Founded in 1895 on Woodward Avenue, Woodlawn Cemetery relieved pressure on the smaller cemeteries such as Elmwood or Mount Elliott cemeteries deeper into the city. It is big, clocking in at 140 acres, and is placed strategically close to the border with the suburbs. It is huge, and boasts over one hundred mausolea, which in…
Tag: Mausolea
Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit
Created in 1849 in the same period as many other rural cemetery movement burial grounds were founded throughout America, Elmwood Cemetery was inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, which we looked at back in October of 2022. It’s the oldest still existing non-denominational cemetery in Detroit, and it lies to the northeast of downtown…
Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Founded in 1844 and inspired like many American rural cemetery movement burial grounds by Père LaChaise Cemetery in Paris, Spring Grove Cemetery is the huge contributor to the field in Cincinnati. Like many others, a cholera epidemic and a desire to replace small urban cemeteries spurred its founding. An impressive Gothic Revival gatehouse welcomes the…
Bellefontaine Cemetery, Late November 2022
I realized it had been some time since I had photographed Bellefontaine Cemetery, so I snapped some late November views that were new or ones that I had not taken in a long time.
Montmartre Cemetery
Across Paris in the Montmartre area is another cemetery, built in the basin of a former limestone quarry–a common theme where largely unbuildable land is used for the burial of the dead. It’s an interesting counterpoint to Père Lachaise; Montmartre Cemetery is still a rural cemetery movement space but it is more rigid and just…
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Perhaps a visit to the burial ground where so many iconic people are buried would not be as memorable if a steady rain were not falling as I walked the winding paths of Père Lachaise Cemetery. Designed as the first rural or garden cemetery, laid out with winding paths and forested lanes, the land lies…
Les Invalides
I caught this view of the dome of the Invalides through the trees of the gardens of the Rodin Museum, which is a must-see when you’re visiting Paris. Designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the structure serves as a critical step in the development of domes in Western architecture. The domed church was part of a larger…
Cathedral Basilica of St. Denis
I saw six cathedrals when I was in Paris and the surrounding environs. First up is the former abbey church and now Cathedral Basilica of St. Denis. It was once out in the country north of Paris but is now deep in the larger metropolitan region and has a thriving immigrant community. There was heavy…
Bethel Church, Logan County, Illinois
Through the randomness of Google Maps, I spotted a new landmark popping up in the countryside north of Lincoln, Illinois. Labeled Bethel Church, I knew the short ten minute drive off the interstate was going to be worthwhile. The style of the church is an interesting mix of the massing of the Gothic Revival, with…
Henry Shaw Mausolea and Gardens, Missouri Botanical Garden
Apparently, the building sitting to the north of the fenced garden was intended to be Henry Shaw’s mausoleum, but he rejected it in favor of a new location to the south. Passing through the gates into the garden, the mausoleum appears through the trees and shadows. Shaw’s final mausoleum has changed little in appearance over…