Heinz Chapel & Froggie McFrog

Looking for the little blue frog? You’ve come to the right place. Following in the footsteps of Manja and Joey, I am sitting in for Norm today as your host for Thursday Doors. Norm will be back next week, but the door fest continues in his absence, and the gallery is open for business. As for my contribution, I have something special to share – the doors and windows of Heinz Chapel.

Heinz Chapel is a nondenominational chapel located opposite the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The ‎French Gothic Revival chapel was gift to the university from Henry John Heinz to honor his mother, Anna Margaretta Heinz (all I ever managed to do was to get my mother a card). The following is from the chapel’s website’s history page:

Ground was broken for the chapel in 1933, the cornerstone was laid in 1934, and the building was dedicated in 1938. At the chapel’s dedication, Howard Heinz spoke for his family when he said of the 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, an understanding response to beauty, and religious worship.”

In that same ceremony, John Gabbert Bowman, Chancellor of the university said:

“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.”

Although Thursday Doors is a weekly celebration of doors, I have to include windows in the gallery today because the stained-glass windows of Heinz Chapel are remarkable. Again, from the website:

The 73-foot transept windows, among the tallest in the world, represent the character traits of tolerance, courage, temperance, and truth. A symbol of each trait is in the tracery. The windows, which highlight an equal number of women and men, contain sacred and secular figures from history, literature, and science. A rosette above each set of windows contains a red-winged seraph on the north and a blue-winged cherub on the south.

If you want to see the doors and windows of Heinz Chapel, click on any image in the gallery to start a slide show. If you are here to share your doors, or if you simply want to look at beautiful doors from all over the world, click the little blue frog. He will guide you to the master gallery. I will check in on every Thursday Doors post, but I may be late in getting to them, as I am busy with a construction project. Thank you for joining us today, and if you have been thinking about participating (but haven’t yet, or haven’t in a while) I would urge you to join us next Thursday, October 11^th when Norm Frampton, the benevolent and inspiring host of Thursday Doors, will return.

Heinz Chapel as seen from the east entrance of the Cathedral of Learning.

This is the southern side of the Chapel.

It was pouring the morning we toured the Chapel, but I liked the reflection.

Main entrance – Heinz Chapel

The seal of the University of Pittsburgh, is above the main entrance and is flanked by the seal of the City of Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Outside on the north side. The transept windows are directly in front. On the left is the new addition that was built to house an elevator.

The Cathedral of Learning as seen from the entrance to Heinz Chapel.

As you walk up the center aisle, the transept windows become visible.

North side transept windows

Inside the entrance.

Restroom doors in the basement.

This little stairway leads up to the main floor from the basement.

inside the main entrance. The stairs to the upper level were blocked off.

Smaller windows in the back of the church.

This is entrance is on the north side, where and addition was made to accommodate an elevator to provide access for handicapped individuals.

This door in in the side aisle near the alter.

This wooden structure separates the Nave (center body of church) from the Narthex (gathering area in entryway).

The ceiling is a ceramic material designed to absorb sound.

This is one of the side doors between the Narthex and side aisle of the church.

“The truth shall make you free”

Looking up to the alter area of the chapel.