Knowles Memorial Chapel
History
Knowles Memorial Chapel was given to Rollins College by Frances Knowles Warren in memory of her father, Francis Bangs Knowles (1823–1890), one of the founders of both Rollins College and the city of Winter Park. It was designed by noted church and collegiate architect, Ralph Adams Cram, who considered it his favorite of the more than 75 churches and cathedrals he had designed. In the summer of 2007 it underwent a masonry restoration paid for by a trust set up by Frances Knowles Warren.
Organ
The chapel organ was built in 1932 by noted organ builder, Ernest M. Skinner. In the mid 1950s it was renovated by Skinner's firm, Aeolian-Skinner. Between 1999 and 2002 the organ was completely overhauled and renovated by Randall Dyer & Associates. At the same time the Dyer firm also built and installed a "completely new, free-standing antiphonal organ at the rear of the balcony and surrounding the Rose Window." Deeply involved in the work by the Dyer firm was its associate, John J. Tyrrell, former president of Aeolian-Skinner.
Stained Glass
The rose window at the rear depicts the seven liberal arts and is a collaboration between Cram and stained-glass artist William Herbert Burnham.
Current use
Knowles Memorial Chapel continues to be used as the Rollins College Chapel and its dean is the pastor of the college. The chapel is also the venue for many musical events, especially during the annual Bach Festival of Winter Park.
See also
Gallery
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Knowles Chapel detail over entrance
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Knowles Chapel side view
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Start Voting for Your Favorite Florida Architecture!". 2019 People's Choice Award (Florida Architecture). Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ "Founders of Winter Park". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ "Knowles Memorial Chapel history". Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ "Letters, Jul. 10, 1933". July 10, 1933. Retrieved August 10, 2019 – via content.time.com.
- ^ "Knowles Memorial Chapel organ". Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ Lane, Jack C. (August 25, 2021). "Guest Post - A Fusion of the Liberal Arts and Christianity: The Rose Window of Knowles Memorial Chapel". Christian Scholar’s Review. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ^ "Knowles Memorial Chapel - What we do". Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ Bach Festival of Winter Park
External links
Media related to Knowles Memorial Chapel at Wikimedia Commons
- Knowles Memorial Chapel homepage
- Knowles Memorial Chapel organ
- Knowles Memorial Chapel history
- Time magazine July 10, 1933
- Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs listing for Knowles Memorial Chapel
- Rollins College's 2007 renovation of Knowles Memorial Chapel
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. FL-407, "Knowles Memorial Chapel, 1100 Holt Avenue, Winter Park, Orange County, FL", 27 photos, 10 data pages, 2 photo caption pages