Kirkpatrick Chapel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick Memorial Chapel |
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Kirkpatrick Chapel in 2018
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Non-denominational |
| Year consecrated | 1873 |
| Status | University chapel |
| Location | |
| Location | Queens Campus, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Henry Janeway Hardenbergh |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Funded by | Bequest from Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick |
| Completed | 1873 |
| Construction cost | $52,204.57 (2013: US$1,003,893.88) |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 650 |
| Length | 116 feet (35 m) |
| Width | 57.5 feet (18 m) |
| Height (max) | 55 feet (17 m) |
| Materials | Brownstone |
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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| Part of | Queens Campus, Rutgers University (ID73001113) |
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| Designated CP | July 2, 1973 |
The Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick Memorial Chapel, often called Kirkpatrick Chapel, is a special building at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It's one of the oldest buildings on the university's main campus, located in a historic area known as the Queens Campus. Built in 1872, when Rutgers was a smaller, private college, the chapel was designed by a talented architect named Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. He was just starting his career and had family ties to Rutgers, as his great-great-grandfather was the university's first president.
The chapel is named after Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick. She was the wife of Littleton Kirkpatrick, a local lawyer and politician who served on the Rutgers College board. When Sophia passed away in 1871, she left a large sum of money to Rutgers. This gift, over $61,000 (which would be more than $1 million today), paid for the chapel's construction. This was a big deal, as it was the first time in New Jersey history that an organization directly inherited money from someone's estate.
Kirkpatrick Chapel was built in the Gothic Revival style, which was popular in the mid-1800s. Its design includes features from old German and English Gothic churches. The chapel is also famous for its beautiful stained glass windows, some of the first made in America with special "opalescent" glass. Four of these windows were even created by the famous artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. The chapel is part of the Queens Campus Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
For its first 30 years, the chapel was used as both a college library and for daily chapel services. Today, Rutgers is a state university and welcomes people of all faiths. The chapel is open to students, alumni, and teachers for many different services. It's also used for important university events like graduation ceremonies, concerts, weddings, funerals, and talks by famous thinkers and leaders.
Contents
A Look Back at Kirkpatrick Chapel
How the Chapel Came to Be
Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick (1802–1871) passed away on March 6, 1871. In her will, she left a large part of her money to Rutgers College. At that time, Rutgers was a small, private college in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was connected to the Dutch Reformed Christian faith. Rutgers was founded in 1766 as Queen's College, making it the eighth-oldest college in the United States. It was one of only nine colleges started in the American colonies before the Revolutionary War. Rutgers says that Sophia Kirkpatrick's gift was the first time in New Jersey history that a college directly inherited money from someone's will.
Sophia was the daughter of a rich merchant from Philadelphia. She married Littleton Kirkpatrick (1797–1859) in 1832. Littleton was a lawyer and came from a wealthy family in New Brunswick. He became a politician, serving as mayor of New Brunswick and even in the U.S. House of Representatives. They did not have any children. Littleton was a trustee for Rutgers College for 18 years until he died in 1859. Sophia stayed in New Brunswick after her husband's death. She was known for her kindness and charity.
The Kirkpatrick family had a long history with Queen's College and Rutgers. Many family members were trustees or graduated from the college. For example, Littleton's father, Andrew Kirkpatrick, taught at the Queen's College Grammar School and was a trustee. Several of Littleton's nephews also studied at Rutgers.
Designing and Building the Chapel
In 1870, the leaders of Rutgers College decided to build a new chapel when they had enough money. Before this, chapel services were held in another building called Old Queen's. But as more students joined the college, a bigger space was needed. When Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick died in 1871 and left money to Rutgers, the trustees decided to use those funds to build the university chapel.
A young architect named Henry Janeway Hardenbergh (1847–1918) was hired in 1870. He had just finished his training and started his own company. Hardenbergh grew up in New Brunswick and got the job because of his family's connections to Rutgers. His great-great-grandfather, Rev. Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, was Rutgers' first president. Henry Hardenbergh had already designed an addition to another Rutgers building.
After that, Hardenbergh was hired to design a Gothic Revival-style building called Geological Hall, which was built in 1872. The new chapel, designed by Hardenbergh to match Geological Hall, would be built next to it. Kirkpatrick Chapel was the third building Hardenbergh designed for Rutgers. He was at the beginning of his career. Later, he became very famous for designing many hotels and skyscrapers, including New York City's Plaza Hotel and the Dakota Building.
Kirkpatrick Chapel was built on a hill where it's believed Alexander Hamilton placed his cannons during the American Revolution. This helped protect George Washington's soldiers as they retreated from the British in 1776. A historical marker near the chapel remembers this event.
The chapel cost about $52,000 to build and was officially opened on December 3, 1873. It could seat 350 people. The back part of the building also had classrooms, the college president's office, and a library on the second floor.
In 1916, the chapel was made into one large room. William P. Hardenbergh, the architect's brother, gave $10,000 for this project. This was done to honor their ancestor, Rutgers' first president. The walls that separated the chapel from the library and other rooms were removed. This made the chapel much larger, increasing its capacity from 350 to 800 people. However, today, fire safety rules limit the capacity to 650 people.
