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By Tom Struble CC’81
and Donald Lewis RC’76
On Sunday December 3, 1873, the Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick Memorial Chapel was dedicated in a program presided over by Rutgers President Dr.William H. Campbell. As described in the December 1873 Daily Targum, “the Chapel was tolerably well filled with trustees, alumni, students, and friends of the College.” The chapel was built with $65,000 bequeathed by Kirkpatrick with funds from her husband, Littleton who was a Rutgers trustee.
The chapel was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the great-great-grandson of Queens College’s first president, Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh. It was built to house a chapel for daily worship service, the college library and the office of the president. It continued to serve all until 1903 when a new library, Voorhees Hall, was built across Hamilton Street.
The exterior of the chapel is constructed from New Jersey brownstone. Each graduating class year is etched in the exterior walls, beginning with 1876 which marked the centenary founding of the United States. For over 150 years the Chapel has been an important part of life at Rutgers, hosting daily worship services presided over by university presidents and the University Chaplain, thousands of weddings, funerals, memorial services, and lectures by such notable speakers as
Robert Frost and Angela Davis, weekly noontime recitals, and visits by dignitaries including Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Music in Kirkpatrick has always been an integral part of its heritage. The Skinner Organ was installed in 1917 and was updated and rebuilt in 1961 under the direction of University Organist David A. Drinkwater. “Rutgers Prayer” was written and composed by Dr. Howard D. McKinney RC’13 for the chapel. The building hosted weekly chapel services, with the Kirkpatrick Chapel Choir, Christmas Pageants, Christmas in Carol and Song, world renowned organ recitalists, visiting choirs, and the Rutgers University Glee Club.
The chapel’s stained glass windows include several by the Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios. The Charter Window depicting the signing of the Queens College Charter by NJ Governor Livingston in 1766, was a gift of Peter Frelinghuysen in 1941 and “Jesus the Teacher of the Ages,” 1917 in memory of Reverend Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh in the Chancel.
The interior walls are lined with portraits of individuals that have played an important role in the history of the school. A portrait of Kirkpatrick (pictured) is included as part of the tableau. Along the walls are numerous plaques, memorials, and dedications marking events, men lost to war and recognizing service to the college.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
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