Heinz Memorial Chapel facts for kids
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Heinz Memorial Chapel
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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Heinz Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh
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| Location | Intersection of 5th Ave and S Bellefield Ave |
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| Nearest city | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Built | 1933–1938 |
| Architect | Charles Klauder |
| Architectural style | French Gothic Revival |
| Part of | Schenley Farms Historic District (ID83002213) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 22, 1983 |
The Heinz Memorial Chapel is a beautiful and historic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It's considered a special landmark by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. It's also part of the Schenley Farms National Historic District.
Contents
Discovering the Chapel's Story
The chapel was a gift from Henry John Heinz, who founded the famous H.J. Heinz Company. He wanted to honor his mother, Anna Margaretha Heinz, with a building at the university. After he passed away in 1919, his three children – Howard, Irene, and Clifford – added to his gift. They wanted to remember their grandmother and also honor their father. They chose a chapel because Anna Margaretha Heinz believed strongly in both education and religion.
Many people worked hard to make the chapel a reality. Howard Heinz, along with the University's Chancellor John Gabbert Bowman, and university secretary Joh Weber, were key figures. Other Heinz family members and two important religious leaders, Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr and Dr. Henry Sloane Coffin, also helped.
Construction began in 1933, and the first stone was laid in 1934. When the chapel was officially opened on November 20, 1938, Howard Heinz explained its meaning. He said it was in the community where his father was born and lived. He also said that as part of the university, it was "dedicated to culture, understanding response to beauty, and religious worship."
Chancellor Bowman also shared his thoughts when the cornerstone was laid. He said the chapel was designed to be a special place for worship at the university. He believed that even if how people worship changed over time, the chapel would always stand "calm and undisturbed."
Since it opened, the Heinz family and their charities, along with other donations, have helped support the chapel financially. In 1996, an elevator was added to the chapel's north side. This made it easier for people with disabilities to access the building. This important addition cost $1.25 million and was paid for by the Heinz Endowments and university funds.
Key Dates in Chapel History
- January 1914 – Henry John Heinz announced his gift of $100,000 to build a memorial for his mother. He wanted the building to be used only for student religious and social activities.
- November 4, 1929 – A formal agreement was made between Henry Heinz's children and the University of Pittsburgh.
- August 15, 1933 – Groundbreaking for the chapel began.
- February 1934 – The cornerstone was officially set.
- June 20, 1934 – Howard Heinz signed a contract to buy a large pipe organ for $24,000. This organ had about 4,295 pipes!
- November 20, 1938 – The chapel was officially opened. Dr. Russell G. Wichmann, the first organist, played at the dedication.
- November 23, 1938 – The first student service was held. The chapel was so full that many students couldn't get in.
- January 11, 1946 – The very first wedding ceremony took place in the chapel.
- 1992 – A scene for the movie Lorenzo's Oil was filmed inside Heinz Chapel.
- 1996 – An addition with an elevator was built on the north side of the chapel.
What the Chapel is Used For Today
Heinz Memorial Chapel is used for many different religious services. It was designed to be a place for everyone, no matter their faith. The chapel is open every day of the year, except on University holidays.
About 1,500 events happen here each year, bringing in over 100,000 people! These events include religious services, weddings, concerts, classes, and guided tours. Between 170 and 190 weddings are held annually. Only people connected to the University of Pittsburgh or Heinz employees can get married here. The chapel is also home to the Heinz Chapel Choir.
Throughout the school year, the Pittsburgh Compline Choir sings a special evening service called Compline on Sunday nights.
The Chapel's Amazing Design
Architecture: A Gothic Masterpiece
The chapel was designed in a style called Neo-Gothic. This style looks like the grand churches built in Europe centuries ago. The architect was Charles Klauder, who also designed the famous Cathedral of Learning and the Stephen Foster Memorial. Both of these buildings are right next to the chapel on Pitt's campus.
