The ceremony was officiated with an opening prayer by the Reverend John Lowe Fort, followed by the hymn “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken".

[10][11][12] An inscription which was carved into the granite reads; "Dedicated to the service of God erected in memory of the founder of this university Ira Allen - 1925".

[18] James Benjamin Wilbur was a wealthy businessman and American history enthusiast who had made his fortune in ranching and banking in Colorado, and serving as president of the Royal Trust Company of Chicago until his retirement and move to Vermont in 1909.

[19][20] In this time Wilbur discovered and developed keen intrigue in the historically controversial character of Ira Allen, subsequently resolving that it was "a sacred duty to undertake the writing of his life.

[8][22][23] The work has been criticized as it purportedly relied solely upon the English language correspondence that Wilbur found while undertaking his research in Paris during the 1920s; thence missing sixteen french-language documents that refute Allen's long-standing claims of his motives pertaining to the Olive Branch affair.

The monument to General Lafayette, which was originally installed at this location in 1883 was moved to the north end of "the Green" (in proximity to where the Ira Allen Chapel stands today).

Wilbur hence pledged an additional $150,000, contingent upon the successful sale of a commensurate stock of timber from a property he owned on Vancouver Island.

[28] However, Wilbur's ineffable devotion to Allen over a century later suggests that compensation was made for his fiduciary lapses, at least within the context of the university's history.

There was also installed a reproducing console, which played recorded rolls in detail utilizing pedals, swells, and tempo characteristics of renown organists.

[35] Although the chapel was enlarged during the 1882–83 modernization and renovation of the Main College building, throughout the ensuing 45 years the student population continued to grow beyond its capacity.

By the early 1900s, attendance at the chapel services had become greatly reduced much to the dismay of the sitting university president of the day, Matthew Henry Buckham.

Extending an additional 40 ft. above the roof and from the center of the building (e.g. the intersection of the nave and the transepts) is a low octagonal dome topped with a lantern and golden cupola.

[29] Barre granite steps (roughly the width of the nave) ascend to the front entrance, which consists of three large doors leading to the inner vestibule.

[29] Much of the design of the building credited to William M. Kendall, a senior partner in the firm McKim, Mead & White, which utilized a "Palladian clarity of massing" and design elements reminiscent of the University of Virginia campus at Charlottesville, augmented with a New England thematic character of an "inventive eclecticism; flattened, linear crispness; and light decorativeness.

Hall (a faculty member of the English department who was made the university chaplain in 1952) and with contributions from Mrs. and Mr. John E. Booth (who were primary contributors for the little chapel in 1945).

The decision was reached after a legal investigation concluded that such use of university facilities was technically a violation of the 3rd amendment of the Constitution of Vermont, which held that ".

However, the allotted funding for the carillon was obtained from proceeds of the ill-famed annual Kake Walk winter carnival event, a racist tradition which had its origins at the university during the mid-1880s (or prior).

[54] While making major repairs to the chapel in 1954, a group of workers were trapped within the tower for four hours due to high winds that prevented their climbing down.

[55] During 1971, renovations were made to the interior, which included extensive acoustical remodeling, enlargement of the stage area, and the addition of new seating (at an estimated cost of $500,000).

It required Moose Creek Restoration a month to recreate the carved edifice in plaster and epoxy coating (weighing 200 pounds).

[29] Subsequently, the basement of the Ira Allen Chapel was converted into a production area for the Vermont Cynic newspaper, the Aerial yearbook, and the Burlington Review publication.

The new instrument had a range of almost four full octaves comprising 40 pitched tuning rods, which were played from a two-tiered keyboard located in the chapel's choir loft.

[29] During the autumn of 2018, the original 32 foot spanish cedar columns of the main facade were removed and disposed due to deterioration; and the Barre granite stairway was demolished for refurbishment.

However, as the university's historic structures were subject to the Vermont Act 250 land use statute, the Natural Resources Board, acting as the State's enforcement agency issued a letter ordering the university to cease construction work in January 2019; after six steel columns had been erected, but installed with only the leftmost four fiberglass sheaths (without any of the capitals or bases).

[citation needed] Although Ira Allen Chapel is no longer used for religious services, the facility hosts special campus events and ceremonies and has further been visited by notable speakers.