The second floor of Johns Hopkins Levering Hall is home to the art installation known as Apocalypse, one of the largest and most influential murals painted by Dr. Bob Hieronimus. The mural showcases a vast array of symbology and iconography not depicting the end of the world, as some might assume from the title, but the cyclical nature of all of history. 

Origins of the Apocalypse

Commissioned in 1968 by Johns Hopkins Chaplain, Chester “Chet” Wickwire, the massive art piece took a total of six months for Hieronimus to complete. The finished 2,700 square-foot piece debuted in February of 1969, covering the entire hall and stairwell. It showcases rich esoteric symbology meaning including Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew, Sanskrit, zodiac signs, flags, hearts, flowers, serpents, horses, and stars.

Dr. Wickwire was an early champion of Hieronimus’s iconoclastic artwork and requested that the mural live directly outside his office in Levering Hall. Students affectionately named the space “Chester’s Place” and often used it as a meeting ground. Dr. Wickwire was known for encouraging students to engage in consciousness-raising and activities like political protest, wanting students to focus their attention and energy on creating a better society. The mural served as a point of curiosity, conversation, and inspiration for those students, staff, and visitors hoping to make a positive change in the world.

Portrait of Dr. Chester "Chet" Wickwire
Dr. Chester “Chet” Wickwire
Dr. Bob Hieronimus explains the symbology of some of the most significant panels of the mural
Historian Dr. Bill Leslie connects activism at Hopkins to the creation of Apocalypse

Apocalypse Restored

In the summer of 2015 the mural was completely restored to its original condition thanks to funding provided by Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Zohara Hieronimus and the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, and a team of artists handpicked by Dr. Bob. Johns Hopkins University enthusiastically embraced Hieronimus’s historic piece of artwork, installing new museum-style furniture, new lighting fixtures, and new protection measures to preserve the work in the future. 

Current students continue to use Levering Hall as a popular meeting spot, and Apocalypse continues to spark inspiration and discussion. Ella Rogers-Fett, a Krieger School alumni and history major visited the mural for the first time in 2015. She says many of her classmates were inspired upon learning about the mural’s relationship to a history of student activism at Hopkins. That inspiration resulted in a petition to her fellow students that encouraged Hopkins to divest itself from carbon-related stocks to reduce its environmental impact.

“I like the idea that student activists of today are meeting there to advance important issues,” says Rogers-Fett, a former student who served as co-director of the student-run Sexual Assault Resource Unit. “We’re continuing the spirit of Apocalypse.”

Dr. Stuart “Bill” Leslie, historian for Johns Hopkins University, mentions the mural fondly, saying “The Apocalypse mural is a good reminder for the current crop of students that their predecessors were out there in the front lines for civil rights.”   

See Apocalypse Today!

The most complete interpretation of the Apocalypse mural is found in the 72-page bound and glossy guidebook published in 2016 in full color, complete with foldout panoramas and reproductions of the sketches and notes from the original Hieronimus journals from 1968-69, and can be purchased in the H&Co shop.

To see Apocalypse in person, visit Levering Hall at Johns Hopkins University on weekdays from 11 am-4 pm.

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