The chapel is 146 feet (44 meters) long and 55 feet (17 meters) wide at its widest part. The main hall, called the nave, is 100 feet (30 meters) high. The tall, slender spire on top, called a fleche, reaches 256 feet (78 meters) above the ground! The chapel's walls, both inside and out, are made of Indiana Limestone.
Sadly, Klauder passed away just a few weeks before the chapel was officially opened.
Stonework: Stories in Stone
The chapel's walls are made of gray Indiana limestone. The inside ceiling looks like stone but is actually a special ceramic tile. The floor is made of crab orchard stone and Vermont green slate. The altar area has marble floors, and the altar itself is made of beautiful Numidian marble from Egypt.
The detailed stone carvings in the chapel were done by Joseph Gattoni. These carvings tell stories, just like in old Gothic churches. They show the chapel's main idea: the importance of spiritual values in education. Charles Connick, who designed the stained glass windows, also helped design many of the stone carvings. This includes the shields on the walls and the carving above the main door. This carving shows Jesus with symbols of the Alpha and the Omega, representing the beginning and the end.
Exterior Carvings: A Visual Lesson
The carving above the main entrance, called the tympanum, tells an important story. It shows the boy Jesus teaching in the Temple. He holds a book with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Omega. These letters mean that all human knowledge is contained between them.
To the left of Jesus, you can see Moses with the Ten Commandments. Below Moses, there are medallions (round carvings) with portraits of prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah, and kings like David.
To the right of Jesus, there's St. Luke. Below him are medallions with figures who represent Jesus's spiritual influence. These include St. Francis of Assisi (for charity), Leonardo da Vinci (imagination), Newton (understanding), and Lincoln (leadership).
Outside, you can also see the symbols of Europe's twelve oldest universities carved on shields. Below them are the seals of colleges and universities founded in the United States before 1820.
Inside the Chapel: More Symbols
Just above the main entrance inside, you'll find the seal of the University of Pittsburgh. This is next to the seals of the City of Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Inside, other stone carvings show the Torah and the Bible, and shields of the twelve Apostles. These carvings often match the theme of the stained glass window closest to them.
High up, around the transept (the part that crosses the main hall), are shields with the symbols of the twelve oldest European universities. Below them are the seals of early American colleges.
In the entrance area, called the Narthex, two shields represent the Old and New Testaments. Near the altar, under the Faith, Hope, and Charity windows, are shields of the twelve apostles. Under the Justice and Wisdom windows, there are fourteen shields representing the "beatitudes," or gifts of the soul.
Over a small door to the left of the altar, you'll see a carving of the Sacred Monogram above a Tree of Life. Next to the door are a unicorn, which means goodness, and a phoenix, which means immortality.
In the main crossing area of the chapel, eight large shields represent the eight beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. Along the aisles, other shields show symbols of important Christian thinkers. High up, near the clerestory windows, fourteen shields represent the seven liberal arts and seven medieval crafts.
Wood and Iron Work: Craftsmanship Details
All the visible wood in the chapel is oak. This includes the huge entrance doors, each weighing 800 pounds! The reredos (the screen behind the altar), choir stalls, and pews are made of beautiful English oak. The wood carvings were done by a company from Boston. The four figures carved in the reredos represent the saints Peter, John, Paul the Apostle, and James.
All the metal work, like the lanterns, door handles, and stair railings, was made by Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia. He also created much of the metal work in the nearby Cathedral of Learning.
The Stunning Stained Glass Windows
The Artist Behind the Light
The chapel has 23 incredible stained glass windows. They were designed by Charles Connick and made in his Boston studio. These windows cover about 4,000 square feet (370 square meters) and contain nearly 250,000 pieces of glass! You can find 391 identifiable people in the windows, plus many animals and plants.
Connick was a talented artist who had also worked for the Pittsburgh Press. He wrote a book about stained glass called Adventures in Light and Color. He also designed windows for famous cathedrals in New York City and chapels at Princeton University. It's special that Heinz Memorial Chapel has all its windows by Mr. Connick. This is unusual, as most churches like to have different artists' work. But Connick worked so closely with the chapel planners that he was chosen for all the windows.
