I’ve always enjoyed the McLean Mausoleum in Bellefontaine Cemetery. It’s perhaps an understated example of the Egyptian Revival in funerary architecture in local cemeteries, but there are other reasons I like it. The most obvious being, if you look closely,… Continue Reading
I took a look around Bellefontaine Cemetery in early January, when the winter had set in, leaving the grounds in their stark but beautiful appearance for the season. I went back the Saturday in mid-February after the big snow and… Continue Reading
I took a drive around Bellefontaine Cemetery when the leaves were just starting to change, and snapped some pictures of some sculpture and mausolea.
I find someone new every time I visit Bellefontaine Cemetery, and recently I found the grave of William Russell, who was an important figure in early St. Louis history. While the limestone has been damaged by acid rain, you can… Continue Reading
Bellefontaine Cemetery has been a welcome respite this summer with so many other places closed. The self-guided tour is a great way to spend some time safely. James Eads’s monument looks very much like Verrocchio’s design for Piero and Giovanni… Continue Reading
Things are looking good around Bellefontaine Cemetery this spring, and I took the opportunity to walk around different parts of the grounds to see how the historic mausolea and tombs were doing. First up is this trio of two obelisks… Continue Reading
For all my readers who are fans of Lemp history, I made an interesting discovery in my research of the founder of the dynasty, Adam Lemp. When he purchased the property for the brewery on the Levee in 1844, the… Continue Reading
I thought I would swing by Bellefontaine Cemetery and check out Dr. Franz Arzt’s grave. Like many famous members of St. Louis society buried there, he purchased a family plot, so many other members of family are buried with him.… Continue Reading
I think it’s important to realize that not all mausolea at Bellefontaine Cemetery are Beaux-Arts masterpieces. Some look like they could have come from the hills of Ireland, and landed in the middle of St. Louis. Likewise, not all obelisks… Continue Reading
What I love about Bellefontaine Cemetery is all the serendipitous discoveries I make, such as stumbling upon the Adolf (or Adolph) Moll monument and his large family plot on the northern edge of the cemetery. It turns out he was… Continue Reading