, it reminds us to look upwards and outwards, to pursue a life in service to ideals larger than oneself.”

We look forward to gathering together once again in the Little Sanctuary in May 2025.


Get In Touch

Contact:

List of 2 members.

  • Photo of Melanie Hoffmann

    Melanie Hoffmann 

    Executive Director for Development and Alumni Relations
    (202) 537-2355
  • Photo of Ted Pelonis

    Ted Pelonis 

    Director, Major Gifts
    (202) 537-5790
Located in Washington D.C., St. Albans School is a private, all boys day and boarding school. For more than a century, St. Albans has offered a distinctive educational experience for young men in grades 4 through 12. While our students reach exceptional academic goals and exhibit first-rate athletic and artistic achievements, as an Episcopal school we place equal emphasis upon moral and spiritual education.