Poet Emily Dickinson, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton and warrior Joan of Arc are among the women depicted in colorful stained glass windows at the Heinz Memorial Chapel in Oakland. An upcoming tour highlights the accomplishments of these and 54 other historic women, whose legacies are preserved in the 82-year-old neo-Gothic building.
The chapel’s windows were designed and installed by muralist Charles Connick in Boston. The decision to include the figures was a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh administration, the community, and the children of entrepreneur H.J. Heinz, of condiment fame. Chapel docent and event coordinator Karen Sebolt said the women in the windows range from the Bible’s Mary Magdalene to the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry.
“It’s not just Biblical figures and saints depicted, but there are writers, poets, explorers, women of medicine, nobility, Native Americans, teachers, quite a variety of backgrounds,” Sebolt said.
An equal number of men and women are shown in the windows, Sebolt said.
The free tours, which coincide with the beginning of Women’s History Month and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, take place Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. and most Tuesdays at noon.