The Chapel Today
For its first 50 years, Kirkpatrick Chapel was used for daily worship services for Rutgers students. As the student body grew, the daily services became less frequent. After World War II, Rutgers became a public university and was no longer connected to a specific church.
Today, the chapel is used for many university events. These include welcoming new students, lectures, and special programs. Even though it's not used for daily worship anymore, it's still a very important part of Rutgers traditions. Since 1876, graduating classes have carved their class year into a stone on the outside of the chapel. New classes engrave their stones next to the class that graduated 50 years before them. The chapel is also a popular place for weddings, baptisms, memorial services, and concerts. The university's Kirkpatrick Choir and other music groups often perform there.
The Chapel as a Library
When the chapel was first built, the college president worked to get books for the library inside it. By 1876, Rutgers had over 6,800 books in its college library. In 1884, a librarian was hired to manage the growing collection. He worked hard and added 21,000 more books. However, by 1894, the library was becoming too small.
By 1903, the library in Kirkpatrick Chapel had 45,000 books. They were so crowded that many were hidden or piled on the floor. It was clear a new, bigger library was needed. A couple named Ralph and Elizabeth Rodman Voorhees heard about Rutgers' need for a new library. They donated $59,000 (which would be over $1.5 million today) to build a new one. The new library, called Voorhees Hall, was built on land behind Kirkpatrick Chapel. Voorhees Hall opened in 1903 and was the main library until a larger one, the Archibald S. Alexander Library, opened in 1956.
Special Moments at the Chapel
- In 1957, the famous American poet Robert Frost gave a poetry reading at the chapel.
- In 1981, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited the chapel. Rutgers gave her an honorary degree that had been given to her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, in 1941. This was to honor Queen Wilhelmina's bravery during World War II.
Chapel Architecture
Kirkpatrick Chapel was designed to match the Gothic Revival style of Geology Hall, which was built the year before. Both buildings use New Jersey brownstone, a strong reddish-brown sandstone. This material was popular for buildings in New York City and New Jersey because it was easy to shape.
The chapel's design is a "restrained" (meaning not too fancy) version of Gothic architecture. It avoids the overly decorative parts of typical Victorian Gothic buildings. The front of the chapel has a porch with three archways and strong supports called buttresses. These features remind people of German Gothic churches. The chapel also has tall, narrow windows called lancet windows and looks like an "English country church."
Inside, the chapel has a main area called a nave and side aisles. The roof is made of open timber in dark walnut and stained pine. The inside is described as having a "graceful interior of wood" with "light, delicate proportions."
Kirkpatrick Chapel is recognized as an important historical building. It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in 1973 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Inside the Chapel
The Organ
Since 1916, Kirkpatrick Chapel has had a large pipe organ. It's considered one of the best examples of its kind in New Jersey. In 1916, the daughter of a Rutgers alumnus donated $10,000 (over $212,000 today) for a new organ. This gift came at the same time as Rutgers' 150th anniversary and the chapel's renovation.
The organ was built in 1916 by the Ernest M. Skinner & Company of Boston. Ernest M. Skinner was known as the best organ-builder in the early 1900s. He personally oversaw the building of this organ. When it was first installed, it had 33 stops, 24 registers, and 1,606 pipes. In 1931, chimes were added.
From 1958 to 1961, the organ was updated and rebuilt by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. It was expanded to 59 stops and 3,059 pipes.
As of 2013, the chapel's organ had stopped working due to problems. A modern electronic organ has been used temporarily. Rutgers is still deciding whether to fix the old organ or buy a new pipe organ as part of a larger chapel restoration project.
Stained Glass Windows
Kirkpatrick Chapel has many beautiful stained glass windows. About twenty tall, narrow lancet windows along the sides were donated by graduating classes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. These windows show their class year and phrases in Ancient Greek and Latin.
Four of the chapel's windows were designed and made by the famous Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) studios. These windows are special because they use "opalescent" glass, which has more than one color fused together. This was a new technique at the time.
One of the Tiffany windows, showing Joan of Arc, was given in memory of a Rutgers student named Henry Janeway Weston. Another large window in the front of the chapel, called "Jesus, the Teacher of the Ages," was also designed by Tiffany studios. It was given to honor Rutgers' first president, Rev. Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh.
A large window above the chapel's entrance, called the "Charter Window," remembers the signing of the charter that created Queen's College in 1766. This window was donated by the Frelinghuysen family to honor their ancestor, Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who helped start the college.
The chapel's stained glass windows underwent a long restoration project starting in 2004.
Portraits and Memorial Plaques
Inside Kirkpatrick Chapel, you can find many portraits. An alumnus named Edward Sullivan Vail helped collect over sixty paintings of Rutgers presidents, important trustees, professors, and Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick herself. Sophia's portrait is the only one of a woman in this collection. Some of the oldest portraits date back to the 1700s.
The chapel walls also have special plaques that list the names of Rutgers graduates who died while serving in wars. In 1966, it was noted that the names of 234 men and two women from Rutgers who died "in the line of duty" were written in the chapel's Service Book. This number has grown since then, with more alumni lost in later conflicts like the Vietnam War and recent conflicts in the Middle East.
