Friday, June 8, 2012

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Cemetery Designs

 
Frank Lloyd Wright
Today marks what would have been the 145th birthday of American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.  Wright is known for what he termed ‘organic architecture,’ which later developed into his Prairie Style.
Falling Water

During Wright’s 72 years as an architect, he designed over 1,000 buildings and structures, and actually built around 500 of them. Wright is known for such architectural gems as Falling Water in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Belvidere, Illinois

Buffalo, New York
But what people don’t usually realize is that Frank Lloyd Wright also designed a memorial chapel for a cemetery that is built in Illinois; and a very modern mausoleum that can be found in a cemetery in New York.

 

Pettit Chapel:
Front of Pettit Chapel
The Pettit Chapel is located in Belvidere Cemetery in Belvidere, Illinois.  Wright designed the chapel after Emma Glasner Pettit approached him with the request.  She wanted an indoor setting where friends and family could gather to pay their respects to her husband, William Pettit.  Pettit had been a doctor in Cedar Falls, Iowa and had built the largest medical practice in the state during the late 1890’s.  When he died of a heart attack in 1899, his body was taken back to Belvidere, Illinois, his hometown.  Crowds of people from Cedar Falls wanted to attend the funeral in Belvidere.  So many, in fact, that a special train had to be chartered so that all who wanted to attend, could.

T Shaped Chapel
Low Prairie Style Architecture
It was 1906 when the Belvider Cemetery Association approved the request and design for the memorial chapel, and building began in 1907.  The T-shaped chapel cost around $3,000 to build.  The Pettit Chapel was the only structure Wright designed for a cemetery and one of the earliest of his Prairie Style buildings.


Low Overhanging Roof
Inside the Chapel
Wright designed the chapel with a fireplace inside, and a porch with a low overhanging roof, typical of his buildings to come.  Art glass windows were used, along with wood trim.  The exterior was covered in a stucco finish.  The chapel was used for funerals in the cemetery until the 1920’s.  In 1978, the Pettit Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The chapel has undergone restoration twice since 1907, once in 1977, and again in 2003.

Pettit Chapel in Cemetery
Wright's Organic Style
The Pettit Chapel may be seen during regular cemetery hours.  It is still used for weddings, funerals, meetings and luncheons. For more information contact the Belvidere Cemetery at (815) 547-7642 or visit http://www.belviderecemetery.com.

Blue Sky Mausoleum:

Blue Sky Mausoleum
Another of Wright’s architectural designs for a cemetery can be found at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.  This one-of-a-kind, organic design is known as the Blue Sky Mausoleum.  Best described as an outdoor mausoleum, the blueprint shows no walls or roof. 


Wright's Sketch
It was during the late 1920’s when Darwin Martin, of the Larkin Soap Company, contacted Frank Lloyd Wright about designing a family mausoleum for him.  Martin wanted it built in Forest Lawn Cemetery, in Buffalo.  Wright drew up a sketch, but Martin never had the mausoleum built. A year later, he lost his fortune in the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and with the start of the Great Depression, the plans for the mausoleum were put away.

View From Across Lake
It was not until October 2004 that the Blue Sky Mausoleum was finally constructed.  In the mid-90’s, Fred Whaley Jr., President of the Forest Lawn Cemetery, discovered that Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a mausoleum for his cemetery.  After several years of fund raising, the needed $500,000 was raised and the cemetery had the memorial built according to Wright’s drawings from 75 years before. 

Benches and Crypts at Top
Crafted from white granite and concrete, twenty-four crypts rise gently from the edge of a lake up a hill, with steps going up the center.   Benches protrude from a vertical marker at the top. Green trees provide the walls and the sky is the ceiling.

View with Lake
According to Wright’s notes, “This is a burial facing the open sky – a dignified great headstone commune to all.”  Designed in stepping terraces, it offers an organic compromise between the grave and a mausoleum.

 
Forest Lawn Cemetery
Since the mausoleum did not get built for the Martin family, it now offers a unique opportunity. The crypts are available for sale to the public by contacting the cemetery. This is the only Frank Lloyd Wright structure that you can elect to be buried in.  Forest Lawn Cemetery also offers tours of the mausoleum.  For more information call (716) 885-1600 or visit www.forest-lawn.com. 

Frank Lloyd Wright
Cemeteries are truly amazing places to visit.  Especially when you find not only architectural gems, but also masterpieces designed by architectural giants!

~ Joy

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Cemeteries Worth the Visit - Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Cemetery of Spring Grove

Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio is the second largest cemetery in the United States.  It was originally known as the Cemetery of Spring Grove, and was founded in 1845 by the Cincinnati Horticultural Society as a not-for-profit cemetery.  The original 166 hilly acres were purchased for $16,000 and dedicated that August.  The first burial occurred on September 1, 1845.

Cincinnati Horticultural Society
Horticultural Society
The Cincinnati Horticultural Society used the cemetery grounds as an arboretum to study plants.  In 1850, over 4,300 ornamental plants had been planted throughout the grounds, and the nursery contained another 11,000 plants.


Albert Stauch
Then in 1855, Albert Stauch became superintendent of the cemetery.  During the next ten years he planted over 200 varieties of trees, choosing locations where "the beauty of form, color, and size shall be most effective."  His interest in using native plants and trees, along with his desire to create a natural landscape, led him to reroute roadways to follow the natural contours of the land. 

