Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
The chapel was a gift of German-American Henry John Heinz, founder of the H.J. Heinz Company, who wanted to honor his mother, Anna Margaretha Heinz, with a building at the university. Upon his death in 1919, Heinz's three surviving children added to his bequest to memorialize their grandmother and honor their father. Their choice of a chapel for a memorial was guided by the concepts of education and religion which Anna Margaretta Heinz imbued in her children.Howard Heinz, Chancellor John Gabbert Bowman, and Joh Weber, business manager and university secretary, were some of the passionate workers behind the chapel's concept and execution. Working with them were other members of the Heinz family, and two well-known clergymen, Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr, pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church, and Dr. Henry Sloane Coffin, president of Union Theological Seminary.
Ground was broken in 1933 and the cornerstone was laid in 1934. At the chapel's dedication on November 20, 1938, Howard Heinz spoke of the meaning of the memorial chapel:
"It is located in a community where my father was born and lived his life. It is on the campus of a university. As part of that university, it is dedicated to culture, understanding response to beauty, and religious worship."
Chancellor Bowman commented at the cornerstone laying:
"The chapel is designed as a fitting center of worship which in various ways will rise at the University. The character, intensity, the level of that worship may change from generation to generation. The spiritual tide in men rises and falls. Through these changes though, the Chapel will stand, calm and undisturbed."
Since its dedication, the Heinz family and their philanthropies, as well as private donations from other various individuals, have provided ongoing financial support. In 1996, an addition to the chapel's north side containing an elevator provided a permanent structure that allows complete accessibility for those with disabilities. This $1.25 million addition, designed by Landmark Design Associates, was funded with grants from the Heinz Endowments and university capital funds.
Historical timeline
- January 1914 – The Pittsburgh Gazette Times announces the gift of $100,000 from Henry John Heinz to erect a building in memory of his mother, Anna Margaritta Heinz. A letter addressed to the University of Pittsburgh board of trustees from H. J. Heinz states that the building be "exclusively used for the religious and social activities of the student body of the university".
- November 4, 1929 – A Deed of Gift is drawn up between Howard Heinz, Clifford Heinz, and Irene E. Given and the University of Pittsburgh.
- August 15, 1933 – Groundbreaking is held for the Heinz Memorial Chapel by W. F. Trimble and Sons, General Contractors.
- February 1934 – Cornerstone setting ceremonies were held.
- June 20, 1934 – A contract was signed by Howard Heinz for $24,000 to purchase Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ Opus 922; the instrument contained approximately 4,295 pipes, and 89 stops.
- November 20, 1938 – The chapel was dedicated at 2:30 p.m., as soon as the Skinner instrument installation was complete. Dr. Russell G. Wichmann, the first organist at Heinz Chapel, played at the dedication. Shadyside Presbyterian Church quartet, which he directed, and the University of Pittsburgh Chorus, participated.
- November 23, 1938 – The first student service was held in the chapel—a Thanksgiving Day service held a day early. Dr. Wichmann served as organist, accompanying the University of Pittsburgh Choir. The Alumni Review reported that all seats were filled well before the scheduled start of the service. According to the student ushers present, several hundred students were turned away.
- 1938 – Rev. Raymond F. Brittain of the university's Department of History of Religion, was appointed director of religious programs in the chapel.
- January 4, 1939 – Daily 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. programs instituted with fifteen minutes of organ music, followed by ten minutes of responsive reading, singing and prayer.
- December 18, 1939 – The first Vespers service in the chapel was held at 2:30 p.m.
- April 9, 1939 – A program first mentioned the "University Symphony Orchestra", for Easter Vespers. The ensemble included four violins, two violas and one cello.
- January 11, 1946 – The first wedding ceremony was held in the chapel.
- 1992 – A scene for the movie Lorenzo's Oil is filmed in Heinz Chapel.
- 1996 – An addition was added to the north side of the chapel.
Uses
Throughout the school year, the 20-voice Pittsburgh Compline Choir, directed by Dr. Mark A. Boyle, sings Compline at 8:00 on Sunday evenings. The Order of Service used by the choir is an expanded version of the Order for Compline in the Lutheran Book of Worship. Compline at Heinz Chapel is a ministry of the Lutheran University Center and First Lutheran Church in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Design
Architecture
The neo-Gothic chapel was designed by Charles Klauder who also designed the Cathedral of Learning and the Stephen Foster Memorial, both located right next to the chapel on Pitt's campus. He was assisted by university architect A. A. Klimcheck. Dr. John G. Bowman, chancellor of the university, and Mr. John Weber, secretary of the university, whom Dr. Bowman sent to Europe to study church architecture for background on the chapel, worked closely with Mr. Klauder in the attempt to achieve on this campus a physical representation of the meaning of a university chapel.The chapel's form is that of a modified cruciform plan, stone vaults, high ceilings, repeated arches, and extensive use of glass that were typical of American academic and religious architecture of this period. It is long, wide at the transept, and high at the nave with its fleche reaching above the ground. The chapel's walls, inside and out, are of Indiana Limestone.
Sadly, Klauder died only a few weeks before the chapel's dedication.
In 1996, a $1.3 million elevator housing was added to north side of Heinz Chapel in order to bring in into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The small addition was designed to architecturally mesh with the remainder of the chapel.
Stonework
Both inside and out, the walls of the chapel are of grey Indiana limestone. The interior ceiling is lined with a structural acoustical tile which, although it is a ceramic product, approximates stone. The floor of the chapel is crab orchard stone with Vermont green slate in the side aisles. The floor of the chancel is marble while the altar itself is of Numidian marble, imported from Egypt.The chapel's wall carvings, by master stoneworker Joseph Gattoni of New York, follow the Gothic tradition of pictorial instruction and express the chapel's theme of spiritual values in education. Charles Connick's studio, who is best known for designing the stained glass windows, also designed a large portion of the chapel's stonework, including the Gothic-style shields adorning the stone walls and the tympanum above the main door that portrays the figure of Jesus with symbols of the Alpha and the Omega.
Exterior façade carving
The tympanum, or recessed arch over the main portal, reflects both the medieval craft of pictorial instruction and the interest of Henry Heinz in the spiritual teachings of his church through his own Sunday school experiences, thus setting the theme for the entire chapel.The main figure is that of the boy Jesus, relating His youthful revelation to the doctors in the Temple . He holds a book inscribed with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Omega, between which all human thought is contained.
To the left of the figure of Jesus is the small figure of Moses with the Tables of Law. Beneath Moses, entwined within the branches of a Tree of Life design, are medallions with portraits of the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, the Patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, the Priests Aaron and Melchezedech, and King David.
On the right of the figure of Jesus is the small figure of St. Luke, beneath which are again medallions within a Tree of Life. These represent St. Luke's and Jesus' spiritual progeny: in charity, St. Francis of Assisi; in imagination, Leonardo da Vinci; in understanding, Newton; in healing, Pasteur; in eloquence, Wordsworth; in leadership, Lincoln; in thought, Emerson.
Outside, the insignia of Europe's twelve oldest universities are carved on shields on the gables. Below that on the balustrade parapets are college and universities founded in the United States before 1820. The spandrels beneath show seals of those founded after 1820 and the seals of women's colleges are on the buttresses.