Rockefeller Chapel

Rockefeller Chapel is, by order, the tallest building on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. It was meant by patron John D. Rockefeller to be the "central and dominant feature" of the campus.

Designed by architect Bertram Goodhue between 1918 and 1924, and built between 1925 and 1928 without the use of structural steel, it contains about 70 integrated figural sculptures by artists Lee Lawrie and Ulric Ellerhusen, and interior work by mosaicist Hildreth Meiere. Today the chapel is used for ecumenical worship services, weddings, guest speakers, musical programs, and occasional film screenings. It occupies a full block and can seat 1700 people.

The woodcarvings that adorn the organ and South balcony were created by Alois Lang, a Master Woodcarver at the American Seating Co., and one of the artists responsible for bringing the medieval art of ecclesiastical carving back to life. His pieces in Rockefeller Chapel are carved from White Appalachian Oak.

The chapel contains the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon and tower, a separate gift from Rockefeller in 1932 in honor of his mother. This 72-bell carillon is the second-largest carillon (and the second-largest musical instrument) in the world, by mass, after the carillon at Riverside Church on the Upper West Side of New York City, which Rockefeller also founded in honor of his mother.

External links

* [http://rockefeller.uchicago.edu/Architecture/brochure.html#interior A detailed architectural guide to the Rockefeller chapel]
* [http://www.waltlockley.com/rockchapel/rockchapel.htm Illustrated essay on the chapel, focusing on sculpture]
* [http://chicagopictures.net/detail.aspx?ID=8 Photos of the Rockefeller Chapel at Chicago Pictures]