An Iconic Identity: Stories and Voices of Duke University Chapel

A green devil in a stained glass window in the Chapel

A new exhibit focusing on the history and legacy of Duke Chapel is now on display in the Jerry and Bruce Chappell Family Gallery. The exhibit, which will be on display through June 19, opens wide the doors of the Chapel to reveal the stories within—from the origins of the stained glass windows to the legacy of student protest.

Duke Chapel is the most iconic building on West Campus, and it has a history as rich as its architectural grandeur. Over the past eight decades, Duke Chapel has celebrated thousands of services, welcomed millions of guests, and served as the preeminent icon for the university. The Chapel represents many things to many different people. Its varied roles, constituencies, and history allowed it to cultivate an atmosphere that welcomed world-renowned speakers and musicians while also providing space to express the emotions of life in the silence of a sacred space.

Students protesting South African apartheid outside Duke Chapel in 1985.

The story of Duke Chapel is not just the story of a building. It represents the story of a community and of the richly diverse group of people who have helped to shape the Chapel’s legacy—and who will ultimately shape its future.

An Iconic Identity: Stories and Voices of Duke University Chapel invites visitors to encounter the Chapel’s rich history, walk down memory lane, and learn about the men and women who helped to make James B. Duke’s “great towering church” what it is today.

The exhibit is co-curated by Andrew Klumpp D’14, former Visitor Relations Specialist at Duke University Chapel and current Ph. D. student in American Religious History at Southern Methodist University, with the assistance of Sara Blaine Clark D’09, Assistant Manager, Special Events, Duke University Chapel.

To learn more, please visit the exhibit website.

View of the Flentrop Organ, one of four organs in the Chapel. Photo by Brian Mullins Photography.