Pettit Memorial Chapel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Pettit Memorial Chapel
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1100 N. Main St., Belvidere, Illinois |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Architectural style | Prairie style |
| Visitation | 50–100 (2003) |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001112 |
| Added to NRHP | December 1, 1978 |
The Pettit Memorial Chapel, also known as Pettit Chapel, is a special building designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built in 1907. You can find this chapel in the Belvidere Cemetery in Belvidere, Illinois, United States. This cemetery is in Boone County.
The Belvidere Cemetery started in 1837 and has about 13,000 graves. The Pettit Chapel was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1978. It's a great example of Frank Lloyd Wright's well-known Prairie style of architecture. This chapel is the only building designed by Wright for funerals that was actually built during his life.
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History of the Pettit Chapel
The Pettit Memorial Chapel is named after Dr. William Henry Pettit (1851-1899). His wife, Emma Glasner Pettit (1855-1924), gave the chapel to the Belvidere Cemetery Association. She asked Frank Lloyd Wright to design it in 1906, seven years after her husband passed away.
The building was finished in 1907 and cost about US$3,000. It stands close to the graves of Dr. and Mrs. Pettit. Dr. Pettit was a doctor who practiced in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He grew up in Belvidere and married Emma Glasner, who was also from Belvidere, in 1877. After he died suddenly in 1899, his body was brought back to Belvidere for burial.
Emma Pettit soon moved back to Belvidere to live with her mother. In 1906, the cemetery decided to set aside land for a future funeral chapel. Emma Pettit thought this would be a perfect way to remember her husband. She then gave the chapel to the cemetery. Building started in the spring of 1907 and was finished later that year. Emma Pettit knew Frank Lloyd Wright because her brother, William A. Glasner, had his own home designed by Wright in 1905. This home is known as the William A. Glasner House in Glencoe, Illinois.
Restoring the Chapel
The Pettit Chapel has been repaired and restored two times. In 1977, the Belvidere Junior Women's Club started raising money to save the chapel because it was in bad condition. They collected $60,000. The first restoration work was finished in 1981. The chapel was officially opened again on June 8, 1981, which was Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday.
From June to November 2003, the chapel had its second round of repairs. These repairs cost $40,000 and included a new roof, new floorboards for the porch, new steps, and fresh paint. The money for these repairs came from a tourism grant from the state of Illinois and from a special fund set up by the cemetery.
Design and Architecture
Frank Lloyd Wright's first drawings for the chapel showed that the front of the building would have a small fountain and a pool. There was also a special plaque to show that the building was a memorial to Dr. Pettit.
The chapel has a unique T-shape design. It is about 57 feet (17.37 meters) long and 42 feet (12.8 meters) wide. The main meeting room forms the long part of the "T," and two open porches make up the cross part. The building is located deep inside the cemetery and can only be reached by car using the cemetery roads. Its location in a cemetery is special because it's the only building of its kind designed by Wright that was built during his lifetime.
Inside the Chapel
Inside the chapel, there is a fireplace where the "T" shape crosses. The cross part of the "T" is an open-air, covered porch. This porch is not just a nice open terrace, which Wright often included in his buildings. It also had a practical use. Wright wanted people attending funerals to use the porch while they waited for their cars.
The way the columns are placed on the porch, set back from the open corners, is a design idea found in other Wright buildings. Examples include the Coonley House and the Martin House. Wright's column placement and drawings might have even influenced European architects like Le Corbusier after 1910. The chapel is made of wood and has a partial basement. This basement contains restrooms, storage areas, and a furnace room. However, the building did not have heating when it was first built.
Prairie Style Features
The chapel has a low, gently sloping roof with wide overhangs. This design makes the skyline look calm and unbroken. This is a common feature in some of Wright's important early Prairie style buildings, like the Heurtley House and the Winslow House.
The Pettit Chapel truly shows what Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style is all about. You can see it in the roof and its wide eaves, the cool geometric art glass windows, the raised floor, and the smooth stucco outside with its contrasting wood trim.
Why the Chapel is Important
The Pettit Memorial Chapel was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1978. It's important to know that the Pettit Chapel is not a tomb or a mausoleum (a building for burying people). Instead, it's a building that was meant to be used.
Because of this, it's not very helpful to compare Wright's chapel to tombs designed by Louis H. Sullivan, like the Getty, Ryerson, or Wainwright tombs. It makes more sense to look at the Pettit Chapel's importance by comparing it to Wright's Prairie-style homes from the same time.
The chapel feels a bit like a house, which fit its purpose. It was a place for funeral services and gatherings, and also a shelter for people visiting the cemetery. The chapel was used for funerals until the 1920s. After that, people started using commercial funeral parlors more often.
See also
- Unity Chapel
- List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
