BANGOR – The heart of Bangor’s oldest institution is getting a face-lift.

The David Nelson Beach Chapel at Bangor Theological Seminary was built in 1859.

So, after 143 years, a special portion of the landmark at 300 Union St. is being repaired.

Just before the work began this summer, a seminary employee discovered a surprise in the belfry: not bats, but carved names, possibly by the original workers.

“It’s been several years since work was done on the chapel,” said Mary Lou Colbath, seminary spokeswoman. With the chapel tower surrounded by staging erected by Seacoast Scaffold & Equipment Corp., Colbath said, “It all looks quite dramatic.”

The chapel tower construction can be seen from blocks away. The top of the belfry reaches some 100 feet and peeks above most of the neighboring buildings.

Contractor Nickerson & O’Day Inc. of Brewer began work on the chapel earlier this summer.

Jim Brochu, the seminary’s maintenance director, said the contractors are stripping the exterior of the tower and applying wood siding. The siding will be painted and restored to the original white shade of the tower, and the project should be completed sometime in October.

“There have been no real issues in the construction process,” Brochu said. “It’s going along pretty smoothly.”

Money from the seminary’s capital campaign, “Opening Doors to the Future,” is paying for the repairs.

Work on the chapel tower was one of the main construction projects to be tackled using capital campaign funds. Years of deferred maintenance, typical New England weather and damage from birds entering the belfry contributed to the need for repairs, Brochu said.

The interior of the chapel tower will not be affected by the renovations.

Before construction, Brochu discovered several names carved into the interior wood of the belfry. Some of the carvings include dates going back to the 1800s. Brochu suspects the names may be those of workers who originally constructed the chapel.

The 19th century inscriptions include W.R. Barbour, W.E. Smith Aug. ’74 Perry, and F. Lincoln ’75.

In 1829, fire destroyed the original chapel and the seminary went without a formal chapel for 30 years. As a tradition, when seminary seniors finish their last paper of the year, they go to the chapel and ring the bell.

According to information stamped into the bell, it was cast in 1836 in East Medway, Mass. It is not known when the bell actually was placed in the chapel belfry.

“Historic buildings take a lot of love and care,” Colbath said. Since the seminary moved to its Bangor location in 1819, there are plenty of old buildings to tend to.

This summer, compact shelves are being installed in Moulton Library to help with space problems. Improvements also are being made to inventory and the cataloguing system.

In addition, new carpets are being put down in Wellman Commons, built in 1895 to serve as the seminary’s gymnasium. With the old carpets taken up, the basketball court and shuffleboard markings, covered when the gym was transformed into a commons in 1986, are visible. Since its conversion, numerous functions and dinners held in the commons have led to wear and tear.

Wellman Commons is connected to Beach Chapel via the Hutchins Center, built in 1986. The center houses a lounge and kitchen on its first level, with classrooms and conference room on the second.

Upon completion of the tower renovation, seminary officials hope to install a piece of sculpture, given to the seminary by an anonymous donor, in front of the chapel. They also hope to replace the utility pole lights in the area with period-appropriate lampposts.