Kaercher Mausoleum
It won’t be long until this little Classical Revival mausoleum c. 1860, is completely engulfed by foliage. The mausoleum was built for John Kaercher, one of the owners of the tanning firm C. Kaercher & Sons. A number of members of the Kaercher family are entombed here, but in the 1980’s ol’ Doc Kaercher informed the cemetery board, “I’m the last of the line. After I’ve passed on, seal it up.”
And so they did.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Allegheny Cemetery” street=”4715 Penn Avenue” city=”Pittsburgh” state=”Pennsylvania” zip=”15224″]
Stejskal-Buchal Mausoleum
The hooded figure inching toward the Classical Revival Stejskal-Buchal mausoleum in Chicago’s Bohemian National Cemetery, may look like the grim reaper but is actually the “Pilgrim”, a bronze statue sculpted in 1929 by the great Czech sculptor, Albin Polacek (1879-1965).
Not all of Polacek’s creations are gloomy. In fact another of his works in the Bohemian National Cemetery is a partially clad Adonis-like figure, whose extended hand reaches for a mausoleum’s ringed door handle.
Mr. Stejskal (pronounced “Stay-Skal”), a Czech-American, who will spend eternity waiting for the Pilgrim to arrive at his door, was a founder of the Novak & Stejskal Bank at the corner of Loomis and Blue Avenues in Chicago.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Bohemian National Cemetery” street=”5255 North Pulaski Road” city=”Chicago” state=”Illinois” zip=”60630″]
Getty Mausoleum
According to the Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks, this delicately ornamented little cube, designed in 1890, by Louis Sullivan, marks “…the beginning of modern architecture in America.” Never mind that the purpose of the building is to house dead bodies. The statement certainly is a heavy weight for such a small building to bear. Upon closer inspection it can be seen that Sullivan did indeed invent a new, based not on classical architecture, but on his own ideas.
Sullivan’s limestone cube combined strong geometric mass with exquisitely sculpted ornament. Although a century of wear has affected some of the finer etchings, the basics of the design remain. Sullivan kept the bottom half of the mausoleum smooth, which serves as a foil for the maze of octagons. Stars, heralding the ubiquitous star-burst designs which would appear in the 1950’s, are set into each of the octagons. The bands around the door and windows alternate between smooth and ornamented.
Although critics will always debate which architect and which building signaled the beginning of modern architecture, no one disputes that Sullivan was charting new ground in architectural design.
Henry Harrison Getty was a partner in the lumber business with Martin Ryerson. Getty knew of Sullivan’s work from the design Sullivan created for Ryerson’s mausoleum. Getty commissioned Sullivan to design this mausoleum for his wife Carrie Eliza Getty, who died in 1890. Henry lived until 1919 and is entombed along with Carrie and their only child, Alice, who died in 1946.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Graceland Cemetery” street=”4001 North Clark Street” city=”Chicago” state=”Illinois” zip=”60613″]
Tso Mausoleum
Two marble dog-lions, or Shih Tzu of Fo, guard the Buddhist mausoleum of Paul Yung Tso. These mythological animals, special guardians of Lord Buddha, teach patience and the subjugation of the ego and its passions. The male, seen here with a ball under its paw, is always located on the east. The ball is hollow, a symbol of the “emptiness” of the mind in Buddhist spiritual beliefs. The female dog-lion, seated out of view and on the west, has a baby under her paw. These paired creatures also represent the opposing forces of Yin (female) and Yang (male).
The dog-lions, the other statuary flanking the mausoleum and the positioning of all the elements are part of the Feng Shui of the site. Feng Shui is an art based on the belief that a harmonious relationship between our environment and nature’s forces affects our disposition and luck.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Cypress Lawn Memorial Park” street=”1370 El Camino Real” city=”Colma” state=”California” zip=”94014″]
Stachura Mausoleum
The Stachura mausoleum, built in 1988, is a modern interpretation of a Greek temple, including a favorite modernist motif: the starburst. Chester and Gloria Stachura designed the bronze bas relief on the door and had it cast by Rispoli Bronze of Long Island, New York. But the real story here is not about architecture. It is about love and remembrance.
