Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

The Architect |  The Donor |  The Interior |  The Exterior |  The Ceiling |  The Windows |  Architecture Terms

The Interior

From the narthex to the chancel, Rockefeller Chapel is filled with many architectural wonders. Solely stone and concrete pillars support the roof. Because of the mechanics of the building no steel is used in its structure, a rare find in a time when steel was becoming a widely used building material.

The woodcarvings that adorn the organ and South balcony were created by Alois Lang, 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.

Lee Lawrie and Ulric Ellerhausen designed the interior sculptures as well as the exterior ones. One interesting sculpture is that of Bertram Goodhue placed on the South side of the East Transept door in memoriam of the architect. There was much debate by the Board of Trustee as to who should represent the arts (a sculpture of Mozart brackets the other side of the East door) and eventually settled upon Goodhue, whose likeness is shown with a model of Rockefeller Chapel.

Sights Inside the Chapel

Lectern & Pulpit	Lectern - two eagles Pulpit base - four emblems of the Evangelists: Angel (Matthew), Lion (Mark), Ox (Luke), and Eagle (John)
Chancel Organ Screen	Jubal (center) Trumpeting angels Pineapple and rose (top)
Ceiling	Medallions on rib vaulting: St. Francis' "Canticle of the Sun"; Bird, Beast, Fish, Reptile (repeated over nave), Sun, Moon, Star, Tree, Flower, Air, Water, Fire (repeated over chancel) Angels with musical instruments, including tambourine, drum, pipes, horn, lyre and triangle
Column Capitals	Emblems of Evangelists: Angel (Matthew), Lion (Mark), Ox (Luke), and Eagle (John)
Transept Doors	West: Priest (left) and Prophet (right) East: J.S. Bach (left, representing Music) and Betram Grosvenor Goodhue, with model of the Chapel (right, representing Architecture)
Lancet Windows, entitled "The Foundations of Things" East (from altar to rear of Chapel)	Cosmos Air Water Earth Fire
Lancet windows West (from rear of Chapel to altar)	Plants Animals Man Woman "Works of the Minds," Tables of the Law, "Nuclear Energy," and Phoenix of the Unjust Judge (right)
Gallery organ screen base (from left to right)	Parable of the Lost Sheep Parable of the Sowing of the Tares Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Parable of the Unjust Judge
Gallery organ screen (upper level)	Emblems of the four Evangelists: Ox, Eagle, Lion, and Angel Thistle Loaves and fishes Butterfly Peacock Pomegranate

For more information, contact:

Lorraine Brochu
Assistant to the Dean for External Affairs
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
5850 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637
(773) 702-7059
lcbrochu@uchicago.edu