Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

“Rockefeller Memorial Chapel is named for its benefactor, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., a renowned industrialist and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, an enormously powerful company that gained virtual control of oil production in America by the early 1900s.”

“Besides the chapel, Goodhue designed the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, which popularized the Spanish Colonial Revival style throughout the United States, and the Nebraska State Capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska, widely considered one of the finest and most architecturally innovative state capitol buildings in the United States.”

“Two of his most important works came near the end of his career: the new State Capitol at Lincoln, Nebraska, and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. The Nebraska State Capitol, for which Goodhue won a widely touted competition, was especially significant for its forceful reinterpretation of traditional state capital architecture along more modern lines.”

“The long-anticipated chapel was dedicated on October 28, 1928 in an elaborate ceremony attended by about 2,000 people, including John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the son of University benefactor John Sr., and a large congregation of trustees, faculty, students, alumni, and friends of the University.”

“Southwest. These buildings inspired American architects to look at both the elaborate churches of Mexico and buildings in Spain itself for source material for contemporary buildings. Goodhue also designed large country residences in southern California in various adaptations of the Spanish style.”

“Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was one of the nation's most prolific ecclesiastical architects from the 1890s through the early 1920s, designed significant church buildings as the West Point Academy Chapel, St.”

“Rockefeller Memorial Chapel is an important building in the career of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, one of the nation's most prolific ecclesiastical architects and a nationally significant early 20th-century architect.”

“Like Rockefeller Chapel, St. Thomas was distinguished for its innovative vaulting techniques and contemporary religious imagery. In 1914, Goodhue left the partnership with Cram and established an independent office in New York.”

“Rockefeller Memorial Chapel's visual power is exemplified by its lofty 207-foot bell tower, which soars far above surrounding university buildings. Integrity Criteria The integrity of the proposed landmark must be preserved in light of its location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and ability to express its historic community, architecture or aesthetic value.”

“University officials were heavily involved in the chapel's design process, and the institution's President, Ernest de Witt Burton, toured famous English cathedrals to satisfy himself that the building's final design was appropriate.”