Colors and Their Meanings
Just like stone carvings use symbols, colors in stained glass have meanings. Mr. Connick used this "language of color" in Heinz Chapel to express feelings that words can't capture.
- Red – a warm, active color, suggesting strong devotion, divine love, and heroism.
- Blue – a cool, calm color, like the light of heaven. It means divine wisdom, deep thought, and lasting loyalty.
- White – represents spiritual achievements.
And when colors are combined:
- Gold – like the treasures of the earth, meaning abundance.
- Green – combines the wisdom of blue with the richness of gold. It means hope, victory, happiness, and youth.
- Violet – combines the wisdom of blue with the love of red. It means justice, humility, and royalty.
The main theme of the chapel is charity, shown in the Charity window high above the altar. However, blue is the most common color in the windows. Mr. Connick believed blue was "light itself" and the most beautiful color in stained glass.
Windows of Virtue and Stories
The five windows near the altar represent important virtues: justice, faith, charity, hope, and wisdom. They show stories and people from both the Old and New Testament. Smaller windows nearby celebrate music and its role in worship.
The theme of each window is also shown through symbols related to the Tree of Life. For example, the rose symbolizes love in the Charity Window, and the fig tree symbolizes Faith.
The very tall transept windows, which are 73 feet (22 meters) high, are among the tallest stained glass windows in the world! They represent temperance, truth, tolerance, and courage. These windows are special because they show an equal number of men and women, which was not common at the time they were made. They feature many different people from religion, history, music, science, philosophy, and literature. You can find figures like Beethoven, Bach, Clara Barton, Da Vinci, Daniel Boone, Charlemagne, Emily Dickinson, Newton, Napoleon, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Florence Nightingale, Pocahontas, and Johnny Appleseed.
The four clerestory windows, high above the aisles, show great teachers of Christian thought. The three gallery windows at the west end of the chapel represent three famous Christian literary works:
- St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun: This window shows the Canticle of the Sun through medallions, stars, birds, and flames. The main figures are Brother Sun and Sister Moon.
- John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: This window tells the story of a pilgrim's journey, from simple shapes at the bottom to the "fruit of the Tree of Life" at the top.
- The Quest for the Holy Grail from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur: This window shows the story of the search for the Holy Grail. It features lilies (symbolizing purity), lions (courage), and unicorns (virginity).
The Mighty Organ
The Chapel's First Organ
The chapel's first organ was an Aeolian Skinner pipe organ with 3,770 pipes. It was built in Boston starting in 1934. The organ pipes varied greatly in size, from as small as a pencil to large wooden boxes two feet square. The organ's control panel was hidden, and the pipes were behind a special cloth.
Upgrades Over the Years
In the 1960s, the cloth covering the pipes was removed because it was old and affected the sound. The organ needed repairs, so in 1969, a new instrument was installed by the M. P. Möller Company. This new organ had about 3,954 pipes and 82 stops (different sounds). The Heinz Endowments paid for this upgrade.
In 1989, the organ was improved even more with the addition of three electronic 32-foot pipes. This allowed the organ to make very deep, rich bass sounds. This was one of the first times electronic sounds were used to make an existing pipe organ sound even better.
The Organ Today
By the early 1990s, the Möller organ was becoming unreliable. So, the Reuter Organ Company was hired to do major work on it. This work happened at the same time as the chapel was made more accessible for people with disabilities.
The renovated Reuter organ was officially dedicated in a concert on September 24, 1995. This organ uses existing materials, which is a modern and eco-friendly way to build organs. The main control panel has three keyboards and a pedalboard, controlling all 4,272 pipes and three electronic pedal stops. For concerts, this control panel can be moved so the audience can see it. There's also a second, smaller control panel in the back of the chapel that controls pipes located there.
A very powerful "tuba" (trumpet) stop is located 90 feet (27 meters) above in a ceiling chamber, making for a truly grand sound!
