[12][13] The same year, Evans also initiated subscription fundraising for this chapel's construction to honor his late daughter Josephine, who had died of consumption in 1868 at age 24.

[14][15] Josephine had been married to former territorial governor and Colorado Supreme Court justice Samuel Hitt Elbert.

After two years, J. F. McClelland was assigned as pastor, serving in 1880 and 1881 until his poor health forced him out and left University of Denver chancellor David Hastings Moore to fill the vacancy.

[31][32][33][34] Another minister, former Indiana congressman Gilbert De La Matyr, became the chapel congregation's leader in 1886 when it numbered 183 members.

After the sermon was reprinted in the Rocky Mountain News, a new sanctuary was constructed, funded by donations, for $85,000 (equivalent to $2,882,444 in 2023).

Reisner then moved to Manhattan where he gained attention as the most oft-published Methodist pastor and as a staunch prohibitionist of "gangster sociability".

Charles O. Thibodeau made efforts to integrate Grace Church into the changing surrounding community after becoming pastor in 1915.

[41] The Grace Church Methodist congregation would move to the Denver neighborhood of University Hills after a final worship service in December 1953.

[44]: 148  Martin Rist, then President of the Rocky Mountain Methodist Historical Society, was informed of the plans and asked the university's chancellor Chester M. Alter to save the chapel.

Alter embraced the idea and penned an opinion piece in the Rocky Mountain News entitled "Let's Save the Chapel!

"[45] Instead, the chapel was disassembled, pieces marked, and transported once fully dismantled to the university's campus at a cost of $80,000 (equivalent to $823,937 in 2023).

Fourteen graduating seniors were selected to perform the dedication,[49] which was attended by 60 United Methodist Church bishops who were in Denver for the General Conference.

[50] Elements of the Harper Memorial Garden–also known as the Humanities Gardens[47]–used surplus stone from the chapel's relocation and the demolished Grace Church.

[51][56] The Evans Memorial Chapel is a relatively small structure with an exterior of rusticated Colorado red sandstone.

[1] A 1967 survey by the Colorado Historical Society assessed the building as being in "excellent" condition, though some damaged elements had been recently replaced.

[58] Due to aging and poorly executed prior repairs, some stained glass was removed to be restored with repainting and stabilization in 2022.

Broken or missing pieces were replaced using the inventory of the restoring firm—the same firm that had been employed to help move the stained glass in 1959.