Stauch also placed lakes, bridges and islands throughout the cemetery grounds. The concept of a “Lawn Cemetery,” grassy expanses with native plants, trees, lakes and meandering paths was unique, but caught on quickly.  It wasn’t long before the majority of U.S. cemeteries adapted the concept of the “Lawn Cemetery”. 

By the 1860’s, the cemetery had the most diverse collection of trees in the country, except for New York’s Central Park. Today, Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is home to over 1,200 species of trees, plants and shrubs.  Fifteen lakes, a cascading waterfall, and several footbridges still evoke Stauch’s original Lawn Cemetery design.


Norman Chapel
The Norman Chapel, located just inside the main gates, was designed in the Romanesque Revival, or Norman style.  Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford designed it in 1879.  It is constructed of limestone from Bedford, Indiana, “Limestone Capital of the World,” and guarded by various gargoyles.


Inside Chapel
The Ascension of Christ
Inside, the chapel offers a breath-taking venue with its carved wooden beams, arches and limestone pillars. Black Belgium marble paves the floor.  Bas-relief bronze doors are located on each side of the entrance to the sanctuary. The large stained glass widow was designed by Cincinnati resident Thomas S. Noble and features Christ’s Ascension into Heaven.

The chapel has also acted as a jail.  In the basement, a holding cell was created during the late 1800’s for carriage drivers traveling too fast through the cemetery.  Drivers were arrested, put in the jail cell and held overnight.  When automobiles were allowed in the cemetery in 1911, the jail cell was again put into use to deter speeding through the grounds.  The cell is now used for storage.

$10,000 Bill
Salmon Chase
Twenty-five Cincinnati majors are buried here, along with many well-known politicians, businessmen, authors and artists.  But interestingly enough there are no presidents buried at Spring Grove.  There are ten governors from Ohio, Kentucky and Arizona here.  The most famous governor was Salmon P. Chase. Chase served as Governor of Ohio from 1856 – 1860.  He also served as an Ohio Senator, Secretary of the Treasury under President Lincoln, and as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  Chase’s picture appears on the $10,000 bill.  He was also instrumental in the development of Spring Grove.

Fleischman Mausoleum
McAlpin Monument
Businessmen buried here whose names are now household words include Bernard Kroger, founder of the Kroger Grocery stores. William Procter and James Gamble who created Proctor and Gamble Corporation, manufacturer of consumer goods. Charles Fleischman of Fleischman Yeast Company which became the worlds largest yeast producer and second largest producer of vinegar.  And George McAlpin of the McAlpin’s Department Stores.


Alexander McGuffy Marker
Andrew Erkenbrecher Monument
Other notables include Alexander McGuffy, who created the Electric Speller and co-wrote the McGuffy Readers, used in grade schools across the country.  And Andrew Erkenbrecher, founder of the Cincinnati Zoo, one of the oldest zoos in the country, opening in 1875.


Spring Grove is also the resting place of hundreds of soldiers, dating from the Revolutionary War to today. Eight Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are buried here.  There are thirty-three Revolutionary Soldiers interred here.  Forty Civil War soldiers of which thirty-four are Union Generals, including Major General Joseph Hooker.  Hooker led the Union attack at the Battle of Antietam, but then suffered a horrible defeat at the hands of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.

Cedar of Lebannon
In 1987, the cemetery name was changed from the Cemetery of Spring Grove to Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum to note the extensive collection of native and exotic plants that cover the grounds.  The cemetery is now comprised of 733 acres, of which on 400 acres are currently used and landscaped.  The remaining 333 acres will be developed as needed, guaranteeing the community a working cemetery for hundreds of years.  Over 44 miles of paved roadways wind through the present day cemetery.

Grave of Johnny Appleseed
Spring Grove was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007. It is only one of five cemeteries in the country to hold this designation. This is in honor of its exceptional manner in illustrating the heritage and culture of the United States.  Spring Grove is the largest non-profit cemetery in the country.


Weddings are often held at Spring Grove.  The Norman Chapel can seat 200 and is available for ceremonies, as is the Garden Courtyard, which can seat up to 1,000.  The cemetery is also available for wedding photography.  Visit their web site for guidelines and rates.



Tram Tours
Walkabouts
Spring Grove offers several tours and events throughout the year. Public tours are offered from May through October.  Theses include public tram tours, weekend walkabouts and twilight tours. The cemetery also offers private group tours, and tours for school children.  Several special events are held throughout the year including the Annual Summer Sounds of Spring Grove Concert held in July, the Moonlight Tour held in August, and the Annual Lantern Lighting Ceremony held each September.  Self guided walking tours featuring art, architecture, and history can be conducted with the aid of maps available at the cemetery office.  Each year over 13,000 people attend these special events and tours.

Spring Grove is located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue in Cincinnati.  The cemetery grounds are open from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. each day.  The phone number is (513) 681-7526.  Visit their web page at http://www.springgrove.org/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sgcemetery. Spring Grove welcomes genealogy research on their web site.

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is well worth the visit!  Plan on spending at least half a day if not the full day.  And if you can go when a tour or event is offered, all the better.  Whether you’re a photographer, artist, historian, Tombstone Tourist, gardener, or just love a park-like setting, Spring Grove has something for you!  So go – experience, and enjoy!!

~ Joy