The Graceland Cemetery Chapel in Avoca, Iowa is a 320 square-foot single-story, single-space building constructed around 1875. The chapel, also referred to as the “Octagon Building,” is a picturesque object-in-field structure acting as a key focal point in the undulating wooded landscape of the surrounding Graceland Cemetery.
The Graceland Cemetery Chapel rehabilitation was performed under two Separate Prime Contracts. First, roofing and architectural repairs were carried out by Avoca’s Martin and Sons Construction Incorporated including the refurbishment of the brick chimney and replacement of the existing (circa 1986) wood shingles with new smooth-sawn western red cedar shingles. Entry doors were also replaced, carpentry details were repaired, and overall finishing and site work was carried out. Subsequently, the six pointed-arch windows and two matching transoms were restored by Terry Phillips with T.K. Enterprises with re-installation of the transom sashes in December of 2019.
