While there was no standalone chapel building on the campus until 1956, various college buildings provided space for services over time. The first chapel on campus was located inside the Seminary building, completed in 1824. The chapel subsequently relocated to the first College Building (destroyed by fire in 1854), and then to the first University Building (later known as the "Old College Building"). Weekday religious services for students were held in Maxwell Hall (renamed Mitchell Hall in 1894) beginning in 1885.

Students at Indiana University were required to attend morning chapel services throughout much of the 1800s, with the exception of students who were "specially excused." The IU annual reports from the era listed religious services under "class work": student attendance was "required" through the 1885-1886 school year and "expected" through 1889-1890. By 1891, chapel attendance requirements were no longer stipulated, and by 1907 chapel services were held only occasionally in the Student Building.

To learn more about the chapel and student mandatory attendance see Camille B. Kandiko's,"Pray! Or Not to Pray: The History of Chapel at Indiana University an Illumination of Institutional Practice and Policy," Journal of the Indiana University Student Personnel Association (2005), pp.25-37.