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.

Marvin pointed to the rendering, as well as a painting of the Glee Club's first conductor, Archibald T. Davison, and a statue given to the Glee Club on its European tour in 1921, a trip which made the Glee Club the first American college chorus to complete an international tour, as symbols of the college's musical history.

The three choirs had to relocate their offices during the renovation, but Glee Club officers--who were the first to use the new space during their rehearsal yesterday--said it was worth it for the renewed space.

"The Harvard Glee Club, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum are proud to be parts of--and ambassadors for--a benevolent college that does all it can to nurture the talents of its students," said Glee Club President David A. Boyajian '00.

The renovations brought to the chapel a polished wooden floor and reshaped the ceiling to improve sound resonance. It now houses updated electrical and mechanical systems and added plumbing. And to accommodate daytime teaching in the building, the College added audio and visual technology.

For architects Oliver Radford and Stephan C. Perry, who planned the reconstruction, the project offered an opportunity to mold the aesthetics of a historic part of the Harvard campus.

"The building has more than 250 years of history," Radford said. "It was a special project, working on the chapel, because of its unique location and unique program."

Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth '71, who began the ceremony, said the renovations symbolize the direction in which the College is heading.

"[The renovation] is a great example of how people at Harvard can work together," Illingworth said. "This is a very exciting harbinger of things to come."

Construction hit only one remarkable snag this summer. After human bones were uncovered beneath the chapel, the project was stalled for five weeks.

An archeological excavation determined the bones deposits were remains from research performed during one of the chapel's other notable incarnations: the original home of the Harvard Medical School.