It once was a house of worship, but has since been turned over to secular purposes. It has housed George Washington's troops, a fire engine shop, and most recently, Harvard's choral program. More than 250 years old, Holden Chapel was showing its age.

But yesterday, deans and singers assembled to inaugurate a new Holden Chapel. Over the summer, dingy linoleum floors were replaced with wood, and walls cluttered with choral memorabilia were cleaned and covered with acoustical paneling.

Although it was used as an office space and club headquarters prior to refurbishment, the building--nestled behind Hollis and Stoughton halls--will now be used as a rehearsal hall for the three Holden Choral groups--the Harvard Glee Club, the Collegium Musicum and the Radcliffe Choral Society.

The building will also help to alleviate the growing space crunch facing the College, providing a new classroom during the daytime.

The Glee Club inaugurated the chapel's reopening yesterday, returning to the building that became its official home nearly 50 years ago. Celebrating what Jameson N. Marvin, director of choral activities, called a "renaissance" for Holden Chapel, the Glee Club began its rehearsal by singing happy birthday to the building.

And before a cheering Glee Club, Elliot Forbes '40, former conductor of the Holden Choirs, described the building's gradual association with music at Harvard.

"Holden Chapel is the closest thing to home for Harvard music," Forbes said.

Forbes made his remarks while standing in front of a mounted portrait of himself, etched in bronze.