Weddings
Walk a center aisle between oak pews under stained glass, then take the party downstairs to the fellowship hall.
- Center aisle processional
- Reception hall downstairs
- Getting-ready lounge
Historic wedding & event venue · Durham, NC
A chapel for vows, curtain calls & encores.
A domed, columned landmark a few minutes from downtown Durham, with a balconied sanctuary upstairs and a chandelier-lit hall below. Open for weddings, theater, concerts and gatherings of every size.
201 S Alston Ave
Durham, NC 27701
Seats up to 250
The front stepsBuilt 1925 · East Durham
One room, four programs.
Seating up to 250 guests. The same nave that holds a hushed exchange of vows can carry a string quartet, a two-act play or a company all-hands. The seating moves, the lighting shifts, and the acoustics do the rest.
Theater
The chancel becomes a stage, the pews become a house and the wraparound balcony becomes the mezzanine.
- Raised performance area
- Balcony seating
- Multi-night runs
Concerts
A beamed ceiling, hardwood floors and a horseshoe balcony give acoustic sets a natural bloom. Choirs, chamber groups and singer-songwriters sound their best here.
- Acoustic & amplified sets
- Listening-room seating
- Ticketed or private
Corporate
Keynote in the sanctuary, lunch in the hall, breakouts in the conference room. One building, the whole agenda.
- Keynote & panel layouts
- Conference room
- Catering serving line
Inside the chapel.
Stained glass on two levels, brass chandeliers, curved oak pews and a balcony that wraps the room. Come see it in person, ideally when the afternoon light hits the windows.
Beyond the sanctuary.
The building works as a full event campus. Every event gets rooms for dinner, for getting ready and for the people running the show.
Fellowship hall
Chandeliers, long banquet tables and a built-in serving line for receptions, dinners and catered lunches.
The lounge
Sofas, soft light and a door that closes. A getting-ready suite for the wedding party or a green room for performers.
Conference room
A long oval table, leather chairs and a wall-mounted screen for breakouts, planning meetings or a quiet signing.
Upper room
A second, smaller hall with a drop-down projection screen. Use it for rehearsals, workshops or an intimate set.
Food & drink, handled.
Add bar and catering service to any booking. One team plans the menu and the pour with you, so the room and the refreshments are covered in one conversation.
A custom bar poured from 
We build the bar around your event, featuring spirits from Weldon Mills Distillery, a veteran-owned craft distillery in Weldon, North Carolina.
- Signature cocktails named for the couple, the show or the company
- Welcome pours and toasts featuring Weldon Mills spirits
- Full bar or a focused menu of a few drinks done well
- Tasting stations for corporate and private gatherings
Food catering for every format
From passed bites at a reception to a seated dinner in the fellowship hall, catering is sized to your guest count and your schedule.
- Plated dinners, buffets and family-style service
- Passed hors d'oeuvres for receptions and intermissions
- Breakfast, lunch and coffee service for corporate days
- Built-in serving line in the fellowship hall
A century on Alston Avenue.
The building began as a mill-village church for East Durham's cotton workers. It went on to host one of the South's first sit-in campaigns. Each new owner has kept the doors open to the neighborhood.
- 1880s
Commonwealth Methodist Episcopal Church
A congregation forms to serve the mill community, likely named for the Commonwealth Cotton Manufacturing Company two blocks away.
- 1904
Renamed Branson Methodist
The church takes the name of W.H. Branson, director of the Durham Cotton Manufacturing Company and Pearl Cotton Mills.
- 1925
The building you see today
Architect Charles W. Carlton designs the present church in the Neoclassical style, with a Byzantine-style dome above a curved facade and three doorways framed by columns. Inside, his Akron-plan sanctuary curves the pews and wraps the balcony around a central pulpit, so every seat faces the front.
- 1957
The Royal Ice Cream sit-in
Now Asbury Temple Methodist, the church is led by Rev. Douglas E. Moore. On June 23 he and six young Black activists sit in the whites-only section of the nearby Royal Ice Cream Parlor. Their arrests go all the way to the North Carolina Supreme Court. The protest came nearly three years before the Greensboro sit-ins.
- 2011–12
New Creation
Asbury Temple merges with Reconciliation United Methodist to form New Creation UMC, which returns to worship in the renovated building in October 2012.
- Later
Greater Bethlehem Temple
A Pentecostal congregation, Greater Bethlehem Temple Apostolic Faith Church, makes the building its home.
- Today
The Chapel by Weldon Mills
The sanctuary opens to the whole city for weddings, performances, concerts and gatherings.
A sanctuary built to gather people. We just widened the guest list.
Seats up to 250
Maximum seated capacity is 250 guests across the sanctuary floor and the wraparound balcony that circles it.
Stained glass
Leaded windows on both levels and over the front doors.
A landmark facade
Corinthian columns, a white dome and grand brick steps for photos.
Parking
27 spaces on site, plus street parking a block away on S Holman St.
Near downtown
Minutes from downtown Durham, the Bull City's hotels and restaurants.
Bar & catering
A custom bar with Weldon Mills spirits and catering for any format.
Get in touch
Tell us about your event and we'll get in touch to discuss details.
- Address
- 201 S Alston Ave
Durham, NC 27701 - Capacity
- Up to 250 seated
- Events
- Weddings · Theater · Concerts · Corporate
- Phone
- (984) 666-5208
- thechapel@weldonmills.com
- Tours
- By appointment
Parking
Where to park
27on-site spaces
On-site parking is limited. For large events, please leave these spaces for guests with mobility needs.
Street parking is available on S Holman St:
- Leave the chapel heading south on S Alston Ave.
- Turn right on Angier Ave.
- Turn right on S Holman St and park along the street.