The plaque above the entry is a representation of two wedding rings with the names Chester and Gloria and their wedding date, July 14th, 1956. Most mausoleums are inscribed with either the date of construction or the birth and death dates of its occupants, but the wedding date on the Stachura mausoleum is unique.
After Gloria died in 1989 Chester would spend long hours outside the mausoleum mourning his dear wife. Then one day, perhaps fatigued by many hours of standing, Chester decided to have their living room furniture replicated in granite, so he could sit in front of their mausoleum in comfort and remember times with Gloria in their home. He went to the cemetery board and after some debate they granted his request. After all, the board members finally agreed, one of the principles of Forest Lawn Cemetery was to make the cemetery accessible and comfortable for the living. On many days, visitors to Forest Lawn Cemetery will see Chester sitting on the love seat thinking of Gloria.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Forest Lawn Cemetery” street=”1411 Delaware Avenue” city=”Buffalo” state=”New York” zip=”14209″]
Splane Mausoleum
The Splane mausoleum, built in 1952, for William W. Splane, a manufacturer of railroad cars, is a splendid example of the Modern Classicism aesthetic. Hallmarks of Modern Classicism, as seen in the Splane mausoleum, are the absence of surface ornament and clean restrained lines. The pair of engaged columns are the only suggestion of classical form. A realistically sculpted floral panel crowns the entry, while a frieze of debossed panels, in an astronomical motif, circles the tomb.
The placement of the mausoleum’s roof was an engineering marvel. The design, using a single slab of granite for the roof, did not allow for the use of ropes or hooks during placement on the mausoleum. The placement dilemma was solved by resting the slab on blocks of ice. When the ice slowly melted, the slab nestled into place.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Allegheny Cemetery” street=”4715 Penn Avenue” city=”Pittsburgh” state=”Pennsylvania” zip=”15224″]
Warner Monument
The Warner monument, centerpiece of the Warner plot in Philadelphia’s Laurel Hill Cemetery, is one of the most curious pieces of funerary sculpture in the United States. It was carved by Alexander Milne Calder, who also did the carving on Philadelphia’s City Hall. Calder carved a depiction of a slightly larger than life size female lifting the lid from the coffin of William Warner (1780-1855) so his soul could be released to the heavens. It is not known if the face of the soul is that of Mr. Warner or just Alexander Calder’s artistic vision.
Read More»Birge Memorial
Twelve Doric columns stand at attention around the sarcophagus of George K. Birge. The memorial, erected in 1929 by McDonald and Sons of Buffalo, is a good example of the trend in the 1920’s and 30’s toward less surface ornamentation.
Rings of columns surrounding buildings are known as peristyles. When the columns are arranged in a circle, as seen here, they are known as tholos forms. The tholos form of architecture is well adapted to situations where the designer is presenting a building of simple, dignified and ethereal beauty.
George K. Birge, who will spend eternity in his gleaming white sarcophagus was a wallpaper manufacturer and President of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company.
Text and photo © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Forest Lawn Cemetery” street=”1411 Delaware Avenue” city=”Buffalo” state=”New York” zip=”14209″]
Webb Mausoleum
William Webb
June 19, 1816–October 30, 1899
William Henry Webb was a master shipbuilder whose clipper ships set speed records that still stand. He inherited his father’s shipbuilding business in 1840 and proceeded to turn the renamed William H. Webb Company into America’s most prolific shipyard, churning out 133 vessels from 1849 to 1865. So swift were his ships that one advertisement proclaimed, “Flying Craft for San Francisco, Now Up.” In 1853, he launched his last clipper ship, and his personal favorite, Young America, saying to the mate, “Take good care of her, mister, because after she’s gone, there will be no more like her.”
Read More»Elks Tumulus
An ever-watchful bronze elk peeks over the pediment of the tumulus of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks number 30. Although there are only 18 crypts inside the tomb, the bronze doors secure the remains of dozens of fallen Elks, since the crypts are emptied periodically and the bones are neatly piled elsewhere in the tomb. The tomb was designed by prominent New Orleans monument architect Albert Weiblen in 1912. Weiblen warned the engineer responsible for building the tomb that it needed a beefed up foundation since it was right next to a canal, but Weiblen’s advice went unheeded. The tomb, 75 years later, has a pronounced tilt.
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